The Minister of Economy and Industry visited "Aurubis Bulgaria"

The Minister of Economy and Industry Petar Dilov was on a working visit to Aurubis Bulgaria. He was acquainted with the current implementation of the four-year investment program worth BGN 800 million in the copper plant near Pirdop and Zlatitsa. The company's projects are to expand and renovate the production and this is the largest German investment in Bulgaria.

Minister Dilov held a working meeting with Tim Kurt - Chief Operating Officer of Aurubis Group and CEO of Aurubis Bulgaria, the management of the company and the mayors of the municipalities of Zlatitsa - Lyubomir Tsvetkov, Pirdop - Angel Gerov and Anton - Andrey Simov.

"We put the focus precisely on investments like this, which generate more added value in Bulgarian industry and are related to energy efficiency and circular economy," Minister Dilov said during the discussion.

The CFO Vasil Dosev presented the company's activities, its role in the Bulgarian economy and the growth of the gross national product. "Aurubis Bulgaria generates a major part of the country's exports - 7.3%, and of imports - 4.4%, according to data for 2023, Dosev said. Zornitsa Yankova, Director of Human Resources, briefed Minister Dilov on the programmes for the training of apprentices and interns, support for professional education and long-term partnerships with universities.

Eng. Nikolay Nedelchev, Head of Technical service and Development presented the main projects of the investment program - the expansion of the Refinery, the own RES complex of four solar power plants with a capacity of 41 MW peak, the upcoming capital repairs and the modernization of production processes. The construction of the Aurubis-2 and Aurubis-3 photovoltaic plants has been completed and is expected to be commissioned this year. The company has also started the project to replace 460 large electric motors with the latest generation energy efficient ones. "The combined effect of the savings and the self-generated renewable energy is estimated at nearly 90 GWh, which is the annual consumption of a medium-sized city like Vidin or Kyustendil," Nedelchev pointed out.
He put a focus on the upcoming capital repairs. The plant will shut down production for 62 days from May to July this year to renovate the melting furnace, replace dry electrofilters and install sulfuric acid units in the plant. More than 120 projects will be completed during the repair, which will involve 2,000 outside specialists from 20 countries. Upgrading of internal infrastructure - roads, rail connectivity and networks - is also underway. Eng. Nedelchev also referred to the ongoing modernization of slag cooling and water treatment, as well as the modernized fleet of wagons for the transport of copper concentrates from the port of Burgas to the plant.

Ivailo Georgiev, Head of Sustainability and Public Relations, briefed the guest on the company's relations with the neighbouring municipalities and the partnership programmes "Beautiful Srednogorie", which Aurubis considers as part of its investments. The Mayor of Pirdop Angel Gerov took part in the discussion on behalf of the host municipalities. Gerov noted the opportunities for closer cooperation between the local self-government and the executive on topics related to health care, specialized training of personnel for the industry and financial decentralization.
The Minister of Economy pointed out that the basic industry plays an important role in the national economy. According to him, it provides a significant part of the country's exports and at the same time is linked to creating jobs and developing local infrastructure and overcoming regional imbalances.

Emanuela Manolova, Iron Silicate Manager, presented the progress on the certification procedures for the use of the metallurgical by-product in the construction industry. The possibility of utilising larger quantities of iron silicate as an additive material remains open, closing the circle between two industries and reducing the carbon footprint of construction materials, Manolova emphasised.

Minister Peter Dilov, accompanied by Tim Kurth and Production Director Eng. Dimo Kirilov, visited the construction site for the expansion of the Refinery. The new plant is expected to come on stream in 2026, so that all the anode copper produced at the plant will be refined on site and the capacity for cathodes will reach 340,000 tonnes per year.

Minister Dilov said that the Ministry of Economy and Industry is developing a National Industrial Strategy for the Manufacturing and Extractive Industries 2025-2030 together with the European Commission and the business, which should also reflect the trends in industrial policy at European level.