Southwire Company, LLC

Roy Richards

Milton E Berry

Daniel B Cofer

William W Brunson

Robert R Odle

William R Burson

Disclosed is an integrated system for continuously melting and refining secondary and blister copper to produce and continuously cast anode grade copper comprising: continuous melting of secondary and blister copper in an optional fuel vertical shaft furnace; continuously or semicontinuously skimming initial slag from the surface of the melted copper in a slag vessel as it drains from the shaft furnace; collecting a reservoir of molten copper in a holding furnace capable of controlling its temperature and subsequent flow; adding fluxes to the molten copper; directing the molten copper into an oxidation vessel where the molten copper and impurities are oxidized; transferring the oxidized and fluxed molten copper to a second slag vessel where slag is skimmed from its surface; flowing the oxygen rich molten copper into a reduction vessel where oxygen content is reduced; collecting a supply of refined molten copper in a final holding vessel; continuously passing the refined molten copper through a filtering ladle containing ceramic foam molten copper filters; and continuously supplying refined and filtered molten copper to a casting ladle which continuously casts the refined and filtered molten copper into anodes of suitable quality for electrorefining or into a cast product not requiring electrorefining.

Continuous melting and refining of secondary and/or blister copper

An improved cooling method and apparatus for a continuous casting process of the type wherein the mold is a rotatable casting wheel having a peripheral groove with a portion enclosed by an endless band. The improved cooling of the hot cast metal bar is accomplished by injecting a cooling fluid, under pressure, into the shrinkage gap between the hot continuously cast bar and the band portion of the mold after the bar is partially solidified but before it is removed from the wheel portion of the mold. The hydraulic pressure of the cooling fluid forces the band portion of the mold away from the periphery of the casting wheel so as to allow a quantity of cooling fluid to impinge directly on the hot but solidified band-side surface of the cast bar to directly cool the bar, and also to permit a build-up of fluid pressure in the mold which forces the bar firmly into contact with the walls of the peripheral groove and thus eliminates any shrinkage gap therebetween, thereby increasing the quantity of heat transferred from the hot cast bar.

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Carrollton, GA, United States of America

Roy Richards