copper smelting in Southern Africa Ancient History of Copper Smelting Smelting history goes back at least 6000 years to the copper smelters of the Timna valley near Eilat in Israel Copper is the world s oldest metal and was used more than 5000 years ago for water plumbing in the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt
Get PriceThe electrolysis process In the electrolytic reduction process of smelting the next step is where Carbon anodes are inserted in the top of the bath and an electric current passes through the anodes The oxygen atoms separate from the alumina and combine with the carbon anode leaving the remaining molten aluminum at the bottom of the pot
Get PriceAt the end of the second millennium B C the extractive metallurgy of copper in Trentino Italy achieved a peak of technological efficiency and mass production as evidenced by the large number of metallurgical sites and the huge amount of slags resulting from the smelting activities Though different scholars proposed several smelting process models so far an agreed interpretation of the
Get PriceReturn to Menu PROCESS DESCRIPTION The figure shown below schematically describes the Mitsubishi Process illustrating its sequence of continuous and controlled smelting of copper concentrates coal and flux; the separation of copper matte and discard slag; the continuous conversion of copper matte to blister copper; and finally the continuous delivery of blister copper to the anode furnaces
Get PriceProcess Flow Diagrams or PFDs are developed using a series of symbols and notations to convey information for a process The concept of PFD or process flow diagram was first introduced to ASME by Frank Gilbreth Sr in the year 1921 Purpose of PFD or Process Flow Diagram The purpose of the process flow diagram is to define the design of the
Get PriceMineralogy of slags a key approach for our understanding Copper ores need to be processed thermally and chemically smelted in order to extract the metallic copper The processes of copper smelting belong to the field of extractive metallurgy We will briefly explore the main processes in use during pre industrial times in the next section Native copper may also have been present in a
Get PriceThe process yields concentrates containing roughly 30% copper which are sequentially fed to a smelter a furnace in which most of the some iron and sulfur are removed then to a converter or converting furnace where most of the remaining iron and other impurities are removed Depending on the type of smelting and converting furnace used as
Get PriceTellurium is found in primary copper ores and most of the tellurium produced in the world comes from processing of copper anode slime which is a by product formed during electrolytic refining of copper Traditionally tellurium has been mostly used as an additive in copper iron steel and lead alloys [ 1 2 ]
Get PriceThe smelting process is about extracting the precious metal from its ore The process yields about 90% of pure gold However this percentage of gold is not acceptable in the industry as it comes with other minerals such as copper silver iron or aluminum Smelting comes as the most crucial step of the entire gold mining
Get PriceThis process consists of suspending an anode in a tank containing copper sulphate and a plate of pure copper effectively acting as a cathode A current is passed through the solution and the copper ions are stripped from the anode and deposited on the cathode the impurities falling through the solution to the bottom of the tank
Get PriceAbout Copper Smelting Copper while an essential nutrient is toxic to animals and humans in high concentrations The main pollutants are released by the process of smelting Most copper ores are sulphur based and smelting releases sulphur dioxide an air pollutant known to have many harmful effects
Get PriceThe application of the Outotec Ausmelt Process in the nickel industry has gained increased commercial acceptance for smelting of nickel sulphide concentrate matte converting and residues treatment Table I The Outotec JAE Ni Smelting Process3 developed with Jinchuan Nickel and ENFI is used at the Jinchuan
Get PriceThe Metso Outotec Flash Smelting Process is one of the world s most commonly used processes for the production of primary copper and nickel The process is based on our flash smelting principle which utilizes the internal energy of the feed material for smelting minimizing the need for external fuel and making the process very energy efficient
Get PriceThis process uses a series of physical steps and high temperatures to extract and purify copper from copper sulfide ores in four basic steps 1 froth flotation 2 thickening 3 smelting and 4 electrolysis Following mining transporting and crushing to a consistent gravel or golf ball size the crushed ore is further processed at a mill
Get PriceSmelting is a process in which the base metal is extracted from the ore by applying heat to it It is one kind of extractive metallurgy It is used for the extraction of many metals like copper aluminium iron silver lead and many other base metals from their respective ores
Get Price2 Copper flash smelting process We focus on a copper flash smelting process Out otec type which is an important step in production of copper blister 99 % Cu The process takes place in a flash smelting furnace which schematically is pre sented in Figure 1 Main feedstock of the process is
Get PriceHow does the smelting process work Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy to produce a metal from its ore Smelting uses heat and a chemical reducing agent to decompose the ore driving off other elements as gasses or slag and leaving just the metal behind The reducing agent is commonly a source of carbon such as coke charcoal and coal
Get PriceThere are two ways of smelting copper one is pyrometallurgy the other hydrometallurgical Nowadays the main smelting method is pyrometallurgy which accounts for 85% of output in the world The details are as follows A Pyrometallurgy Pyrometallurgy usually adopts original ore in which its content can reach 20% 30% after mineral processing
Get PriceBased on process the copper smelting market can be divided into reverberatory smelting oxygen flash smelting acid plant tapping the flash furnace converter furnace and others Reverberatory smelting and oxygen flash smelting are methods that require the resultant molten copper to be further processed to attain 99 9% pure copper
Get PriceThe remaining mixture is a molten copper sulfide referred to as matte The next step in the refining process is to oxidize liquid matte in order to remove iron to burn off sulfide content as sulfur dioxide The result is 97 99% blister copper The term blister copper comes from the bubbles produced by sulfur dioxide on the surface of the copper
Get PriceBlock flow diagram BFD Shows plant as a series of blocks each containing a significant amount of process units 2 Process flow diagram PFD shows vessels main process lines Copper smelting SMELTING after ore separation the copper concentrate must be smelted as it is still a combination of different sulphide minerals and various
Get PriceCopper Processing Pfd Plant A Schematic Diagram Of The Conventional Process For The Production Of Copper And The SX/EW Process Can Be Seen Here Conventional Copper Extraction Conventionally Copper Is Recovered By A Pyrometallurgical Process Known As Smelting In This Process Copper Ore Is Mined Crushed Ground Concentrated Smelted And
Get PriceA typical copper ore contains between 0 5% and 2 0% copper A high grade ore produces a high yield of metal A low grade order produces a low yield of metal Copper can be extracted from sulfide ores usually higher grade ores by direct smelting The earliest evidence of copper smelting occurs in Serbian artefacts dating from around 5000 BC
Get PriceRoasting smelting and converting Once a concentrate has been produced containing copper and other metals of value such as gold and silver the next step is to remove impurity elements In older processes the concentrate containing between 5 and 10 percent water is first roasted in a cylindrical refractory lined furnace of either the
Get PriceCopper smelting plants separate elemental copper from copper concentrates through multiple sulphide oxidizing stages The considered smelting process includes a continuously functioning flash smelting furnace FSF and several Pierce Smith converters operated in batches Automating scheduling provides advisory information to operators
Get PriceEnergy Use in the Copper Industry Princeton University energy requirement; milling around 40 percent; and smelting ing report prepared tor the U S Bureau of Mines December 1982 vol 1 Table 7 1 —Energy Requirements in Proven and New Copper Processes report prepared for the U S
Get PriceCopper Lead and Zinc Smelting and Refining During this process the copper matte is poured into a horizontal cylindrical vessel approximately 10ґ4 m fitted with a row of pip The pipes known as tuyéres project into the cylinder and are used to introduce air into the converter Lime and silica are added to the copper matte to react
Get PriceThe reaction of these processes can be written as 2CuFeS2 2SiO2 4O2 → Cu2S 2FeSiO3 3SO2 The copper extracted from this process is mixed with the slag and is called Matte Copper due to its texture and appearance This mainly consists of Cu2S which is reduced to pure metal by blasting Matte Copper with air Cu2 S O2 → 2Cu SO2
Get Pricesulfide smelting converting of copper and copper lead mattes from copper production plants For example dusts The process equipment Fig 1 consisting of a shaft furnace dust collection
Get PriceCopper flash smelting is a relatively new process which has been in operation since the 70 s and is a pyrometallurgical process used in conjunction with copper sulphide concentrates The main key facilitators produced by the process include controlled oxidation of Fe and S a large evolution of heat and the effective melting of solids
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