Financial support for Turkish steel dust recycling project

Turkey – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is promoting industrial waste recycling in Turkey with a US$ 20 million loan to Befesa Silvermet Ä°skenderun, a company which operates a steel dust recycling plant.

The company uses Waelz technology to transform electric arc furnace dust into secondary zinc; the final product is then sold to zinc smelters. The EBRD funding will double the plant’s capacity for electric arc furnace dust treatment up to 110 000 tonnes per year.

Befesa Silvermet Ä°skenderun is a joint venture between Spain’s Befesa Zinc S.A.U., a leading recycler of steel waste in Europe, and Canada’s Silvermet Inc. which is active in steel dust recycling in Turkey. Turkey is the world’s eighth-largest steel producer and the fifth-largest producer of electric arc furnace dust.

The EBRD loan to Befesa Silvermet Ä°skenderun is part of the bank’s strategy to increase the level of financing for sustainable resources to some Euro 18 billion over the next five years. The EBRD started investing in Turkey in 2009 and currently operates from offices in Istanbul, Ankara and Gaziantep.

To date, the EBRD has invested a total of Euro 6.8 billion in Turkey through 170 projects in infrastructure, energy, agribusiness, industry and finance. Over the course of 2015, the EBRD expects to have invested over Euro 1.7 billion in Turkey, making this its top financing destination.