Modernization of the Monaca Electrothermic Zinc Smelter

Summary

In 1979, St. Joe was forced by economic pressures to close its Monaca, Pennsylvania, smelter instead of converting it to an electrolytic process plant. Then in late 1980, with the development of its own high-grade zinc mine, St. Joe embarked on a modernization program similar to those instituted by domestic steel producers, who streamlined processes and reduced capacity to create “mini-mills.” This mini-plant modernization has proven far more economical than rebuilding as an electrolytic plant, the current high technology solution. St. Joe’s electrothermic smelter in Monaca is now the only nonelectrolytic zinc smelter operating in the United States or Canada and the only primary zinc-producing plant in the United States operating at capacity. This paper compares St. Joe’s previous operations with its present mini-plant flowsheet and suggests implications of St. Joe’s experience for American industry.