Example of Technology

Molten Salt Electrolysis Method

For metal elements that are not readily electrolyzed in a water solution, a process called molten salt electrolysis can be used for purification.

Typical Product

9N Cu

The world's highest purity
9N (99.9999999%) is achieved. Purification technology brings out the properties inherent in the metal.

Example of Technology

Melting Equipment

We have various melting furnaces in which we apply suitable melting methods for each element. Among them are vacuum induction melting furnaces, electron beam melting furnaces, and plasma arc melting furnaces.

Typical Product

Sputtering Target (Ta)

The melting processes enable us to provide sputtering target with purity of 6N (99.9999%), well above the industry standard.

Example of Technology

Microstructure Control of Alloys

Alloys are produced by repeated processes of rolling and annealing. By optimizing the rolling and annealing conditions, the size and the orientation of the crystal grains are controlled.

Typical Product Application

Treated Rolled Copper Foil for FPC (HA, HA-V2)

Bendable flexible printed circuits require flex capability in the copper foil used for their interconnects. A large grain size and highly cubic orientation result in copper foil that can be bent without a crack.

Example of Technology

Hot Press

This equipment can perform high-temperature, high-pressure sintering in a vacuum or inert gas atmosphere. We have a large variety of hot press equipment, for uses from testing to manufacturing, and can select equipment of the desired size.

Typical Product Application

Rotary IGZO Target

IGZO (In-Ga-Zn-Oxide) target is used in manufacturing transparent semiconductors for the displays of smartphones and other devices. We provide both planar and rotary targets suitable for the customer's equipment.

Example of Technology

LEC (Liquid Encapsulated Czochralski) Method

In this single crystal growing method, a seed crystal is dipped from above into the melt and is slowly withdrawn while rotating. The surrounding melt surface is encapsulated in a liquid to prevent evaporation from altering the composition.

Typical Product Application

CdZnTe Single-Crystal Substrate

A compound semiconductor substrate being studied for use in infrared or radiation detectors. Along with the world's largest size, it boasts high quality including uniform in-plane concentration distribution of the Zn additive.

Example of Technology

We have various equipment required for powder manufacturing, such as gas atomizers and jet mills, and it is possible to select the process according to the desired quality.

Typical Product Application

Sputtering Target (Tungsten)

By means of advanced powder synthesis and milling processes, we are able to provide sputtering target with high purity (5N) and fine microstructure.

Example of Technology

Milling, Granulation, Classification

Jet mills, which improve dispersibility by milling various metal powders, are used in powder manufacturing processes.

Typical Product Application

Electrolytic Copper Powder

Our electrolytic copper powder, with its arborescent shape, has excellent sintering properties and compressibility, making it an indispensable raw material for powder metallurgy products. It is used for a wide range of products, including for oilless bearings, electric brushes, and friction material, as well as for catalysts and paints.

Example of Technology

Precision Rolling

We use integrated process management to manufacture ultra-thin, flat rolled copper alloy foils, incorporating our original expertise and making use of custom-made rolling mills and annealing processes.

Typical Product Application

Titanium Copper Foil

Titanium copper, one of the hardest copper alloys, is rolled to produce a foil with a thickness of 30 μm. The thickness deviation is only around ± 0.2 μm, well below the tolerance of 1% or less.

Example of Technology

Multi-wire Saw

Abrasive grains are supplied as the wires are driven at high speed, cutting the ingot into wafer shape with a minimum machining allowance.

Typical Product Application

InP Substrate

We provide extremely flat substrates matched to the exposure precision demanded in the photolithography process.

Example of Technology

Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP)

The workpieces are polished by the chemical action of the slurry and the mechanical action of the polishing pads and abrasive component, resulting in few defects and high precision.

Typical Product Application

SR (Sputter Ready™)

By making the product surface as flat as possible, arcing and other quality issues in sputtering are reduced.

Example of Technology

Electroless Plating (UBM)

UBM (Under Bump Metallurgy) is plating film applied to semiconductor wafer bonding pad and solder joint areas. At our cleanrooms in Taiwan and Japan, we use an electroless plating process we developed in house to provide processing services in line with customer needs.

Typical Product Application

Copper Foil: BHM Treatment

Our surface treatment technology has achieved low transmission loss at high frequency bands while maintaining high peel strength, as well as improving surface flatness. Furthermore, by improving the surface treatment material, we can also enhance etching properties, enabling finer circuit patterning.

Example of Technology

Sealing Treatment for Gold Plated Film

Pit corrosion can be prevented even in corrosive gas by forming an organic treatment film with thickness of approximately 2 nm on the surface of gold plated film.

Typical Product Application

Good conductivity for wiring and connector pins can be maintained by anticorrosion treatment.

Example of Technology

Solder Bonding and Diffusion Bonding

The solder bonding technique is suitable for any kind of material, even brittle material. Although diffusion bonding cannot be suitable for all materials, it offers high bonding strength and reliability.

Typical Product

Sputtering Targets

Our sputtering targets for semiconductors are bonded to backing plates. Our lineup includes solder bonded targets, diffusion bonded targets, and also monolithic targets, depending on the material.

GDMS and Typical Lower Detection Limits

We have the largest collection of GDMS equipment in Japan. This equipment supports our development of high-purity materials by measuring the amounts of trace impurities.

ICP-MS/MS

We have introduced the latest ICP-MS system, namely, ICP-MS/MS, which is less subject to interference by coexistent elements than earlier systems.

Fire Assay

Fire assay is an analysis method based on gravimetry, and even though it takes a great deal of time and effort, it is characterized by high precision and accuracy.

Using STEM to Evaluate Osmium Vapor Deposited Film

This is an example of analyzing osmium vapor deposited film formed on a silicon substrate at the 1 nm level. With STEM, even ultra-thin films of 1 nanometer can be analyzed.

Using MLA to Analyze the Average Composition of Ore A

Using MLA to perform wide-ranging analysis of ores, we have succeeded in analyzing the distribution and average composition of each type of mineral. Normally, tens of thousands of particles are analyzed all at one time.

Sputtering Deposition Evaluation

In sputtering, atoms ejected (“sputtered”) from the target accumulate on the substrate, forming a thin film. As we can conduct sputtering tests in house for our products, we confirm sputtering performance and thin film properties in order to improve target quality and performance.

FPC Bending Test

Since flexible printed circuits (FPC) are bent into small spaces, it is vital not to generate any cracks in the circuits. We perform bending tests under actual FPC use conditions to confirm that our copper foils can fulfill the bending requirement.

Example of Computer-Aided Engineering

Using Thermodynamic Analysis to Seek New Alloy Compositions

We develop and manufacture various leading-edge materials matched to customer needs. Using thermodynamic analysis tools during the alloy design process, we can conduct comprehensive searches for alloy compositions of three elements, and of four or more elements, thereby speeding up development and ensuring product implementation.

Example of Materials Informatics

Using SVM for Manufacturing Process Optimization

As production sites are evolving into smart factories, various analysis methods are being applied to the massive amount of manufacturing data obtained, such as decision trees, Bayesian optimization, and deep learning, yielding benefits in quality improvement. The figure shows an example of using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) approach to optimization of manufacturing process conditions.

Technology Development in the Copper Mining Industry

The JX-Iodine Process

We developed an original process using iodine for recovering copper from low-grade sulfate copper ores. We conducted a pilot trial of this process in Chile, verifying its practical feasibility and effectiveness in improving copper leaching performance. We are now seeking to make use of the trial results to put the process to practical use in mines.

Copper Resource Development Site

Caserones Mine

The Caserones Copper Mine in Chile is operated as an all-Japan-funded project led by the JX Metals Corporation Group. Production of refined copper by the SX-EW method (30,000 t/year) began at the mine in 2013, followed by copper concentrate production (150,000 t/year) in 2014. The mine is expected to have a production life of 28 years, lasting through the year 2040.

Concentrate Burner for Flash Smelting Furnace

We developed our own concentrate burner with excellent reactivity, using the excess heat from an oxidation reaction of copper concentrate to melt recycled materials. We are also actively utilizing waste heat recovered from various processes for efficient power generation, contributing toward realization of a resource-recycling society.

Precious Metals Recovery Process
Hydrometallurgical Processing of Copper Anode Slime

Electrorefining is used to produce 4N refined copper. We also developed the world's first high-efficiency hydrometallurgical anode slime treatment process (including solvent extraction), which is used to produce precious and rare metals from copper anode slime.

Saganoseki Smelter & Refinery
Overall View

This smelting and refining facility is located on the Saganoseki Peninsula (Oita Prefecture), known for its “Seki” brand mackerel, horse mackerel, and yellowtail. At the city of Hitachi in Ibaraki Prefecture, where our company got its start, we still have an operating site actively engaged in business. It is the setting of Jiro Nitta's novel, A Town and a Tall Chimney, and continues to uphold our corporate philosophy of realizing a sustainable society.

Example of Technology

Lithium-ion Battery Recycling

In the Hitachi Works, we have begun a recycling trial project to verify recycled materials that can be mass produced and their quality, using as raw materials the spent automotive lithium-ion batteries and process scrap provided by car and battery manufacturers. In addition to metal salt, samples of various properties and states including solutions and metals can be manufactured in line with customer needs.

Example of Recycling Site

JX Metals Circular Solutions

JX Metals Circular Solutions is conducting plant-scale verification tests of LiB recycling and has established technologies to recover metals from consumer LiBs. Since 2021, the company has conducted verification tests to recover high-purity metal salts that can be used directly as a raw material for positive electrode materials, with the aim of demonstrating closed-loop recycling of EV LiBs. At the same time, the company is also developing LiB pretreatment technologies suitable for our wet metal recovery processes.

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) Treatment at Closed Mines

Mine drainage consists of pit water rising up from inside the mine and effluent discharged from tailings dams or other mine facilities. It occurs when rainwater and other water comes into contact with materials such as ores remaining after the mine is closed. As this drainage is highly acidic, it can impact the environment and must be managed on a daily basis after a mine is closed.

Adoption of Leading-Edge Technologies in Safety Efforts

We are adopting the latest technologies to address accident risks in operating sites. One example is an automatic braking system for heavy machinery. Designed to prevent collisions between heavy machinery and people, it combines a magnetic field emitting device on the heavy machinery with RFID tags worn by workers. It can detect people quickly and stop the heavy machinery, without being affected by obstacles in the way.