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Relationship between copper content of slag and matte in the SKS copper smelting process

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Abstract

In the newly developed oxygen-enriched bottom-blowing copper smelting process (also known as the SKS copper smelting process), Cu loss in slag is one of the most concerning issues. This paper presents our research results concerning the relationship between the Cu content of the matte and slag in the SKS process; the results are based on actual industrial production in the Dongying Fangyuan copper smelter. The results show that the matte grade strongly influences Cu losses in slag. The dissolved and entrained losses account for 10%–20% and 80%–90% of the total SKS industrial Cu losses in slag, respectively. With increasing matte grade, the dissolved and entrained Cu losses in the SKS slag both increase continuously. When the matte grade is greater than 68%, the content of Cu in the smelting slag increases much more dramatically. To obtain a high direct recovery of copper, the matte grade should be less than 75% in industrial SKS copper production.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51620105013) and Dongying Fangyuan Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Qin-meng Wang, Song-song Wang, Miao Tian, Ding-xuan Tang, Qing-hua Tian & Xue-yi Guo

  2. Hunan Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metal Resources Recycling, Changsha, 410083, China

    Qin-meng Wang & Xue-yi Guo

  3. School of Mineral Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Qin-meng Wang

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  1. Qin-meng Wang
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  2. Song-song Wang
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Correspondence to Xue-yi Guo.

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Wang, Qm., Wang, Ss., Tian, M. et al. Relationship between copper content of slag and matte in the SKS copper smelting process. Int J Miner Metall Mater 26, 301–308 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-019-1738-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-019-1738-4

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