Menetelmä malmien ja rikasteiden sulattamiseksi jatkuvasti

Metal or matte is refined by flowing it through a refining chamber and injecting oxygen-containing gas into or on to the flowing metal agitate it, inducing a counter-current flow of slag in at least part of the refining chamber and flowing the slag formed in the refining chamber into a slag settling chamber in which substantially quiescent conditions are maintained. In the apparatus shown the crude metal or matte is fed into the refining chamber 10 through an inlet 34 and the refined metal is withdrawn at 15. Oxygen-containing gas is injected into the metal through tuyeres (36), Fig.6 (not shown) and fluxes may be entrained in the gas or introduced through ports 38, 39. The slag moves counter-currently to the metal, passes into the slag settling chamber 18 and is discharged at 25. The chamber 18 has a sloping floor so that any entrained metal which settles from the slag is returned to the refining chamber. In further forms described, the slag settling chamber is arranged at right angles to the refining chamber and communicates with it either midway between the inlet and outlet openings, Fig.2 (not shown) or adjacent the inlet opening, Fig.7 (not shown). Alternatively, the two chambers are arranged parallel to each other and are interconnected at one end, Fig.8 (not shown).