The 1993 rebuild and upgrade of Kalgoorlie nickel smelter

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 88, No. 992, 1995

T.A. Apelt, A.G. Hunt and B.J. Elliot, WMC Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Australia

In September 1993, the flash furnace at Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter, KNS, was brought offline after almost 12 years of operation. This is a record campaign life for a flash furnace. The furnace was totally rebuilt and the capacity of the plant increased from 540 000 tpa to 750 000 tpa of concentrate throughput. The throughput increase was achieved through the construction of a 525 t/day oxygen plant and upgrading of various plant ancillaries. A number of significant design modifications were also built into the flash furnace and oxygen enrichment was implemented in the operation of the Peirce-Smith converters. This paper discusses the rebuilding of the flash furnace and design modifications made to furnace equipment and ancillary plant. Some preliminary post-startup operating data are presented.