Atlantic Copper to recycle Spanish coins

Archiv – Following the introduction of the Euro in Spain, the Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre (FNMT) – in other words, the Spanish Mint – has been recovering now-redundant peseta coins. Following the introduction of the Euro in Spain, the Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre (FNMT) – in other words, the Spanish Mint – has been recovering now-redundant peseta coins. Atlantic Copper has been allocated 9000 tonnes of bronze coins by the FNMT and, in total, will take responsibility for recycling a total of 23 000 tonnes of obsolete currency, equivalent to practically 80% of the bronze coins withdrawn by the FNMT.
The coins in question are of 5, 25, 100 and 500 peseta denominations, containing approximately 88.4% copper and 5% nickel. Thus, the entire operation will entail the recovery of some 20 000 tonnes of copper and around 400 tonnes of nickel.
Copper is a key raw material in the production of the Euro because of its anti-bacterial and physical properties. The 1, 2 and 5 cent coins are made from steel coated with copper; the 10, 20 and 50 cent denominations are made from the alloy ’Nordic Gold’ containing 89% copper; while the 1 and 2 Euro coins boast a 72% and 70% copper content respectively.
A large amount of the basic alloy of the planchets (the base disc on which the Euro coins are minted) and a significant percentage of the coins produced in Spain have been produced using copper cathodes from Atlantic Copper’€™s metal complex at Huelva. The company is one of Europe’€™s leading copper recycling companies.