Reducing Copper Losses In The Mitsubishi Process: A Pyrometallurgical Approach

Copper losses to discard slag have long impacted on the profitability of copper smelters. Businesses based on the treatment of secondary materials have also revealed that copper losses are indices of precious-metals losses. Many custom smelters are thus required to obtain more reliable controls for reducing copper losses than ever before. Mitsubishi Materials Corp. has cooperated with academic research institutes in conducting research projects on the pyrometallurgical fundamentals of copper smelting systems, including mutual evaluation of magnetite behavior between synthetic and industrial slags. The state-of-the-art pyrometallurgy has subsequently been introduced to Naoshima smelter for controlling the Mitsubishi process. The revised controls function successfully and the operational results demonstrate that avoiding the discharge of solid magnetite from the S-furnace is quite effective to reduce copper losses. Magnetite behavior has been controlled over the Mitsubishi process so as to reduce copper losses while satisfying the needs of recycling businesses growing in Japan. In-situ estimation of magnetite behavior using the absorbed heat from the melts to cooling water will also be discussed.