Biraco
Encyclopedia
BiRaCo stands for the acronym of Bismuth
, Radium
, and Cobalt
. It was the name of a, now defunct, subsidiary company of Union Minière du Haut Katanga
(UMHK) and Société Générale de Belgique
created to refine these elements from the copper
and uranium
ores coming from the Katanga
province in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Radium
was first industrially produced in the beginning of the 20th century by Biraco in its Olen plant near Antwerp in Belgium.
UMHK
offered to Marie Curie
her first gramme of radium.
The radium production plant was demolished during the years 1970 and the radium production wastes confined in a shallowly buried vault. The Olen site is presently still the object of remediation works financed by Umicore
in the frame of its historical liability
.
Union Minière activities were merged with those of three other companies to create Umicore
in 1989.
Bismuth
Bismuth is a chemical element with symbol Bi and atomic number 83. Bismuth, a trivalent poor metal, chemically resembles arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth may occur naturally uncombined, although its sulfide and oxide form important commercial ores. The free element is 86% as dense as lead...
, Radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
, and Cobalt
Cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
. It was the name of a, now defunct, subsidiary company of Union Minière du Haut Katanga
Union Minière du Haut Katanga
The Union Minière du Haut Katanga was a Belgian mining company, once operating in Katanga, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
(UMHK) and Société Générale de Belgique
Société Générale de Belgique
The Société Générale de Belgique was one of the largest companies that ever existed in Belgium. It was founded in 1822 by William I, and existed until 2003, when its then sole shareholder, Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, merged it with Tractebel to form Suez-Tractebel.-History:As part of the terms of the...
created to refine these elements from the copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
and uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
ores coming from the Katanga
Katanga Province
Katanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
province in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
was first industrially produced in the beginning of the 20th century by Biraco in its Olen plant near Antwerp in Belgium.
UMHK
Union Minière du Haut Katanga
The Union Minière du Haut Katanga was a Belgian mining company, once operating in Katanga, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
offered to Marie Curie
Marie Curie
Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...
her first gramme of radium.
The radium production plant was demolished during the years 1970 and the radium production wastes confined in a shallowly buried vault. The Olen site is presently still the object of remediation works financed by Umicore
Umicore
Umicore N.V. is a multinational materials technology company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Formed in 1989 by the merger of four companies in the mining and smelting industries, Umicore has since reshaped itself into a more technology-focused business encompassing such areas as the refining...
in the frame of its historical liability
Legal liability
Legal liability is the legal bound obligation to pay debts.* In law a person is said to be legally liable when they are financially and legally responsible for something. Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law. See Strict liability. Under English law, with the passing of the Theft...
.
Union Minière activities were merged with those of three other companies to create Umicore
Umicore
Umicore N.V. is a multinational materials technology company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Formed in 1989 by the merger of four companies in the mining and smelting industries, Umicore has since reshaped itself into a more technology-focused business encompassing such areas as the refining...
in 1989.
See also
- RadiumRadiumRadium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
- BismuthBismuthBismuth is a chemical element with symbol Bi and atomic number 83. Bismuth, a trivalent poor metal, chemically resembles arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth may occur naturally uncombined, although its sulfide and oxide form important commercial ores. The free element is 86% as dense as lead...
- CobaltCobaltCobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
- Société Générale de BelgiqueSociété Générale de BelgiqueThe Société Générale de Belgique was one of the largest companies that ever existed in Belgium. It was founded in 1822 by William I, and existed until 2003, when its then sole shareholder, Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, merged it with Tractebel to form Suez-Tractebel.-History:As part of the terms of the...
- Union Minière du Haut KatangaUnion Minière du Haut KatangaThe Union Minière du Haut Katanga was a Belgian mining company, once operating in Katanga, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
- UmicoreUmicoreUmicore N.V. is a multinational materials technology company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Formed in 1989 by the merger of four companies in the mining and smelting industries, Umicore has since reshaped itself into a more technology-focused business encompassing such areas as the refining...