[Reporter's Notebook] Toward a Path of Recycling, Not Pollution

"We are simply throwing away valuable resources."

During a recent visit to the Yeongpoong Seokpo Smelter in Bonghwa-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, a senior official of the company sighed deeply as he made this remark. The most memorable scene at the smelter was not the only zero-discharge system in Korea, nor the clear waters of the Nakdong River. Instead, it was an exposed earth pit on one side of the smelter, where a large section of the mountain had been cut away, revealing a 20-meter drop. The official explained, "There are valuable metals such as zinc, gold, and silver in the soil. Using Yeongpoong's zinc residue treatment technology (TSL), we could extract as many valuable metals as we want, but we are discarding them all."

The pit is actually a sedimentation and retention basin inside the Seokpo Smelter. For nearly 50 years, smelting by-products have accumulated there, and recently, Yeongpoong has been disposing of about 20,000 tons of soil per month, totaling around 700,000 tons. This action was taken in response to the Ministry of Environment's requirement for facility improvement when it granted approval for the facility as a pollution source three years ago. Even though they are aware that recoverable valuable metals are buried there, they have no choice but to discard them in accordance with government policy.

Currently, at the Seokpo Smelter’s third plant, various metals can be extracted from residues using the TSL process. Copper from the sedimentation basin can be turned into electrolytic copper, while gold and silver can be sold to buyers as intermediate by-products. Even the slag that remains at the end of the residue treatment process can be recycled as a raw material for cement.

It is estimated that about 5% of this soil consists of zinc. A simple calculation shows that recovering 35,000 tons of zinc, which is about $2,738 (KRW 3,794,868) per ton, could generate more than KRW 132.8 billion in economic benefit. If other valuable metals such as gold, silver, and copper are also considered, the additional economic value would be significant.

There may be concerns that the metals accumulated in the sedimentation basin could cause environmental pollution in the surrounding area during the recovery process. Yeongpoong has installed cutoff walls and groundwater collection facilities along a 3 km section around the smelter to prevent groundwater from flowing into the Nakdong River. In addition, a triple barrier structure was applied to the factory floor to address soil contamination. Out of 103 conditions imposed by the Ministry of Environment, 97 have been fulfilled. As a pollution leakage prevention system is in place, recovering valuable metals, even if it takes more time, has become a much more reasonable solution.

The focus on metals in the soil has intensified because China's weaponization of resources has become a reality. If valuable resources remain buried underground despite the available technology, the industrial loss will only grow. Korea’s smelting technology, which boasts a 99% metal recovery rate, is among the best in the world. Recycling recoverable resources could reduce environmental burdens and contribute to national resource security, providing a sustainable solution.