Applied Processes and Techniques

Approximately 90 % of the world copper production from ores is now manufactured from sulphidic ores by pyrometallurgical techniques (see Figure 1). Five steps can be distinguished in the primary production of copper:

I. mining of copper ores

II. isolation of the copper mineral particles in an ore by flotation

III. smelting of the resulting concentrate to molten high copper matte

IV. converting of molten matte to molten blister copper

V. fire- and electrorefining of the blister to pure copper.

Hydrometallurgical production of copper from ores has become more important in the past decade. The materials most commonly treated this way are oxide and secondary sulphide copper minerals. Today more than 10 % of the world mine production of copper is produced by hydrometallurgical processes and the growth

in this area is still continuing. It is expected that in the year 2000 more than 20 % of copper will be produced by leaching of copper ores or concentrates.

Only the pyrometallurgical copper process is used in Finland to recover copper from copper concentrates. This Flash Smelting process at Outokumpu Harjavalta Metals Oy is described in this study. A brief description is also given of the other copper producing processes applied elsewhere. The processes developed by Ou­tokumpu and used also outside the EU are also described.

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