Method for refining sulfidic copper concentrate
AssigneeOutotec (Finland) Oy
InventorAkusti Jaatinen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for refining sulfidic copper concentrate includes feeding sulfidic copper concentrate and oxygen-bearing reaction gas and slag forming material into a reaction shaft of a suspension smelting furnace, collecting slag and blister copper in a settler of the suspension smelting furnace to form a blister layer containing blister copper and a slag layer, and discharging slag and blister copper separately from the settler of the suspension smelting furnace, so that slag is fed into an electric furnace. The method further includes feeding a part of the sulfidic copper concentrate into the electric furnace.
Claims17
A method for refining sulfidic copper concentrate, the method comprising:
- feeding a first portion of sulfidic copper concentrate and oxygen-bearing reaction gas and slag forming material into a reaction shaft of a suspension smelting furnace by means of a burner that is arranged on top of the reaction shaft of the suspension smelting furnace, whereby sulfidic copper concentrate and oxygen-bearing reaction gas and slag forming material react in the reaction shaft of the suspension smelting furnace into blister copper and slag;
- collecting slag and blister copper in a settler of the suspension smelting furnace to form a blister layer containing blister copper and a slag layer containing slag on top of the blister layer;
- discharging slag in an unreduced state and blister copper separately from the settler of the suspension smelting furnace, so that slag in an unreduced state is fed into an electric furnace;
- feeding a second portion of sulfidic copper concentrate into the electric furnace;
- reducing the slag that is fed in the unreduced state from the suspension smelting furnace in the electric furnace at least partly with the second portion of sulfidic copper concentrate that is fed into the electric furnace to form a matte layer containing copper matte and an electric furnace slag layer containing electric furnace slag on top of the matte layer;
- discharging electric furnace slag and matte copper separately from the electric furnace;
- granulating and treating the copper matte that is discharged from the electric furnace to obtain copper matte feed material;
- and
- feeding at least a part of the copper matte feed material into the reaction shaft of the suspension smelting furnace by means of the burner.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.