(Original title: The dust has settled? Jinjiang thallium pollution is mainly caused by the secondary lead company Yongxing Materials or it will resume production next week at the latest)
News from the Financial Associated Press, December 8 (Reporter Li Zijian)Unlike some media that said that the abnormal water quality was caused by the excessive Ta (tantalum) element, the latest announcement from Yichun City showed that the water quality of the Jinjiang River was caused by an abnormal concentration of thallium (Tl). Yongxing Materials, which caused anxiety in the capital market due to the shutdown, was listed in the announcement on suspicion of evading supervision and discharging pollutants. According to sources close to the local government, Yongxing Materials (002756.SZ) has basically completed rectification and is expected to resume production next week at the latest.
Thallium pollution mainly comes from secondary lead enterprises
The Yichun Municipal People’s Government issued a notice on the evening of December 6, showing that the Yichun City Ecological Environment Monitoring Department found abnormal thallium concentrations in the early monitoring and analysis of all indicators of drinking water sources in the main stream of the Jinjiang River. After continuous monitoring, the data show that the concentration of thallium in the water quality of the water source has reached the standard stably.
At present, the on-site disposal work has been completed. It was initially found that the main source of pollution in this incident came from Jiangxi Qijin Materials Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Qijin Materials”). During the investigation, it was also found that Jiangxi Qijin Materials Co., Ltd. and Jiangxi Yongxing Special Steel New Energy Technology Company (hereinafter referred to as “Yongxing New Energy”) were suspected of discharging pollutants by evading supervision.
At present, the public security department has joined forces with the ecological environment department to investigate the above two companies, and the case is still under investigation. In the previous Yongxing Materials announcement, the lithium carbonate smelting production line of the wholly-owned subsidiary Yongxing New Energy needs to temporarily stop production due to environmental protection investigations.
A reporter from the Financial Associated Press learned from multiple papers that thallium (Tl) is a colorless, odorless and highly toxic heavy metal with a lethal dose of about 12 mg/kg for adults, but its content is rare in nature. The ones with greater industrial value are galena, lead-zinc polymetallic ore, feldspar ore, lepidolite and pyrite with high thallium content.
The prospectus of the environmental protection company Sainz disclosed that in industrial activities, thallium-containing materials are recycled, and thallium has been enriched and accumulated, and thallium pollution incidents will occur if corporate management is not careful. In recent years, a thallium pollution incident that also occurred in Jiangxi Province was in 2018. An enterprise in Jiangxi Province discharged excessive thallium-containing wastewater, causing thallium pollution in Xinlongjiang, a tributary of the Lujiang River in Liling, Hunan.
In fact, thallium pollution has been valued by the state. In November 2021, the “Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on In-depth Pollution Prevention and Control” clearly stated that the investigation and rectification of thallium-related enterprises will be carried out.
At the same time, Jiangxi Province carried out the “Provincial Eco-Environmental Emergency Investigation Center Conducts Assistance and Guidance Activities for the Investigation and Rectification of Thallium-Involved Enterprises”, and carried out on-site assistance and guidance activities for the investigation and rectification of thallium-related enterprises in 11 districts and cities in the province.
Qijin Materials involved in this incident also received 20 million yuan of investment funds from the central budget of Yichun City’s special project for pollution control and energy conservation and carbon reduction (direction of energy conservation and carbon reduction), which was used to support Jiangxi Qijin Materials Co., Ltd.’s annual production of 21 10,000 tons of secondary lead and supporting production line project.
Yongxing Materials may resume production next week at the latest
It has not yet been disclosed why the Qi Jin materials that have been compensated by the government in pollution control still become the source of Jinjiang water quality pollution. Yongxing New Energy, a lithium salt plant in the same industrial park, was notified in this investigation that it was suspected of discharging pollutants by evading supervision.
According to public information, both lithium carbonate and recycled lead processes have a roasting link, and the flue gas contains thallium, which is absorbed and enriched in wastewater. According to the general process, the waste water is collected from the factory sewage treatment station to settle harmful substances and then sent to the sewage plant in Yifeng County Industrial Park. After being treated by the park sewage plant, it is discharged into the Yexi River, a tributary of the Jinjiang River.
It is worth noting that Yongxing New Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yongxing Materials, was not clearly pointed out in the circular as a source of pollution. According to Yongxing Materials’ previous 20,000-ton battery-grade lithium carbonate project with a fixed increase, the ex-factory concentration of the pollutant thallium in the production wastewater is 0.002mg/L, which is lower than the takeover standard of 0.005mg/L.
Image source: Screenshot from Yongxing Material Announcement
Capitalists who have been to Yongxing New Energy for research told reporters from the Financial Associated Press that the mining of raw ore will not cause thallium pollution, mainly because lithium carbonate will enter the flue gas after the back-end smelting and production, and then be enriched in waste water Lithium extraction from lithium slag is an important concern, but Yongxing Materials never sells lithium slag or extracts lithium from lithium slag. It may be that the accumulation of dust in the warehouse causes thallium to exceed the standard.
Another person close to the local government said that the local department has sent experts to the Yongxing New Energy site to guide the work, and the rectification has been basically completed. In the later period, all sewage outlets will be equipped with monitoring equipment for thallium concentration and will be incorporated into the online monitoring scope of relevant departments. According to reports, Yongxing Materials will resume work and production next week at the latest.
(Editor: Cao Jingchen)