12.3 Primary Copper Smelting

Primary Copper General1 Copper ore is produced in 13 states. In 1989, Arizona produced 60 percent of the totalU. S. ore. Fourteen domestic mines accounted for more than 95 percent of the megagrams (Mg)( millon tons) of ore produced in is produced in the U. S. primarily by pyrometallurgical Smelting techniques use heat to separate Copper from Copper sulfide ore concentrates. Processsteps include mining, concentration, roasting, Smelting , converting, and finally fire and Process Description2-4 Mining produces ores with less than 1 percent Copper . Concentration is accomplished at themine sites by crushing, grinding, and flotation purification, resulting in ore with 15 to 35 percentcopper. A continuous process called floatation, which uses water, various flotation chemicals, andcompressed air, separates the ore into fractions. Depending upon the chemicals used, some mineralsfloat to the surface and are removed in a foam of air bubbles, while others sink and are oils, cresylic acid, and long-chain alcohols are used for the flotation of Copper ores.

Ore concentration is roasted to reduce impurities, including sulfur, antimony, arsenic, and lead. The roasted product, calcine, serves as a dried and heated charge for the smelting furnace. Smelting of roasted (calcine feed) or unroasted (green feed) ore concentrate produces matte, a molten mixture of copper sulfide (Cu2S), iron sulfide

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  Copper, Iron

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