Nyrstar is the world’s largest zinc metal producer and one of the world’s largest producers of primary lead. We produce other valuable by-products including: silver, sulphuric acid, indium, copper and gold.
We employ more than 4,000 people across four continents.
Nyrstar is a Belgian publicly-listed company, created on 31 August, 2007 by combining the zinc smelting and alloying operations of Zinifex (an Australian mining company) and Umicore (a Belgian materials technology company). We listed on the Euronext Brussels Stock Exchange on 29 October 2007 and joined the BEL20 index on 3 March 2008.
Our name, Nyrstar, is a combination of ‘nyr’, an old Norse word meaning new, and ‘star’ a leading light. For us, Nyrstar means a bright new star, brilliant and fresh.
The primary focus of our company is transforming a mining company’s zinc concentrate into refined commodity grade zinc metal and alloys.
The zinc we produce is most commonly used to protect steel from corrosion. It is used in a wide range of industries, the largest consumers being the construction and transport sectors.
We believe our plants’ locations are well positioned to supply the largest and fastest growing zinc consuming markets in the world including China, Australasia and Europe and to benefit from further growth in emerging markets, such as India, the Middle East and Russia.
Nyrstar also produces significant quantities of lead. Lead and zinc are very much sister metals, tending to occur together geologically. Lead is mainly used to produce lead-acid batteries, used primarily in motor vehicles.
Given the mineral nature of zinc and lead concentrates, when they are processed they produce a number of valuable by-products such as copper, gold, indium and silver. Sulphuric acid is another valuable by-product of the zinc smelting process.
Nyrstar is committed to providing a safe environment for our workers, minimising our plants’ impact on the environment and contributing to the communities in which we operate.
Nyrstar Business Principles
- Preventing the potential for harm to people and the environment
- Understanding our customers and their businesses
- Continuously reducing costs and increasing efficiency
- Delivering sustainable growth and value
- Being innovative
- Using technology as a differentiator
- Reducing our environmental impact and positively contributing to metals stewardship
- Embracing diversity and developing our people to their full potential
