Nyrstar has been working for years to make its production more efficient, energy-saving and ecological. ‘Producing 100 percent green zinc was once science fiction, but is now within reach,’ says Graeme Train, Head of Metals & Minerals Analysis at Trafigura (Nystar’s parent company).
As we move towards a climate-neutral society, national and international governments are continuously encouraging companies to emit fewer and fewer greenhouse gases. Investors, suppliers, customers and public opinion are also expecting organisations to go further in reducing their CO2 emissions.
‘Anyone failing to pay attention to this is stating in so many words that they are not concerned about global warming. This is not only bad for the environment, but also has an economic impact. For example, companies risk losing market share. Banks are also imposing increasingly strict requirements on companies that do not focus enough on sustainability,’ Graeme Train explains.
Better than sector average
As an international producer of critical minerals and metals essential for a low-carbon future, Nyrstar is part of a large logistics chain in which all parties encourage each other to work more sustainably. ‘If car manufacturers want to make their cars more climate-friendly, they need players from the metal industry. A car body is made of galvanised steel. To make that part “greener”, car manufacturers need sustainably produced
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Nyrstar today has the smallest environmental footprint of any zinc producer worldwide.
Graeme Train,
Head of Metals & Minerals Analysis at Trafigura
steel. And to make their steel sustainable, the steel mills turn to the zinc smelters demanding green zinc.’
‘Thanks to efforts in recent years, like investments in wind
and solar energy and more sustainable means of transport, Nyrstar today has the smallest environmental footprint of any zinc producer worldwide.’
Electrification and green hydrogen
Producing the same zinc as 100 percent green zinc once seemed like a utopia. But Graeme Train expects us to view this differently in the coming decades. ‘It’s definitely a feasible option. If the mines operate fully electrically – many are already investing in electric mine vehicles today –, if they transport their raw materials via ships that run on green hydrogen, and if those materials end up via electric trucks in smelters running on renewable energy, then it will work.’
In the coming years, the focus will mainly be on further reducing CO2 in the entire value chain. Recycling zinc or recovering zinc from end-of-life products, such as batteries, will also make the zinc industry even more sustainable.
This industry, in turn, will become increasingly important for a low-carbon future, thanks to the production of critical minerals and metals.
