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PGM, Nickel, and Copper Tapping: An Updated Survey and Industry Trends

  • Furnace Tapping
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Abstract

In 2014 Hatch published an industry survey of platinum-group metals (PGM) and nickel matte tapping practices with the goal of providing high-level information on matte taphole design, operation, and maintenance practices at various smelters. More recently, Hatch has conducted an updated industry survey of metal/matte tapping practices in the PGM, nickel, and copper industries to build on the 2014 survey. The updated survey provides data and commentary on additional commodities and topics and aims to identify key industry trends. A focused version of this 2022 survey using a subset of the survey topics was published previously as part of the proceedings for the TMS Furnace Tapping 2022 Conference. This paper is an extension of the TMS paper covering the full range of survey topics, as well as data from several additional smelters. Key topics for this survey include furnace and taphole productivity, taphole campaign life, taphole integrity monitoring and maintenance planning, taphole design, and safety and automation. The objective of this paper is to encourage cross-pollination across industries and organizations and provide a useful reference documenting best practices in matte and metal tapping operations in the base metals and PGM industries.

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Acknowledgements

All participants to this survey are gratefully acknowledged for the time taken to respond to the questionnaires. Special thanks to Hatch colleagues who helped reach out in the industry: Tom Gonzales, Ray Cardoza, Anastasiya Mitsui, Yan Elksnis, Anton Vernigora, Ross Forzatti, Evan Deng, Daan Sauter, Bharat Kargutkar, Afshin Sadri, and Andrew Munsch. Thanks also to Mike Bodley for providing FactSage™ calculations and Mike Mosnier for providing additional insights.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hatch, 58 Emerald Parkway Road, Johannesburg, Greenstone Hill, 1609, South Africa

    I. Nolet & J. Ward

  2. Hatch, 2800 Speakman Drive, Mississauga, L5K 2R7, Canada

    T. Futterer, S. Straub & L. Rodd

  3. Hatch, 61 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane, Queensland, 4000, Australia

    W. Taylor

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  1. I. Nolet
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  2. T. Futterer
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  4. J. Ward
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  5. S. Straub
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  6. L. Rodd
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Correspondence to T. Futterer.

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Nolet, I., Futterer, T., Taylor, W. et al. PGM, Nickel, and Copper Tapping: An Updated Survey and Industry Trends. JOM 74, 3947–3961 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-022-05424-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-022-05424-8

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