An aerial view of BASF Heraeus Metal Resources Co Ltd at Dushan Port in Pinghu, a county-level city of Jiaxing, Zhejiang province. [Photo/jiaxingren.com]

On Jan 17, Dushan Port in Pinghu, a county-level city of Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, witnessed the opening of a joint venture between BASF, the global leader in the chemical industry, and Heraeus, the global leader in the precious metals field, both from Germany.

The joint venture, named BASF Heraeus Metal Resources Co Ltd, is dedicated to recycling and reusing platinum group metals.

With a fixed asset investment of about 320 million yuan ($44.7 million) and covering an area of 48 mu (3.2 hectares), the project was completed and put into trial production within a mere 16 months.

It is designed to process 9,000 metric tons per year of hazardous waste and general industrial waste, and has a new high-temperature enrichment process production line.

This type of project is rare yet essential in China’s market, as it is involved in a business that can reduce China's dependence on precious metal imports. China, as the world’s largest consumer of precious metals, is also the most important market for both BASF and Heraeus. The joint venture will promote the circular and green development of precious metals in China, and support and help customers reduce their carbon footprint.