Improved control of fuming and reverberatory furnace operation by rapid slag analysis

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 80, No. 907, 1987

A. MCDONALD, Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co., Limited Flin Flon, Manitoba

An X-Met Analyzer was purchased from Outokumpu in late 1983 for use in the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting smelter. Its first use was in the fuming plant to give zinc assays of each charge of slag tapped from the fuming furnaces. This quickly told the operators exactly when each charge had reached its economic tap-out point, and gave supervision a fool-proof method of identifying good operation. These and other factors led to major improvements in coal utilization in thefumers and to major increases in zinc oxide production. A second unit was later purchased for the reverberatory furnace to give silica and iron assays of the slag, and these were used to make adjustments in the feed composition to maintain the desired SiO^Fe ratio in the slag. Since purchasing the units for the furnace, the oil consumption and copper content of the slag have dropped significantly.

Keywords: Metallurgy, Pyrometallurgy, Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting smelter, X-Met analyzer, Fuming furnaces, Coal utilization, Equipment.