Uralmekhanobr, Yekaterinburg, Russia:

K. V. Bulatov, Scientific Аdvisor
G. P. Kharitidi, Adviser to General Director, e-mail: kharitidi_gp@umbr.ru
V. N. Zakirnichnyi, Deputy General Director for Research, e-mail: Zakirnichnyy_vn@umbr.ru

UMMC-Holding, Verkhnaya Pyshma, Russia:
G. V. Skopov, Principal Specialist at Strategic Planning Department

The copper smelting facilities of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC) mostly rely on copper-zinc and polymetallic ores. Finely disseminated minerals are associated with increased cost of selective flotation and mineral losses with dissimilar concentrates. In selective flotation of copper-zinc ores from the Urals region, between 6% (high zinc ores) and 23–44% of zinc get lost with copper concentrates depending on metal concentration and intergrowth of minerals in the ore, with the concentration of zinc in it being less than 1 %. In metallurgical processing, 90–95% of zinc contained in copper concentrates go to waste with the slag. Processing of polymetallic ores from the Altay deposits is associated with high losses of copper, lead and zinc, which get lost with dissimilar concentrates. The authors of this paper propose to obtain bulk concentrates from low zinc (0.4–1% Zn) and highly complex copper-zinc ores; obtain high-quality zinc and polymetallic (copper-lead-zinc) concentrates from polymetallic ores; set up a processing facility for polymetallic concentrates at the Mednogorsk Copper-Sulphur Plant (MCSP) that would involve the following stages: matte and zinc slag smelting – matte converted to blister copper – copper extraction from and fuming of smelter and converter slags. The main smelting vessel is currently under reconstruction aimed at introducing high-pressure highly concentrated blast oxygen; a slag fuming complex will need to be built with gas scrubbers to produce lead-zinc sublimates. An existing oxygen plant is utilised, and all sulphur containing gases are treated in a sulphuric acid facility present at the site. The advantages of the proposed processing scheme include: increased end-to-end recovery (from complex ores to refined ingots): copper — by 2.7%, zinc — by 8.1%; the output of refined lead at UMMC increased by 14 th tons with no special investment made; simpler processing schemes and a significant reduction in processing and transportation costs; rational use of the MCSP production facilities and infrastructure, raw materials available on a stable and long-term basis; an increase of 3.8 bln rubles per annum in the commodity output of UMMC.

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