Russian Copper Company LTD, Ekaterinburg, Russia

I. A. Altushkin, Head of a Board of Directors
Yu. A. Korol, Vice President

“Karabashmed” JSC, Karabash, Russia

A. N. Golov, Chief Executive Officer

The oldest metallurgical enterprise on Ural is “Karabashmed” JSC. This company is under major reconstruction of all pyrometallurgical complex and production infrastructure facilities. During the searching of development ways of the enterprise and choice of main and auxiliary metallurgical equipment, there have been used the following innovative approaches: — adoption of the technological scheme; — application of metallurgical devices; — choice of patterns of organization and reconstruction management; — choice of schemes and forms of financing of the total performed work. The lack of innovation in industry and usage of worn out and outdated equipment, used to take place during the liquidation of existing economic relations due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The situation, which was aggravated by lack of attention to the problems of financing of the required complex of innovative development, led to the complete disorganization of production, and closure of enterprise in 1996. In 1997 the governor approved the “Program of development of ferrous metallurgy of the Chelyabinsk region”, according to which there should be held the reconstruction of Karabash Copper Smelting Combine with the reconstruction of steel production and construction of the complex of sulfur flue gases utilization. This program was agreed with the regional committees on environment and Sanitary Control. The whole program of JSC “Karabashmed” has conventionally been divided into several stages:

— First stage is supposed to be the resumption of production by restoring and running of the basic iron and steel production capacities in the metallurgical workshop;

— The second stage: the construction of the sulfur utilization complex from the waste gases of copper-smelting production;

— The third stage: the modernization of the metallurgical industry.

While choosing a way of the company development,there was performed an analysis of existing technological schemes. There were concidered various metallurgical technologies, which should correspond to the severe restrictions in the conditions of Karabash and to the process efficiency. According to this, the best match is in the autogenous smelting of copper concentrates technology in the melt on the “Ausmelt” tupe furnaces. The «Ausmelt» process is not inferior to the best technologies, according to the specific output. This process does not require the agglomeration of raw materials, it has a low dust entrainment, does not require large capital investments and energy costs. The possibility of automation, the simplicity of design and the studied process allow to hold the development of equipment in the shortest possible time. One of the main advantages of the “Ausmelt” furnace is the possibility of long traditional operational delays with no damage at NMU.

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