Aurubis incident in Germany causes three fatalities

Germany-based metals producer Aurubis AG says "a serious industrial accident" at its smelter site in Hamburg has caused three employee fatalities. The incident occurred May 11 with two employees dying that day and the third about four days following the incident.

“A nitrogen leak occurred during regular maintenance at the Primary Smelter Plant East," Aurubis says. "The three Aurubis employees were directly exposed. Rescue workers and the plant fire department were immediately deployed.”

Aurubis says it is working closely with regional authorities as they conduct a detailed investigation into the root cause of the accident and notes an update will be provided as soon as the investigation is complete.

“We are deeply saddened by this terrible tragedy," Aurubis CEO Roland Harings says. "Our hearts go out to their loved ones and everyone else affected. We want to express our deepest sympathy.” Harings said there was an internal memorial service for the deceased employees at the Hamburg plant on Tuesday, May 16.

Aurubis says its Hamburg Primary Smelter Plant is its biggest site, with more than 2,000 employees producing cathodes, wire, continuous cast shapes, precious metals and specialty products such as sulfuric acid and iron silicate stone at the facility. “Today, the plant is one of the most modern and environmentally friendly copper smelters in the world,” the company notes on its website.

The plant is labeled as a primary smelter, but in its 2023 sustainability report, Aurubis says scrap also is melted at its flagship facility in Hamburg. “Though [our] primary smelters utilize copper concentrates as their main feed material, they also use copper scrap to a certain extent,” the company says.

Aurubis says a sizable 2022 investment was undertaken in part for the expansion of recycling capability and optimization of the flow chart in Hamburg, and by late 2025, the smelter will have the “capacity to process around 32,000 additional tons of recycl[ed] material.”

In the United States, Aurubis operates a copper and brass sheet production plant in Buffalo, New York, and is in the process of building a $690 million scrap-fed secondary smelter specializing in multimetal recycling near Augusta, Georgia.