2023.04.06
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Visiting a Town with Mitsubishi Materials 〜Onahama Smelting & Refining Co., LTD. edition〜
Ms. Stride, a woman traveling around the world, visits a town where a Mitsubishi Materials Group hub is located.
Navigator
Ms. Stride
A woman in her late twenties who enjoys factory tours and strolls around town.
Onahama Smelting & Refining Co., LTD. edition
In this edition, we will introduce the town where Onahama Smelting and Refining Co., LTD.’s Onahama Smelter and Refinery, which supports Mitsubishi Materials’ Smelting & Resource Recycling Business, is located.
The Onahama Smelter and Refinery is located in a port town in Iwaki City, on the southeast end of Fukushima Prefecture. It was established in 1963 as the first joint copper smelter and refinery in Japan and celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. From April, Onahama Smelting and Refining became a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Materials to support the Group’s businesses further.
Spa Resort Hawaiians
A widely popular resort that provides a “tropical mood”
A widely popular resort that provides a “tropical mood”
This theme park entertains visitors with hot pools, hot springs, hula girl shows, and fire knife dances. It is popular among local people as well as tourists, and Onahama Smelter and Refinery’s staff members often visit it.
Iwaki Odori
Annual summer event showcasing Iwaki City
Annual summer event showcasing Iwaki City
In Onahama, the Iwaki Odori Onahama Competition is held in Summer. Local people dress up in their best costumes and dance through the streets with calls of “don-wasse!” In the past, Onahama Smelter and Re- finery’s staff members have participated in this event, helping to liven up the community.
National treasure, Shiramizu Amidado
Historical building that’s the pride of the region
Historical building that’s the pride of the region
This representative Amidado building was constructed by Tokuhime, the daughter of Fujiwara no Kiyohira, in the late Heian era to pray for the soul of Iwaki Norimichi, her husband. You can enjoy viewing the beautifully curved roof and the delicate harmony with its Jyodo garden.
Mehikari
Melt-in-your-mouth delicious whitefish
Melt-in-your-mouth delicious whitefish
The Joban offshore of Fukushima is one of Japan’s leading fishing grounds for mehikari, the promoted city fish of Iwaki City. Mehikari Chazuke (rice soaked in green tea) is a deliciously addictive and popular dish served in the Syuen Teru local Japanese-style pub.
Welcome to the Onahama Smelter and Refinery!
About the Onahama Smelter and Refinery
The Onahama Smelter and Refinery manufactures high-grade copper cathode from raw materials such as copper concen- trates and scraps with valuable metals. Currently, by utilizing copper smelting technology, the smelter is able to treat indus- trial waste such as shredder dust and recycle metal and heat. In addition to copper, by-products such as gypsum and sulfuric acid are also produced from sulfur dioxide and other products generated from the production process.
Materials manufactured in Onahama Smelter and Refinery
Raw materials for recycling valuable metals
The circuit boards in electric devices con- tain valuable metals such as copper. These scraps with valuable metals called “E-scrap” are gathered from across the world in the Onahama Smelter and Refinery, where they are crushed, and then sorted and smelted to recover the precious metals. The copper is recycled into copper cathode.
Reverberatory furnace
This is the only reverberatory furnace oper- ating at a copper smelter in Japan. It melts down copper concentrates, a smelting material, along with raw materials obtained from circuit boards at high temperatures, and separates them into matte and slag. The matte is a source of blister copper.
Seeing the materials melted down into a slushy state is really impressive!
Refinery plant
At the refinery plant, anodes produced from blister copper are soaked in an electrolyte, a process known as electrorefining. The resulting copper cathode has a purity of 99.99% or more and can be used as a raw material for electric wires, electric device materials, and other products.
Guide
General Affairs Section,
Administrative Department
Yurino Watanabe
Joined the company in 2021. She is in charge of public relations, including Onahama Smelter and Refinery’s internal magazine, and legal work. Her favorite local spot is a fish market in Iwaki Lalamew. She often buys Onahama’s prized seafood in the market and enjoys cooking.
Guide
General Affairs Section,
Administrative Department
Kenichi Kibune
Joined Iwaki Plant in 1990 and started working at the Onahama Smelter and Refinery in 2012. His duties include human resources, labor administration, external affairs, and general affairs. His recommendation for Iwaki City is the Iwaki Fireworks Festival held in Onahama Port. His favorite local dish is the spit-roasted meats and vegetables in the Tabe Nomi-ya Hinawajyu local pub.
