Copper smelting means that the concentrated ore is heated strongly with silicon dioxide silica, calcium carbonate caco 3 and air in a furnace. In fire refining, molten blister copper is placed in a fire refining furnace, a flux may be added and air is blown through the molten mixture to remove residual sulfur. Mining industry 5 copper for nearly 5,000 years, copper was the only metal known to man. 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. Overview of a typical beneficiation process at a concentrator.
Copper refining video a short video clip illustrating the process of copper refining that can be viewed online by students or downloaded for showing in class. As an example, one ton of anode slimes is recovered from 178,200 tons of. Copper mining and processing sector highlights copper mining and processing is one of the traditional economic sectors of the chilean economy. Pdf the primary production of sulfide concentrates includes smelting to copper matte or. Petroleum refining and the prod uction of ulsg and ulsd october 24, 2011 page 2 2. The scrap 47 metal is refined and dissolved in dilute sulfuric acid.
Air blowing results in residual oxygen which is removed by the addition of natural gas, propane, ammonia or wood. Aug 20, 2015 my first attempt at copper refining using my home furnace and a bunch of scrap copper pipe. Copper refining copper uses the properties of copper and its alloys that make it a major metal of commerce may be summarized as follows. Copper ore is extracted using three principle techniques. Melting and refining technology for copper produced from. Purification of impure copper can be achieved by electrolytic refining what is impure copper. Copper in chalcopyrite is reduced to copper sulfide. The hydrated copper 45 sulfate occurs as chalcanthite pentahydrate mineral. The smelting of copper the first written account of the processes of smelting and refining of copper is to be found in the 12th century. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, local environmental regulations, and other factors. Lateritic ores are normally found in tropical climates where weathering will, with time, extract and deposit it. In these operations some of the copper is oxidized to cuprous oxide and dissolved by the metal bath. The value of free gold and silver is normally greater than the value of the free metal for copper. The present paper provides a brief overview of copper smelting in southern africa.
Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. Despite the favourable international copper prices and the increase in domestic production over 20092014, negative factors such as high costs and reduced productivity limited the real cagr. In a separate stage further additions are made to activate the zinc ore, and it is floated off. You may need a pdf reader to view some of the files on this page. Usgs mineral resources program coppera metal for the ages. The life cycle of copper, its coproducts and byproducts. It remains one of the most used and reused of all metals. For alloys that contain copper, it is more difficult to determine the grain size. Alkali roastacid leach process is reported in the literature for. In some applications, copper produced by this method may compete with copper that underwent electrolytic refining. Fire and electrorefining methods are the techniques used.
Refining plants for silver by electrolysis and by chemical. Lead industry profile in the case of leadzinc ores, the metals are usually separated in a twostage process. Pdf potentially disappeared fraction of plant species. Mining cost service contains the results of our annual surveys of u. The process at the refinery uses electricity, rather than heat, to refine the copper. Crude copper, which is usually obtained by pyrometallurgical methods, is not suitable to serve in electrical applications because impurities greatly reduce the metals conductivity. Oxidized and superheated molten copper is then periodically tapped e. Refining this is the final stage in the process for obtaining high grade copper. The isa process technology is the worlds leading copper refining technology.
Included where available are the current and projected availability of furnace capacity, the types of material accepted, deleterious element limits, metals recovered, and indications of the companys interest in obtaining additional concentrates. Pyrometallurgical techniques use heat to separate copper from copper sulfide ore concentrates. The grain refining response is different for each alloy system. First the zinc sulphide is depressed while the lead sulphide is floated off and removed. Environmental guidelines for nickel smelting and refining industry description and practices primary nickel is produced from two very different oreslateritic and sulfidic. Presently, copper is used in building construction. Pyrohydrometallurgical methods are also used for the treatment of copper converter flue dusts and copper refining slags taken from sarkuysan a. Extraction of copper mining, concentration, smelting.
Beneficiation by froth flotation of ore to give copper concentrate optional partial roasting to obtain oxidized material or calcines 2. For comparison, the consumption of copper scrap is forecast to in crease at a 2. At the cathode, copper ii ions are deposited as copper. In this example the recovery rate for a copper smelter is 98. Ii2 copper mine, smelter and refinery production in developing countries in 1965, and 199. Melting and refining technology for copper produced from scrap charge. Statutory definition of solid waste rcra section 100427 the term solid waste means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial. Melting and refining technology for copper produced from scrap charge our copper refining technology allows the use of higherimpurity charge materials, and still produce premium quality refined copper. A full line of premixed fluxes ready to use for fire assaying and refining precious metals. Emphasis must be placed on the term refining of copper. Energy consumption, emissions, wastes and byproducts from the production of 1 tonne of copper from secondary materialsa, germany 1992. Reduction of fracture toughness due to hydrogen is known but not a practical limitation for the piping conditions and thicknesses typically encountered in refining.
The froths are then broken down by water sprays and the. Refining experience is in line with the known factors of hydrogen accelerating fatigue crack growth, and cracking of very hard materials. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical processes. Chapter 6 copper production technology the last boomin technological innovation for the copper industry occurred in the first two decades of this century, whenopen pit mining, flo tation concentration,and the reverberatory smelter were adapted to porphyry copper ores. The bulk of production comes from nonferrous scrap. Lateritic ores are normally found in tropical climates where weathering will, with time, extract and deposit it in layers at varying depths below the surface. Pdf a simple, clean and efficient onepot process is offered as an alternative to the conventional complex processing presently used to extract copper. See epas about pdf page to learn more nonferrous metals manufacturing effluent guidelines final rule pdf 28 pp, 3 mb, august 3, 1990, 55 fr 31692 development document for nonferrous metals manufacturing category. The technology package incorporates reusable stainless steel cathode plates and associated. The customer was hesitant to switch to gylon epix due to their current inventory of traditional gylon.
The purification uses an electrolyte of copperii sulphate solution, impure copper anodes, and strips of high purity copper for the cathodes. Add them to your melt to draw out impurities and refine your metals. It is a proven permanent cathode technology for the copper electro refining and winning industries. Technical note development of a flowsheet for recovering. The average compositions of blisters from primary and secondary raw materials are given in table 1. In copper processing, a copper anode is an intermediate product from the smelting furnaces which is used as a copper source from which to make copper cathodes during electrolysis. Pdf primary copper smelter and refinery as a recycling plant. In some applications, copper produced by this method may. Special plants for the refining of platinum and palladium.
One procedure that works reasonably well is to etch the sample at room temperature in a solution of 10% hf. In refining copper, the metal is melted down in a reverberatory furnace in a more or less oxidizing atmosphere and then further subjected to an oxidizing smelting in order to eliminate the common impurities, most of which have a stronger affinity for oxygen than has copper. This report summarizes the methodology, documents the data. When a vein of which is found, it is acquired with the greatest labour by digging and breaking. In addition, the process must be electrolytic and not fire refining. Copper refining industry mining customer western usa copper refiner background the customer had been using traditional gylon and generic compressed fiber gasket materials. My first attempt at copper refining using my home furnace and a bunch of scrap copper pipe. In firerefining, molten blister copper is placed in a firerefining furnace, a flux may be added and air is blown through the molten mixture to remove residual sulfur. This newer refining technology became widely adopted in the 1980s, and, according to the copper development association, roughly 20 percent of the worlds copper is now produced via this process. Copper strip corrosion astm d 1 test conducted at 122deg f for 3hrs. Our premixed flux recipes are premeasured and ready to be used. Petroleum refining at a glance petroleum refining is a unique and critical link in the petroleum supply chain, from the wellhead to the pump.
The latter produces high purity copper fit for electrical uses. Fill in the diagram below of commercialscale electrolytic refining by labeling the anodes and cathodes, and by drawing in the movement of copper ions figure 10. The ule technology was developed more than two decades ago at a small refinery in. Another method of copper metal production begins with mining of the copper ore followed by acid leaching dissolving the copper minerals and then electrolytic refining. Challenges faced gas shut off globe valve flanges were a chronic. Environmental guidelines for nickel smelting and refining. In nature, the anhydrous form occurs as a rare mineral known as chalcocyanite. The value of the free copper, gold and silver in a copper concentrates for a copper smelter is depending on the recovery rate, lme copper price and lmba gold and silver price. Electrorefining general introduction in an electrorefining process, the anode is the impure metal and the impurities must be lost during the passage of the metal from the anode to the cathode during electrolysis, i. In these operations some of the copper is oxidized to cuprous oxide and. The other links add value to petroleum mainly by moving and storing it e.
Nonferrous metals manufacturing effluent guidelines. The saturated solution is allowed to cool and the 48 copper sulfate crystals form. Refining plants for silver by electrolysis and by chemical leaching. Our copper refining technology allows the use of higherimpurity charge materials, and still produce premium quality refined copper. Ayres et al the life cycle of copper, its coproducts and byproducts vi table 5. The production of copper sulfate, using copper ore as 46 the starting raw material, is rarely utilized. Process steps include mining, concentration, roasting, smelting, converting, and finally fire and electrolytic refining. This metal sometimes called blister copper contains other metals impurities which often include valuable metals as gold, silver, arsenic, platinum and others. The purification uses an electrolyte of copper ii sulphate solution, impure copper anodes, and strips of high purity copper for the cathodes. At the anode, copper goes into solution as copper ii ions. The matte copperiron sulfide from the furnace is charged to converters where the molten material is oxidized in the presence of air to remove the iron and sulfur impurities as converter slag and to form blister copper.
As such, our guess is that while investment in future copper production is likely to decline, potentially depressing mining production in the 2020s, copper production over the next several years is most likely to either flatline or increase further. The production of copper sulfate, using copper ore as. The diagram shows a very simplified view of a cell. Pdf clean and efficient extraction of copper ions and deposition.
This results in a black smudge on the sample produced by the copper in the alloy. Gold and silver refining plants for goldsmith industry. Just like in blast furnaces, calcium carbonate is added as a flux to create the slag. At the cathode, copperii ions are deposited as copper. The demand for copper is due to its good strength and fatigue resistance, excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, outstanding resistance to. The smelting process takes copper ore and processes it into metal.
Slimes are not produced at the smelter stage of copper production. Its been in operation since 1931 and was previously part of xstrata. Refining flux premixed for melting and purifying gold. Copper is widely used to make electrical wiring and in other applications that utilize its high electrical conductivity. Overview of copper production benefication process figure 2. Energy consumption, emissions, wastes and byproducts from the production of 1 tonne of copper from secondary materials a, germany 1992.
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