Abstract
Since 1975, the Noranda Process reactor at the Home smelter has generally operated at matte grades of 70–74% Cu. This paper reports on tests which were carried out to evaluate the performance of the reactor at lower matte grades. Reactor operation at matte grades down to 55% Cu was found to be as stable and predictable as operation at higher matte grades. This paper discusses operating results, including metallurgical data such as fuel and oxygen requirements, slag and matte characteristics and information on the behavior of minor elements.
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References
J.B.W. Bailey, G.D. Hallett and L.A. Mills, “The Noranda Home Smelter—1965 to 1983,” Advances in Sulfide Smelting, Vol. 2, (ed. by H.Y. Sohn, D.B. George and A.D. Zunkel), AIME, New York, 1983, pp. 691–707.
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M. Nagamori and P.J. Mackey, “Thermodynamics of Copper Matte Converting Part II. Distributions of Au, Ag, Pb, Zn, Ni, Se, Te, Bi, Sb and As Between Copper, Matte and Slag in the Noranda Process,” Metallurgical Transactions B, Vol. 9B, December 1978, pp. 567–579.
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Editor’s Notes: This article is adapted from a paper presented at the TMS Annual Meeting in New Orleans.
Hans Persson received his M.Eng. in metallurgical engineering from McGill University in Montreal. He is currently Research Scientist in the Chemical Engineering Department at Noranda Research Centre in Pointe, Claire, Quebec, Canada. Mr. Persson is also a member of TMS.
Michael Iwanic received his B.Eng. in metallurgical engineering from McGill University in Montreal. He is currently Process Metallurgist at Noranda Inc., Home Division, Noranda, Quebec, Canada. Mr. Iwanic is also a member of TMS.
Sami El-Barnachawy received his M.Sc.A. in chemical engineering from Sherbrooke University in Sherbrooke, Quebec. He is currently Process Metallurgist at Noranda Inc., Home Division, Noranda, Quebec, Canada.
Phillip J. Mackey received his Ph.D. from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He is currently Program Manager—Noranda Process, Noranda Inc. in Pointe Claire, Quebec, Canada. Dr. Mackey is also a member of TMS.
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Persson, H., Iwanic, M., El-Barnachawy, S. et al. The Noranda Process and Different Matte Grades. JOM 38, 34–37 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03258686
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03258686