METHOD OF CONTINUOUS CONVERSION OF COPPER MATTE DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY

The industrial practice of converting copper matte comprises the oxidation of iron sulphide and subsequent oxidation of copper sulphide with the formation of copper blister, which is carried out discontinuously in Pierce-Smith or Hoboken converters. The present invention resolves said difficulty by making the industrial process a continuous operation. The method consists in the use of a continuous gravitational flow of copper matte to two reactors connected in series by a channel, in which oxidation and slagging of the iron in the copper matte is performed in the first reactor, followed by oxidation of the copper sulphide and formation of copper blister in the second reactor. Said intensive operation for converting liquid or liquid and solid copper matte is continuous and uses packed beds with a view to increasing the oxidation rate, in each reactor, with shorter operating times.