New raw material for bluestone production in Nis - "Popcorn" made by Jugo-Impex saves copper, money and time

A result of the years-long experience in the purchase of secondary raw materials, their processing and recycling, as well as in the sale of semi-finished products and products of Jugo-Impex from Nis, is a new product - "expanded popcorn".

- We have managed to use secondary raw materials to create a product of higher quality. We have come to this product thanks to, first of all, installation and putting in operation of the foundry whose induction furnace has the capacity of 1,000 kg – Dragan Katanic, the Technical Director of that Nis-based company, told eKapija.

This product has been named after popping corn because they look similar. It is produced in the procedure of so-called copper hydrating at the temperatures higher than 1,250 degrees. Jugo-Impex is the only company in the region and broader that uses that method to produce sulfates, carbonates and nitrates.

(Dragan Katanic)

When asked who would be using that product the most, Katanic said that that would be the bluestone manufacturers.

Namely, "expanded popcorn" is the only and the right raw material for bluestone production.

- So far, bluestone has only been made by the action of sulfuric acid on pure copper granules. However, that process of decomposition, that is, the turning of pure copper into bluestone, is long-lasting and very expensive. And you can never be sure that that copper is completely turned into bluestone. "Popcorn" has a bigger specific weight and a small volume. Plus, it is completely hollow because it expanded in water. That is a copper product made of secondary raw material and it has a significantly higher usage and technical value – Katanic explained for our web portal.

However, the company's Technical Director says that it will primarily benefit foreign manufacturers because Serbia does not have the technology for that.

- The companies near Bor and Majdanpek have something else. They use electrolysis, while Zorka and Zupa in Aleksandrovac are the ones that worked with copper granules.

A good news is that Jugo-Impex has already agreed the first deliveries. "Popcorn" has already reached France and the interest is still very strong.

- Our monthly production capacities range between 80 and 100 tons. Unfortunately, because of the situation in the copper market, we cannot produce more than that.