Kazakhmys and CNCEC Sign $214 Million Sulfuric Acid Plant EPC Contract

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Dimension News, August 18 – Kazakhmys Corporation and a consortium of subsidiaries of China National Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd. (CNCEC) signed an EPC turnkey contract in Zhezkazgan to build a new sulfuric acid production unit at the Zhezkazgan copper smelter, with a contract value of $213.76 million. The project has been under discussion for nearly 20 years and is the first major environmental remediation initiative spearheaded by Kazakhmys Corporation's new management team.

The new unit is designed to produce 350,000 tons of sulfuric acid annually, with a process gas treatment capacity of 300,000 standard cubic meters per hour. The project also includes a comprehensive upgrade of the process gas collection and purification systems, with plans to install converter hoods, modern cooling towers, electrostatic precipitators, and other gas cleaning equipment. The new system will be equipped with automated process control equipment.

The existing metallurgical gas recovery infrastructure at the Zhezkazgan copper smelter was built in the 1970s and has severely deteriorated, requiring a full-scale technological overhaul. Once the new unit is completed, the process gas recovery rate will reach 99%, and the residual sulfur dioxide concentration in the treated flue gas will comply with the standards of the international Best Available Techniques Reference Documents (BREF), significantly reducing the smelter's sulfur dioxide emissions and environmental impact on the Zhezkazgan region.

At the signing ceremony, Yesset Baiken, Governor of Ulytau Region; Ruslan Uskenaly, Chairman of the Board of Kazakhmys Corporation; and Bao Guangdong, Chairman of the Board of CNCEC International Company, were jointly present. CNCEC will serve as the general contractor for the project. The company has extensive international experience in the design and construction of sulfuric acid plants and has previously executed similar projects in Kazakhstan.

Following the contract signing, the project will enter the implementation phase. Large-scale site mobilization and preparatory work are expected to commence before the end of 2026, with a construction and installation period of approximately 29 months, and the plant is scheduled to be commissioned in 2028.