The smelter is a custom copper smelter which uses both copper concentrates and precious metal-bearing recyclable materials as its feedstock to produce a 99.1% copper anode. The anode is shipped to Xstrata Copper's Canadian Copper Refinery in Montreal to be converted into copper cathodes.

Ongoing capital investments have kept the facility at the cutting edge of technology, with a strong focus on emissions reduction. The Horne smelter has the capacity to process 800,000 tonnes per annum of copper and precious metal-bearing materials.

One of the notable features of the Horne smelter is its ability to process a wide-range of feeds, including copper and precious metal bearing electronic equipment provided by Xstrata Recycling.

Brief History of the Operation

The Horne smelter, named after the original Noranda Prospector, Edmund Horne, opened in 1927 at the site of the Horne mine. While the mine was closed in 1976, the smelter grew to become the largest and most advanced recycling plant of its kind in North America, with a unique ability to process complex feeds.