Aurubis

Aurubis AG (formerly Norddeutsche Affinerie AG) is listed on the stock exchange and is the largest copper producer in Europe (the second largest in the world) and the largest copper recycler worldwide. Its headquarters is in Hamburg, Germany. After the acquisition of the Belgian copper producer Cumerio by Norddeutsche Affinerie AG on 18 February 2008, the company re-branded itself as Aurubis as of 1 April 2009.

Aurubis produces more than one million tonnes of copper cathodes annually and from them a variety of copper products. It employs about 6,300 people (updated: September 2011).

History

Aurubis names the company ‘Beit, Marcus und Salomon Gold- und Silberscheider’ (‘Beit, Marcus und Salomon gold and silver parting’) in the Elbstrasse in Hamburg as its predecessor. It was first mentioned in the Hamburg merchant almanac in 1783, but Marcus Salomon Beit was already given the permission to build a silver parting and smelting furnace in Hamburg in 1770. As time went on, the company did not only smelt coins and precious metal alloys but also silver ores so that a shift of the production towards ore smelting occurred. After 1830 Hamburg ship owners started to ship copper ore on the emigration ships when they returned to Germany from North and South America or even Australia. In 1846 the ‘Elbkupferwerk’ was founded on the river Elbe’s island Steinwerder in cooperation with Johann Cesar Godeffroy and Siegmund Robinow.