Minimizing of copper losses to converter slag by a boron compound addition

Abstract

In copper production, the concentrate obtained after ore-flotation follows by pyrometallurgical route; Smelting, Converting and Fire Refining stages to obtain the anode plates. In this production process, a significant amount of copper (4–8 %Cu) goes to converter slag (CS) which is the most serious problem facing the copper sector. Therefore, in this study, it was aimed to minimize the copper losses to CS in converter stage by adding calcined colemanite (CC) which is a boron compound. After characterization of CS in detail, effect of the reaction temperature and CC addition were experimentally investigated. Then, thermochemical calculations of the slag with the addition of CC were carried out by using the Equilib and Phase Diagram modules of the FactSage thermochemical software. Experimental results show that the amount of copper losses to the CS can be decreased from 4.45% to 1.2% by adding 2% CC to the converter slag at the temperature of 1250 °C for 3 h reaction time. Keywords: Converter slag, Calcined colemanite, Copper loss, FactSage