Atlantic Richfield Company

The Anaconda Company

Charles Arentzen

A process for the formation of copper anodes useful in the electrorefining of copper. Molten partially refined copper is subjected to controlled cooling such that the impurities coalesce into larger agglomerations and in the resulting solid partially refined copper are found segregated at the boundaries of the copper crystals. These larger agglomerations are less susceptible to dissolution in the electrolyte and to deposition or entrainment at the cathode. The process allows the use of a less refined copper starting material to achieve a comparable final cathode copper product.

Impurity segregation in copper by controlled cooling treatment

A method of producing a metal matte from an unroasted high-gangue content ore which contains iron sulfides by using ferric oxide as a flux to react with the iron sulfides of the ore and provide the oxygen needed to both remove them from the matte and to produce additional ferrous oxide to slag the gangue thus reducing or eliminating the need for a separate converter step.

Oxidizing flux for simultaneous smelting/converting sulfides of high

The invention disclosed is a process for the direct production of copper metal by directing an aqueous slurry of cupriferous material into a molten cupriferous bath maintained at a temperature of 2100.degree. to 2400.degree. F. Neither the cupriferous material of the slurry nor that of the bath contains sufficient sulfidic materials to maintain the bath temperature by oxidation of these sulfides, so a carbonaceous fuel is incorporated in the slurry. Such fuel-containing slurry together with an oxygen-containing gas is directed at high velocity against the bath surface at an angle of about 20.degree. to 40.degree. from the horizontal. The incorporation of fuel in the injected slurry provides a heat source for the maintenance of the 2100.degree. to 2400.degree. temperature necessary for smelting the cupriferous material of the slurry.

Direct production of copper metal

This invention comprises a process for the direct production of copper metal from a cupriferous slurry comprising forming a molten bath of cupriferous material at a temperature of about 2100.degree. to 2400.degree. F., at least one of said bath and said slurry comprising sufficient sulfidic material to develop and maintain said bath temperature by oxidation of said sulfidic material, injecting an oxygen-containing gas and said cupriferous slurry into said molten bath, said injection being accomplished by use of a high-velocity stream of said gas and slurry directed at the surface of said bath at an angle of from about 20.degree. to 40.degree. from the horizontal, and separately withdrawing the resulting slag and metallic copper from the bath, the proportion of slurry and volume of oxygen injected being adjusted with respect to the available sulfidic material to permit operation at a temperature range of from about 2100.degree. to 2400.degree. F.

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Tucson, AZ, United States of America

Charles Arentzen