Intec is the world leader in developing and commercializing a chloride hydro-metallurgical process. This process provides a revolutionary alternative to current methods of recovering valuable metals that were previously considered uneconomical to recover using traditional metallurgical processes. The most lucrative application of the Intec process is to recover zinc from electrical-arc furnace dust, which is a byproduct of the steel recycling process and a recognized hazardous waste substance.
While Intec has developed revolutionary metallurgical processes, it has also acquired other cash flow generating assets to fund its research and development. Intec’s strategy is to increase positive cash flow as a mining company, while also becoming a minerals processing technology provider worldwide. The company is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.
The Intec Process: The Intec Process includes an array of chloride-based hydrometallurgical technologies to extract and recover high-purity base and precious metals from a wide range of mineral feedstocks. The challenge of the process, which is an important barrier to entry for competitors, is the ability to recover metals out of solution without generating undesired consequences. The Intec process has substantial environmental and cost advantages over conventional smelting and refining processes, as well as other hydrometallurgical processes.
The Intec process can recover a range of valuable metals including zinc/lead, gold (refractory), copper, nickel and other materials, as either sulfide or oxide feeds. Intec has operated the Intec zinc process (IZP), the Intec copper process (ICP) and the Intec polymetallic process at pilot-plant scale and demonstration-plant scale. In addition, the company has operated the Intec gold process (IGP) at pilot-plant scale. The company has shown that the Intec nickel process (INP) is feasible in the laboratory. Variations in technology for each material are all based on the same core concept which management believes is superior to alternatives.
The main advantages of the Intec process are: it is chemically based, it operates at low temperatures and sea level atmospheric pressure, and utilizes non-cyanide-based technology for the recovery of precious metals. The main environmental advantage is that it eliminates the need for smelting, thus reducing overall power consumption, and eliminating air or liquid emissions into the environment.
Intec has several ongoing projects working with other companies to recover various metals (gold, nickel, zinc, etc) from their waste products. The main commercial opportunity for this process appears to be in recovering scrap zinc from electric-arc furnace dust (EAFD). This project, referred to as the Hellyer residues project, is projected to recover 95% of the zinc found in the scrap material on the Hellyer property.
Assuming that there are a finite amount of natural resources on the planet, many people believe that recycling is essential to global resource sustainability. Intec is rapidly developing its capability to recover zinc from electric-arc furnace dust in a cost-effective and environmentally sound manner. This will not only rescue an important metal for reuse, but will also reduce the demand for landfill space. Eventually, Intec’s processes could demonstrate the ability to extract other metals and generate other potential market opportunities.
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