Aurubis expands Hamburg multimetal hub with automated pre‑processing facility

Project and timeline

Aurubis has approved an investment to build a highly automated facility at its Hamburg site to pre-process metal-bearing intermediates. The installation is scheduled for commissioning in late 2028 and includes a two-stage pre-processing and sorting installation plus associated infrastructure such as a production hall, filter system, extraction technology, a substation and cranes.

Process technology and outputs

The facility will sort materials into defined grain sizes and use modern sensor and X‑ray technologies to separate material components more precisely. This enables representative sampling and more reliable valuation of copper and precious-metal contents, allowing intermediates to be directed to downstream processes more strategically and improving metal-extraction efficiency.

Safety and environmental controls

Constructed as a closed building with modern filtration and extraction, the plant reduces dust-intensive work stages and replaces physically strenuous manual tasks, improving working conditions and occupational safety.

Strategic role for Hamburg and the smelter network

The project strengthens multimetal expertise at Aurubis’s largest production site and complements Complex Recycling Hamburg (CRH), commissioned in July 2026, reinforcing the site’s role as the central multimetal hub and laying groundwork for further network investments.