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Outotec’s Ausmelt Top Submerged Lance (TSL) technology for the Nickel Industry

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Ni-Co 2013

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Abstract

Beginning with early lab studies in the 1970’s examining recovery of nickel from slags through to currently operating furnaces treating over 1 million tonnes annually of nickel concentrate, Outotec’s Ausmelt Top Submerged Lance technology has developed to become a viable and proven method of treating nickel bearing materials. This paper covers the technology over the two decades since the first implementation of Outotec’s Ausmelt TSL technology on a commercial furnace. Over this time period, the scale and capabilities of the technology have been greatly expanded. With an increasing focus on the sustainable use of metals with particular interest focusing on utilizing secondary sources, including metal bearing residues, this efficient and flexible technology is ideally suited to increasingly complex and changing feed materials.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Outotec, Level 2, 2 Brandon Park Drive, Wheelers Hill, VIC, 3150, Australia

    Ross Andrews, Robert Matusewicz, Lauri Aspola & Stephen Hughes

Authors
  1. Ross Andrews
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  2. Robert Matusewicz
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  3. Lauri Aspola
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  4. Stephen Hughes
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Midrex Technologies, Pineville, North Carolina, USA

    Thomas Battle (Senior Metallurgist) (Senior Metallurgist)

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, USA

    Michael Moats (associate professor of Metallurgical Engineering) (associate professor of Metallurgical Engineering)

  3. R&D Metal Extraction Products Group, Cytec Industries Inc., USA

    Violina Cocalia Ph.D.

  4. group “Recycling and Extraction”, Umicore’s Central R&D department, USA

    Harald Oosterhof (Scientist) (Scientist)

  5. Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada

    Shafiq Alam (Associate Professor, Executive Committee Member) (Associate Professor, Executive Committee Member)

  6. Hydrometallurgy Section, Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), Canada

    Shafiq Alam (Associate Professor, Executive Committee Member) (Associate Professor, Executive Committee Member)

  7. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Antoine Allanore (Assistant Professor of Metallurgy) (Assistant Professor of Metallurgy)

  8. Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM), South Africa

    Rodney Jones (Registered Professional Engineer, a Fellow and Vice President, a full member) (Registered Professional Engineer, a Fellow and Vice President, a full member)

  9. South African Institute of Chemical Engineers (SAIChE), South Africa

    Rodney Jones (Registered Professional Engineer, a Fellow and Vice President, a full member) (Registered Professional Engineer, a Fellow and Vice President, a full member)

  10. Computer Society of South Africa (CSSA), South Africa

    Rodney Jones (Registered Professional Engineer, a Fellow and Vice President, a full member) (Registered Professional Engineer, a Fellow and Vice President, a full member)

  11. Barrick Technology Centre, Canada

    Nathan Stubina (Manager, member, VP International, Chair, MetSoc Past-President, founding member, trustee) (Manager, member, VP International, Chair, MetSoc Past-President, founding member, trustee)

  12. Professional Engineers of Ontario, Canada

    Nathan Stubina (Manager, member, VP International, Chair, MetSoc Past-President, founding member, trustee) (Manager, member, VP International, Chair, MetSoc Past-President, founding member, trustee)

  13. CIM, Canada

    Nathan Stubina (Manager, member, VP International, Chair, MetSoc Past-President, founding member, trustee) (Manager, member, VP International, Chair, MetSoc Past-President, founding member, trustee)

  14. CIM’s Board of Directors, Canada

    Nathan Stubina (Manager, member, VP International, Chair, MetSoc Past-President, founding member, trustee) (Manager, member, VP International, Chair, MetSoc Past-President, founding member, trustee)

  15. 2009 Conference of Metallurgists (COM), Sudbury, Canada

    Nathan Stubina (Manager, member, VP International, Chair, MetSoc Past-President, founding member, trustee) (Manager, member, VP International, Chair, MetSoc Past-President, founding member, trustee)

  16. NAEMC (North American Extractive Metallurgy Council), Canada

    Nathan Stubina (Manager, member, VP International, Chair, MetSoc Past-President, founding member, trustee) (Manager, member, VP International, Chair, MetSoc Past-President, founding member, trustee)

  17. Harold A. Steane Memorial Scholarship, Canada

    Nathan Stubina (Manager, member, VP International, Chair, MetSoc Past-President, founding member, trustee) (Manager, member, VP International, Chair, MetSoc Past-President, founding member, trustee)

  18. Institution of Chemical Engineers, USA

    Corby Anderson (Fellow, Harrison Western Professor) (Fellow, Harrison Western Professor)

  19. Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, USA

    Corby Anderson (Fellow, Harrison Western Professor) (Fellow, Harrison Western Professor)

  20. Kroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy, USA

    Corby Anderson (Fellow, Harrison Western Professor) (Fellow, Harrison Western Professor)

  21. George S. Ansell Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, USA

    Corby Anderson (Fellow, Harrison Western Professor) (Fellow, Harrison Western Professor)

  22. Rio Tinto Kennecott Utah Copper, USA

    Shijie Wang (Principal Advisor) (Principal Advisor)

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© 2013 TMS (The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society)

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Andrews, R., Matusewicz, R., Aspola, L., Hughes, S. (2013). Outotec’s Ausmelt Top Submerged Lance (TSL) technology for the Nickel Industry. In: Battle, T., et al. Ni-Co 2013. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48147-0_23

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