Table of Contents
How is copper extracted by smelting?
Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The sulfide concentrates are typically smelted in such furnaces as the Outokumpu or Inco flash furnace or the ISASMELT furnace to produce matte, which must be converted and refined to produce anode copper.
How is copper concentrate produced?
The copper concentrate is first sent through the smelting furnace to be heated up to 2,300 °F and converted into molten liquid. This step produces a combination of matte, a mixture of copper, sulfur and iron, and slag, a dense, glassy material made of iron, silica, and other impurities.
What percentage of copper is made by smelting?
The amount of copper in an ore can vary from 0.4 percent to more than 12 percent….Ores.
| copper (percent)* | |
|---|---|
| Native copper ore | |
| chalcopyrite | 34.6 |
| bornite | 63.3 |
| enargite | 48.4 |
How is copper purified industrially?
The impure copper acts as the anode, and the cathode is made of pure copper. The electrodes are immersed in a CuSO 4 solution. During electrolysis.
How do you smelt copper?
The copper concentrates are fed through the flash smelting furnace with oxygen-enriched air. In the furnace, the concentrates are instantly oxidized, after which they melt and separate by their own reaction heat into copper matte with a grade of 65% and slag consisting of iron oxide, silica, and other compounds.
How is copper extracted from a compound found in nature?
Copper can be extracted from its ore by: Underground: sinking a vertical shaft into the Earth to an appropriate depth and driving horizontal tunnels into the ore. This trickles slowly through the ore dissolving copper to form copper sulfate. The copper is recovered by electrolytic refining.
What is copper concentrate?
Concentrates are the raw material for all copper smelters, which by processing it obtain an impure form of metallic copper, anode or blister copper, which is later used to produce high purity refined copper. The concentrates from different regions have approximately between 24% up to 36% of copper.
How much copper is in a copper ore?
In most cases copper ores contain between 0.6 and 1 per cent of copper. Consequently one tonne of ore generates a maximum 6 to 10 kilograms of copper. In the case of platinum the yield is much lower: 1 tonne of ore usually contains between 3 and 6 grams of platinum.
How is copper transported from the mines?
Copper Ore being loaded into a 300 ton truck for transport to the crusher. The primary crusher at a copper mine. The truck dumps ore into the crusher which crushes the ore. Screens size and distribute the classified ore to a series of conveyors, like those above, for transportation to the mill for further processing.
How is copper purified?
Copper is purified by electrolysis . Electricity is passed through solutions containing copper compounds, such as copper(II) sulfate. The anode (positive electrode ) is made from impure copper and the cathode (negative electrode) is made from pure copper.
Where does smelting occur?
blast furnace
Smelting most prominently takes place in a blast furnace to produce pig iron, which is converted into steel. 2). After successive interactions with carbon monoxide, all of the oxygen in the ore will be removed, leaving the raw metal element (e.g. Fe).
What are the steps in the copper smelting process?
Process steps include mining, concentration, roasting, smelting, converting, and finally fire and electrolytic refining. Mining produces ores with less than 1 percent copper. Concentration is accomplished at the mine sites by crushing, grinding, and flotation purification, resulting in ore with 15 to 35 percent copper.
How are waste heat boilers used in copper smelting?
It has a tapping point for the molten copper and slag. There is normally a waste heat boiler incorporated in the reverb furnace as a lot of heat is applied in this smelting process. The furnace is fired and the enriched ore, which can include limestone and sand, is conveyed and fed into the furnace.
How is copper produced in the United States?
Copper is produced in the U. S. primarily by pyrometallurgical smelting methods. Pyrometallurgical techniques use heat to separate copper from copper sulfide ore concentrates. Process steps include mining, concentration, roasting, smelting, converting, and finally fire and electrolytic refining.
Where was the first copper smelting furnace built?
Copper Smelting Furnace. The first furnace of this size—built from the Colorado Smelting Co.’s plans—was constructed at the Butte & Boston plant in Butte, Mont., in the year 1900. Details of Montana practice, will be found in Prof. H. O. Hofman’s paper. The 50-ft. furnace became very popular in Butte and Anaconda,…