Established in 1978, Korea Zinc's Onsan Smelter.
Silver products are completed after pouring molten metal, a liquid metal extracted from ore concentrate, into metal molds and cooling it.
The company's scheduled silver production for this year is 2,300 tons, which is projected to increase by 10% compared to last year.
As silver prices have skyrocketed, export values have also surged.
International silver prices have averaged $72.44 per ounce so far this year, marking an 81% increase from last year.
Thanks to this, Korea Zinc, the world's top producer of zinc and lead, has added silver to its top global market share rankings.
Traditional silver smelting typically involves removing impurities from imported ore concentrates and then extracting and refining the metals individually.
However, the recent increase in production in Ulsan, a region without natural silver mines, is thanks to the addition of the "urban mine."
Building on its existing smelting technology, the company is also expanding its resource-recycling business, which recovers resources from electronic waste and other discarded items.
This involves collecting waste printed circuit board (PCB) scrap, refining copper through electrochemical decomposition at the smelter, and then recovering and producing silver and gold in a subsequent process.
Starting this year, it has also strengthened the foundation for related businesses by operating a copper pyrometallurgical smelting facility.
[Kim Seung-hyun / Director of Korea Zinc Onsan Smelter: Based on our existing smelting technology, we launched a pyrometallurgical copper recycling plant this year, and we plan to continuously expand the production of copper and precious metals through resource-recycling smelting activities such as waste solar panels and electronic scrap.]
Accounting for 5% of Ulsan's total exports through the third quarter of this year, silver has emerged as the city's sixth major export item, following petroleum, automobiles, petrochemicals, ships, and non-ferrous metals.
[Lee Min-geun / Head of Ulsan Customs: In places like Ulsan, smelting technology is exceptional, and the technology for extracting silver using waste electronic products is particularly outstanding, which is why silver production and export volumes have been soaring recently.]
Silver's rise as a major export item holds even greater significance as it represents a high-value-added industry combining 50 years of accumulated smelting technology with resource-recycling operations.
Reported by Lee Young-nam (UBC), Produced by Lee Seyoung, Video by Choi Hak-soon (UBC), Produced by SBS Digital News
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