News Release

　JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation (President: Seiichi Murayama) announces the organizational changes outlined below, effective April 1, 2020, for the purpose of strengthening and enhancing its business administration framework.

 

(1) Merging of the Metals Division and the Recycling & Environmental Services Division to form a new Metals & Recycling Division

　The Metals Division and the Recycling & Environmental Services Division are to be merged, with the resulting organization to be called the Metals & Recycling Division.

　The organizational changes above are being made on the occasion of the recently announced reorganization of the copper business operational framework,^*1 under which the Saganoseki Smelter & Refinery and Hitachi Refinery are to become wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company. Integrating the two divisions that share Saganoseki Smelter & Refinery—one of Japan’s top-class copper refineries—as a common profit base is aimed at optimizing administration of the facility. Increasing the weight of highly profitable recycled materials in operation of the facility is aimed at further raising competitiveness. At the same time, the functions will be enhanced for recovering rare metals from the recycled materials, which are essential in downstream businesses.

　By bringing together the smelting and refining business and recycling business, thereby strengthening both business areas, and by continued efforts in the area of environmental services, the Company will seek to contribute toward realization of the sustainable society aimed for in the SDGs.

 

(2) Establishment of the LiB Recycling Project Office

　The LiB Recycling Project Office will be newly established in the Advanced Technology & Strategy Department of the Technology Group, aimed at promoting recycling of automotive lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) as a business. In addition, the Tsuruga Plant where verification trials of LiB recycling are currently being conducted will be transferred from the Recycling & Environmental Services Division.

　As announced recently,^*2 the need has arisen for faster promotion of automotive LiB recycling technology development and creation of a societal framework, in readiness for the expected discarding of automotive lithium-ion batteries in large numbers. By making the organization in charge of these initiatives an independent organization inside the Advanced Technology & Strategy Department of the Technology Group, a dynamic operational framework will be put in place for making a viable business of such recycling.

 

*1 See the December 19, 2019 press release, “Planned Revisions to Joint Structure for Copper Operations” for details.

*2 See the February 7, 2020 press release, “Bench-scale Equipment for Recycling Automotive Lithium-ion Batteries Goes into Operation” for details.

 

Appended material: JX Nippon Mining & Metals Old and New Organization Charts