Binsfeldhammer lead works

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Berzelius Stolberg
legal form GmbH
founding 1848
Seat Stolberg, North Rhine-Westphalia
management Urban Meurer
Number of employees 280
sales € 390 million (2018)
Branch Industry (metal processing)
Website https://ecobatgroup.com/ecobatgroup-de/facilities/de/bbh/index.php
Status: 2018

The lead smelter Binsfeldhammer is a remaining two in Germany lead smelters , which lead from ore wins, a so-called primary lead smelter. The location is the city of Stolberg (Rhld.) In the city ​​region of Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia . The current name is BERZELIUS Bleihütte Stolberg (BBH).

Company history

The hut was built in 1846 by a French interest group in the Vicht valley on the site of the Binsfeldhammer copper farm . In 1848 she took over the Eschweiler Gesellschaft , which was merged into the Stolberger Gesellschaft in 1926 . Until 1960, the soft lead from the Binsfeldhammer lead smelter carried the trade name " Eschweiler Raffiné ". Since January 1st, 1961 the "Stolberg" logo has been used as a trade mark. This stands for a tested purity for impurities of 0.01 percent. Since it was taken over by Berzelius Metallhüttengesellschaft Duisburg in 1970, the Binsfeldhammer lead works has been called Berzelius-Hütte. From 1990 it belonged to the Rheinische Zinkgesellschaft, later to the Metallgesellschaft Frankfurt and since 1996 as BERZELIUS Bleihütte Stolberg (BBH) to Eco-Bat Technologies. Today around 280 people are employed in the lead works.

Products and production equipment

In addition to high-quality lead, the BBH product range includes over 100 different specifications for lead alloys. In addition, berzelite , copper- lead stone and precious metals such as silver and gold are extracted from the smelting of lead ore . Sulfuric acid is also produced from the sulfur-containing process gases .

The BBH uses the technology of the QSL process for smelting. The QSL process enables lead to be extracted from lead ores and secondary raw materials in a single, closed unit, the so-called QSL reactor. This minimizes the energy expenditure. The QSL process is one of the most modern, environmentally friendly and efficient processes in lead production worldwide. The BBH plant has an annual capacity of 155,000 tons of lead and lead alloys as well as 130,000 tons of sulfuric acid.

In 2014 BBH built a new silver production facility. This is where the Güldi silver is processed, which is created when the precious metals are separated from the lead. It contains 99.6 percent silver as well as gold and platinum . The plant has an annual capacity of 700 tons.

Heavy metal emissions and environmental protection

From 1965 there was increased lead exposure in the vicinity of the hut in so-called lead children and grazing cattle ( Gressenich disease ). In the mid-1970s, emissions were measured annually:

In 1972 the city of Stolberg founded an environmental committee. In 1973 an extensive environmental protection program was initiated. A 1975 report by the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia contained analyzes and recommendations. The lead works Binsfeldhammer then developed and implemented a bundle of measures to reduce heavy metal emissions: these were reduced by 80 percent within 10 years.

Today, BBH meets high standards when it comes to providing for the health and safety of its employees and protecting the environment. Their compliance is checked by independent test centers and monitoring authorities. Environmental protection and the health protection of employees are continuously optimized.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ [1] company brochure
  2. ↑ [2] Federal Gazette
  3. ↑ BERZELIUS Stolberg GmbH - globally leading primary lead smelter with world-class QSL technology , website ECOBAT Group
  4. ↑ Jürgen Lange: A real gold mine: Stolberger Bleihütte becomes an "El Dorado". In: Stolberger Zeitung . August 3, 2016, accessed January 18, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Investments at Bleiütte: New filter system for double the volume. In: Stolberger Nachrichten . March 14, 2017, accessed January 18, 2018 .

Coordinates: 50 ° 45 ′ 20 ″  N , 6 ° 14 ′ 24 ″  E