The copper losses in the slags from the El Teniente process

The current El Teniente Pyrometallurgical Process for copper concentrate was commissioned at Caletones Smelter during the period 1988 - 1991 following an intensive research and development program that led to several improvements to the original process developed during the seventies. The Caletones Smelter production capacity is 370,000 tons of cast copper annually related to a concentrate smelting capacity of 1,250,000 tons per year. Several industrial applications of the process, in Chile and abroad, have shown its capability to treat copper concentrates in a wide range of chemical and mineralogical compositions. The main operational parameters that determine the performance of the process are oxygen enriched air flow rate, degree of oxygen enrichment, moisture content of the solid materials processed, molten material levels inside the vessel, frequency of molten materials tapping, bath temperature and copper losses in slags. The copper losses in the slags from the El Teniente Pyrometallurgical Process, predicted by calculation from thermodynamic data, have been compared with those determined by microscopic examination and quantitative electron microprobe analysis of the slag samples and by flotation tests of finely ground slag. (author)