Processing of oxidized copper ores and sulfide copper concentrates of the Actogay deposit by pyrometallurgical methods

Abstract

This work is devoted to the investigation of the possibilities of processing oxidized copper ore and sulfide copper concentrate of the Aktogay deposit by pyrometallurgical methods at the operating metallurgical units of the largest copper producer in Kazakhstan, Kazakhmys Smelting Ltd. The chemical, phase compositions and thermal properties of the samples of the Aktogay ore and concentrate were investigated. To test the possibility of using oxidized copper ore of the Aktogay deposit as quartz flux for autogenous smelting in Vanyukov furnaces (VF) with copper sulphide concentrates laboratory experiments were carried out. They made it possible to establish that the replacement of quartz flux on the oxidized ore of the Aktogay deposit is entirely permissible in consideration of the satisfactory composition of slags and mattes obtained in the smelting, even when the content of silica in the ore is 64.56 %. With a higher content of silica in the ore, its use as a flux will be even more effective. The available capacities of the two Vanyukov furnaces are not sufficient for processing all available high-sulfur raw materials, including the Aktogay sulphide copper concentrate, using autogenous melting. Therefore, in the laboratory and in an industrial scale, a preliminary test was carried out on the possibility of processing a part of the copper poor and high-sulfur Aktogay concentrates on the electric furnaces of the Zhezkazgan Copper Smelting Plant (ZCS). The results of laboratory studies and preliminary industrial tests have shown the possibility of such processing with the production of mattes containing no less than 47 % of copper and suitable for converting on existing equipment of ZCS.