Turning world's by-products into treasure

New and strategic material

Zhang Xiaomin, an exhibition hall guide, is proud that with its high-tech caliber, Yuguang has been honored as a China's top 500 enterprises, and ranked among the top 500 in China's manufacturing industry.

Yuguang's technology and equipment are regarded as internationally and domestically leading, with a provincial technology center, postdoctoral research station and other research institutions, she said.

The company's leading products — "Yuguang" brand electrolytic lead and "Yuguang" brand silver — are listed on the London Metal Exchange and the London Bullion Market Association, respectively.

Zhang added that as China's largest lead smelting enterprise, Yuguang's zinc smelting capacity and copper smelting technology are also among the nation's best.

To extend its industrial chain, Yuguang has also developed alloy products, with over 30 varieties of lead-based and zinc-based alloys.

Its products are mainly used in semiconductors, crystals and sensors, Zhang said.

Zhao said Yuguang also shoulders the mission of safeguarding the security of the nation's vital strategic materials, and its strategic positioning is to establish an important strategic national material base for nonferrous metal new materials.

"New materials represent a crucial growth sector for Yuguang's future development," Zhao said, adding that it is transitioning from raw materials to new materials, while also paying vital attention to developing strategic materials.

"In Yuguang's new material product matrix, there are over 100 products in four major categories — alloys, high-purity materials, new energy, along with rare and precious materials," he said.

Zhao emphasized that Yuguang intends to update and replace key equipment and production scenarios with machines to promote intelligent construction.

"By generating new data through device updates and machine replacement, Yuguang will ultimately turn into an intelligent factory, fully linking its 12,000 sets of equipment, 54 kilns, 60,000 data points and 79 workshops on its 106-hectare factory area," Zhao said.

Global cooperation

"While keeping a nationwide vision and embracing global markets, Yuguang has grown into a large international conglomerate with global sourcing and global sales, delivering solid support for the Belt and Road Initiative," Zhao said.

He said the company owns over 10 mining enterprises distributed at home and abroad, with domestic mining bases scattered around the provinces of Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan, with overseas mines located in Australia, Indonesia and other regions.

Yuguang imports millions of tons of mineral powder each year, moving mountains of foreign resources to Yuguang for smelting, Zhao said.

In the face of tight international mineral supplies and trade barriers, Zhao highlighted the need to "go global" and negotiate with overseas suppliers to solve the raw materials dilemma and provide assistance for Yuguang's globalized operation.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Yuguang will accelerate its transformation from raw materials to new materials, and bolster its key projects through international cooperation, he said.