Method and Apparatus of Processing Non-Ferrous Ores and Concentrates

1,186,088. Extracting metals. MINISTERSTVO TSVETNOI METALLURGII. May 25, 1967, No.24394/67. Heading C7D. Ores and concentrates containing non-ferrous and "rare" metals (i. e. metals which sublime at up to 1600‹C. ) are oxidized and melted by feeding them, together with an oxygen-containing gas, tangentially (via injector 3) into a cyclone chamber 2 in which the gas flow is cyclonic, the melt formed is separated from the gases produced in a separating zone 4, the melt is passed to an electro-thermic furnace 6 where metal oxides are reduced to metallic products, and the said products are removed from the furnace separately from slag. The melt is initially collected or cooled sill 13 and then flows by gravity into furnace 6, the latter being separated from zone 4 by cooled partition wall 5 the lower portion of which is immersed in slag. In a modification Fig. 4 (not shown) the separating zone and furnace are connected by a weir. "Rare" metals such as Pb, Cd, Se, Re, Hg, Bi, Ge, T1, Te are recovered from the gases evolved during the melting operation. Zn is condensed in the condenser associated with the furnace. Reference is also made to the extraction of Cu and Ni.