Beneficiation and trading company Thakadu Resources and seabed telecommunication cables recovery and recycling company Mertech Marine have agreed to form a joint venture (JV) to beneficiate copper recycled from subsea telecommunication cables and to establish a new high-purity copper sulphate plant in South Africa.
The new copper sulphate plant will be equally funded by the JV partners. It is expected that the plant will provide a unique, reliable and responsible supply of copper sulphate for the mining, agricultural and chemical industries in sub-Saharan Africa.
“This partnership immediately creates a vertically integrated recycling and beneficiation business in South Africa. The copper sulphate project is exciting but so are the prospects for further collaboration in battery recycling given our networks and expertise,” Thakadu CEO Ruli Diseko said on February 2.
Having pioneered the responsible supply of battery raw materials from South Africa, Thakadu plans to build and operate the new plant within Mertech Marine’s existing recycling facility in Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape. The plant will have the capacity to produce 5 200 metric tons a year of high-purity copper sulphate.
Commercial production is planned for 2024, pending necessary regulatory approvals.
Mertech Marine said that it believes the JV will unlock value through further beneficiation opportunities.
“With the formation of this JV, we will unlock value from our metal pipeline by taking full advantage of our synergies through actively contributing to the circular economy. The successful development of this project with Thakadu will enable more exciting possibilities like the production of copper foil for battery anodes,” Mertech Marine CE Alwyn du Plessis added.
The parties agreed that the copper sulphate plant would be the first of a series of projects to catalyse their complementary capabilities in the green economy.