DS Dansuk Ships First Valuable Metal Recovery Products, Expands Urban Mining

DS Dansuk (017860.KS) has supplied products from its valuable metal recovery (VMR) business, a new urban mining venture, to the global market, the company said Wednesday.

The supply marks DS Dansuk’s first move to expand its non-ferrous metal portfolio into the high value-added metal recovery sector, following its existing battery recycling business.

VMR is DS Dansuk’s next-generation business that recovers valuable metals from metal processing byproducts. The company smelts byproducts to produce and sell precious metal alloy lead, a commercial product, from which buyers recover high-purity precious metals through additional refining. Precious metal alloy lead contains not only lead but also silver and gold, giving it higher added value than recycled lead made of lead alone.

DS Dansuk began trial production of VMR products in January this year, then entered mass production from March after stabilizing the process.

On Monday, DS Dansuk completed the shipment of 50 tons of precious metal alloy lead from its Gunsan No. 1 plant. The volume is supplied through Gunsan Port to global commodities trading firm Trafigura. Founded in 1993, Trafigura operates more than 50 bases worldwide and runs supply chains in the metals, minerals and energy sectors.

DS Dansuk plans to secure global sales channels for its VMR business and continue strengthening its competitiveness in the urban mining sector.

“As demand for high value-added metals such as silver and gold is increasing, centered on the electronic materials industry, this supply will serve as an opportunity to broaden DS Dansuk’s urban mining ecosystem by one step,” a DS Dansuk official said. “We plan to diversify raw materials, including printed circuit boards (PCB), and gradually expand the business going forward.”