Votorantim Metals is the largest producer of zinc in Latin America and is among the ten largest worldwide. In a highly-competitive market, the company’s competitiveness is assured by factors such as in-company mining operations, mineral treatment technology, efficient process management, and ongoing investment is expanded production capacity.
Votorantim Metals’ activity on the zinc market began in 1956, which the Mineira Minerals Company was founded in Três Marias, Minas Gerais.
Production of zinc metal ingots, which was 10 thousand metric tons per year in 1970, reached 90 thousand metric tons per year in 1993. Additionally, the development of in-house know how ensured that the Três Marias Unit would be a pioneer in implementing the electrolytic metallurgy process for zinc in Brazil.
In April, 2002, Votorantim Metals took over the Paraibuna Metals Company. With this operation, the company increased its production capacity from 170 thousand to 256 thousand metric tons of zinc per year, reinforcing its position on the zinc market.
In 2004, the Company acquired the Cajamarquilla Zinc Refinery, in Peru, which has a production capacity of 135 thousand metric tons per year. Built by the Peruvian government in 1981, the refinery was privatized and purchased by a consortium made up of Teck Cominco and Marubeni Corp. The new holding companies provided investments to improve product quality, reduce costs, and expand production of metallic zinc, which increased from 90 thousand to 129 thousand metric tons per year. The company has one of the world’s lowest production costs.
One of Cajamarquilla’s competitive differences is its strategic location. Located 25 kilometers from Lima, Peru’s capital, the company can be accessed by either highway or rail, making the movement of raw materials and finished products extremely efficient.
In 2005, Votorantim Metals increased its Peruvian market share of zinc by acquiring a 24.9% share of the Milpo Mining Company, the country’s forth largest zinc mining company. This acquisition was accomplished through the Cajamarquilla Refinery, Votorantim’s holding company in Peru. This operation was in line with VM’s strategy of seeking competitive supply sources for its operations.
Another highlight of 2006 was the Cajamarquilla Unit’s production of its first bar of Indium metal. A byproduct of zinc production processes, indium has high added value and is mainly used by the global advanced technology industry as a transparent conductor electrode in Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) of flat screen televisions and computer monitors.
Votorantim Metals’ Zinc Business Unit, which currently employs 3,500 people, produced 402.5 thousand metric tons in 2006.
In 2007, the company plans to invest R$ 716 million (Brazilian reais) in expanding productive capacity and environmental projects. Of this total, R$ 285 million (Brazilian reais) will be invested in implementing Brazil’s first polymetalic substances plant. The new plant will be built in Juiz de Fora (MG), a city that already houses a unit of the company, and will recycle milling dust and indium production. With the adoption of the world’s safest occupational and environmental technologies, the company expects to place the unit in operation in December.