RHI Magnesita NV announced it entered into a new joint venture with Horn & Co Group to “accelerate the group’s use of secondary raw materials in its refractory products”.
Horn is one of the largest collectors and processors of spent refractory material in Europe, RHI Magnesita said in a statement.
The refractory specialists said that the agreement is expected to process around 150 kilo-tonnes per annum of material.
RHI Magnesita will own a 51% stake, with the venture operating under the name Horn & Co RHIM Minerals Recovery GmbH.
“The joint venture will combine recycling facilities operated by Horn in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and at the group's Mitterdorf plant in Styria, Austria,” the statement added.
Through “increased scale and use of automated sorting and processing equipment", London-listed RHI Magnesita will gain access to additional quantities of secondary raw material and improve productivity in the recycling process.
The joint venture will also help the company reduce its CO2 emissions, with each tonne of recycled material expected to save two tonnes of CO2 emissions when compared to using freshly mined minerals.
“Our customers will benefit from access to greater quantities of sustainable and high quality raw materials, together with enhanced circular economy solutions which are included as part of our full line services contracts,” said Stefan Borgas, chief executive of RHI Magnesita.