COPPER

Text taken from(Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2001)

Copper production
About 80 % of primary copper production comes from low-grade or poor sulfide ores. After
enrichment steps the copper concentrates are usually treated by pyrometallurgical methods.
!enerally copper extraction follows the se"uence (see #igure below$%
&. 'eneficiation by froth flotation of ore to gi(e copper concentrate
()ptional partial roasting to obtain oxidi*ed material or calcines$
+. Two-stage pyrometallurgical extraction
&. smelting concentrates to matte
+. con(erting matte by oxidation to crude (con(erter or blister$ copper
,. -efining the crude copper usually in two steps
&. pyrometallurgically to fire-refined copper
+. electrolytically to high-purity electrolytic copper
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Figure 1: !er!ie" of copper production
Benefication process
Figure 2: !er!ie" of a typical #eneficiation process at a concentrator
.ulfidic copper ores are too dilute for direct smelting. .melting these materials would re"uire too
much energy and (ery large furnace capacities. The copper ore coming from the mine (0./ 0 & %
1u$ must be concentrated by beneficiation. The (aluable minerals like chalcopyrite are intergrown
with gangue. Therefore in the first step the lumpy ore is crushed and milled into fine particles
(2 &00 3m$ to liberate the indi(idual mineral phases.
Typical e"uipment for crushing to about +0 cm are gyratory and cone crushers. Then wet grinding
in semi-autogenous rod or autogenous ball mills takes place. .i*e classification takes is performed
in cyclones. 4n the next step of beneficiation (aluable minerals and gangue are separated by froth
flotation of the ore pulp which exploits the different surface properties of the sulfidic copper ore
and the gangue 5678. The hydrophobic sulfide particles become attached to the air bubbles which
are stirred into the pulp rise with them to the surface of the pulp and are skimmed off as a froth of
fine concentrate. The hydrophilic gangue minerals remain in the pulp. )rganic reagents with sulfur-
containing groups at their polar end such as xanthates are used as collectors in the flotation
process. Additionally modifiers like hydroxyl ions (p9 ad:ustment$ are used to select different
sulfide minerals for example chalcopyrite and pyrite. Alcohols are used to stabili*e the froth.
To obtain concentrates with highest possible purity and reco(ery rate the flotation process usually
consists of se(eral stages which are controlled by expert systems. ;arious sensors for particle si*e
p9 density and other properties are installed. #igure 6 gi(es an o(er(iew of a typical beneficiation
process at a concentrator. 4n the first flotation stage as much copper as possible is reco(ered in a
rougher concentrate so that as little as possible goes to the tailings. To increase the copper reco(ery
rate often these tailings are leached with sulfuric acid. After regrinding the rough concentrate is
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cleaned in se(eral flotation steps. After sedimentation in thickeners and filtration in automatic filter
presses or (acuum filters (ceramic disk$ the typical copper concentrate contains +/ 0 ,/ % 1u and
about 8 % moisture. The moisture content of the concentrate is a compromise between transporting
water (cost$ and a(oiding dust generation during transport. <ewatered concentrates may heat
spontaneously or e(en catch fire= therefore appropriate precautions must be taken 56>8.
Copper concentrators typically treat up to &00 000 t of ore per day. They are located directly at the
mines to achie(e low transport costs. The copper reco(ery efficiency is o(er ?0 %. About ?/ % of
the ore input goes into the tailings which are stored in large dams near the mine and are used for
water recycling to the flotation stages.
.eparation of special copper ores such as those containing molybdenite or with high *inc or lead
content (1anada$ is also possible by flotation methods. #lotation of non-sulfide copper minerals is
rare because these ores are mostly sub:ected to hydrometallurgical copper reco(ery for example
heap leaching. 4n @ambia and @aire howe(er siliceous copper oxide ores are floated with fatty acid
collectors and dolomitic copper oxide ores are sulfidi*ed with sodium hydrogensulfide and then
floated 5688.
Pyrometallurgical copper production
Figure $: %ypical flo" sheet for pyrometallurgical copper production from ore concentrates
The large blast and re(erberatory furnaces of the &?00s were deri(ed from these principles. Aater
the electric furnace for matte smelting was de(eloped. Bewer processes are the
4sasmeltCAusmeltC1siromelt (furnace with (ertical blowing lance$ the Boranda and 1DTCTeniente
reactors (de(eloped from con(erters$ the -ussian ;anyuko( and the 1hinese 'ayia process.
5.4.1. Blast Furnace Smelting
The blast or shaft furnace is well-suited for smelting high-grade lumpy copper ore. 4f only fine
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concentrates are a(ailable they must first be agglomerated by bri"uetting pelleti*ing or sintering.
'ecause of this additional step and its o(erall low efficiency the blast furnace lost its importance
for primary copper production and is currently used in only a few places for example !logow in
Eoland.
.maller types of blast furnace howe(er are used to process such copper-containing materials as
intermediate products (e.g. cement copper or copper(4$ oxide precipitates$ re(erts (e.g. con(erter
slag refining slag or flue dusts$ and copper-alloy scrap.
The construction of the furnace is basically related to that of the iron blast furnace but there are
considerable differences in design especially in si*e and shape% the copper blast furnace is lower
and smaller and its cross section is rectangular. <e(elopments adopted from the steel industry
include use of preheated air (hot blast$ oxygen-enriched air and in:ection of li"uid fuels.
The furnace is charged with alternate additions of mixture (copper-containing materials and
accessory fluxes such as silica limestone and dolomite$ and coke (which ser(es as both fuel and
reducing agent$. There are three *ones in the furnace%
&. 4n the heating *one (the uppermost$ water e(aporates and less stable substances dissociate.
+. 4n the reduction *one heterogeneous reactions between gases and the solid charge take
place.
,. 4n the smelting *one li"uid phases react.
The usual mode of operation is reducing smelting which yields two main products. .ulfide ores are
used to produce a matte (60 0 /0 wt % 1u$ and a disposal slag (ca. 0./ wt % 1u$. 4n contrast oxide
ores are processed directly to impure black copper ( ?/ wt % 1u$ and to a copper-rich slag. The
two ore types can be smelted together to produce matte and a slag with low copper content. Another
product is top gas which contains flue dust. )res that contain high concentrations of arsenic and
antimony also form speiss which is difficult to decompose.
4n Eoland (F!9D Eolska Deid* ..A. .melters in !logow 4 and Aegnica$ the blast-furnace
technology is well adapted to Eolish copper concentrates which contain about +0 0 ,0 % 1u like
normal chalcopyrites but also / 0 &0 % of organic carbon and only ? 0 &+ % .. Also these
concentrates ha(e relati(ely high lead (up to +./ %$ and arsenic (up to 0., %$ content. The organic
carbon compounds pro(ide about 60 0 70 % of the process energy= the rest is added by coke. The
matte has about /8 0 7, % 1u and , 0 7 % Eb. The slag contains less than 0./ % 1u. The off-gas
from the blast furnaces (three in each plant$ is mixed with the con(erter gases (9oboken 1on(erter$.
4t contains > 0 &0 % .)
+
and is sent to sulfuric acid production. The production figures are
80 000 tCa con(erter copper in Aegnica and +00 000 tCa in !logow 4 .melter 5+&68.
5.4.2. Reverberatory Furnace Smelting
The re(erberatory furnace dominated copper matte smelting for much of the &?00s because it was
an excellent process for smelting fine concentrate from flotation. 4t is a fossil fuel fired hearth
furnace for smelting concentrate and producing copper matte. The re(erbs began to decline in the
&?>0s with the adoption of en(ironmentally and energetically superior processes like flash smelting.
Erobably the last one was erected in &?>7 in .ar 1hemesh 4ran. 4n &?80 about &00 re(erbs were in
operation but in &??6 the number had decreased to about +/. As shown in #igure &0 it is a
rectangular furnace up to &0 m wide and ,/ m long with internal brick lining. Throughputs of up to
&&00 tCd concentrate or a mixture of concentrate and calcine could be processed. The charge is
passed into the furnace near the burners through the roof or lateral openings. As fossil fuel
pul(eri*ed coal hea(y oil or natural gas is used. Bormally the burner is located in the front wall of
the furnace. The atmosphere is slightly oxidi*ing and the maximum flame temperature is up to
&/00 G1. <uring the &?80s oxygen 0 fuel burners ha(e been set in the roof to fire downwards
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directly on the top of the bath. This increases the smelting rate by up to 60 % and the energy
efficiency to about /0 % 5>78 5+&/8. Another in(ention was the sprinkler burner for feeding
concentrate coal and flux from the top of the re(erb 5>>8.
Autogenous Smelting
Autogenous smelting in(ol(es the use of combustion heat generated by reactions of the feed in an
oxidi*ing atmosphere in which the sulfide concentrate acts partly as a fuel. The formerly separate
steps of roasting and smelting are combined into a roast 0 smelting process. The spatial and
temporal coupling of exothermic and endothermic reactions leads to an economical process but the
sensible heat of nitrogen in the air causes a deficit in the heat balance. 4n practice (arious measures
must be taken%
&. 4ncreasing the oxygen content of the combustion air and e(en using pure oxygen
+. Ereheating combustion air with waste heat or in a preheater
,. 1ombustion of natural gas fuel oil or pul(eri*ed coal in supplementary burners
To achie(e autogenous operation and pre(ent agglomeration of the feed the moisture in the
concentrate must be remo(ed by drying before charging. The "uantity of added fluxes is minimi*ed
as far as practical to sa(e energy.
'ecause the residence time of the sulfide particles in the reaction chamber is only a few seconds
kinetic conditions predominate o(er the thermodynamic e"uilibrium. The reactants form a
heterogeneous system with the feed suspended in the gas flow thus the term smelting in
suspension.
These processes ha(e se(eral ad(antages%
&. 9igh rate of reaction increasing the production rate
+. Hnergy sa(ings
,. Aow (olume of off-gas and correspondingly high concentration of .)
+
and low "uantity of
flue dust if oxygen is used
9owe(er a typical disad(antage is the high copper content of the slags and the relati(ely high flue
dust content in the off-gas which can cause problem in the waste-heat boiler.
Outokumpu Flash Smelting
After a preliminary test in &?67 the first full-scale flash smelting furnace started operation in &?6?
at )utokumpu )y 9ar:a(alta (#inland$. #lash smelting has been the most widely adopted copper
matte smelting process since &?>0. Dore than 60 furnaces ha(e been installed to replace
re(erberatory furnaces or at new smelting operations. Bowadays the )utokumpu-type smelters
account for more than /0 % of world primary smelter capacity.
Processing and Uses
The pure metal produced in refineries or remelting plants is manufactured into semifabricated
products.
orking !rocesses
Isually copper is treated initially by noncutting shaping processes to obtain semifinished products
or JsemisK. These processes are subdi(ided into hot working cold working and if necessary
process annealing.
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9ot working means plastic forming abo(e the recrystalli*ation temperature. !enerally copper is
preheated to 800 0 ?00 G1 and the subse"uent hot forming is finished at ca. 600 G1. 1ast bars from
modern combined continuous castingCrod-rolling systems already ha(e sufficient temperature thus
sa(ing thermal energy. After cooling the hot-worked copper is soft copper. 4ts mechanical and
electrical properties are scarcely changed but its density has increased to nearly 8.? gCcm
,
.
The next step is cold working which in(ol(es plastic forming below the recrystalli*ation
temperature. 4n practice the operation is done at room temperature. Inlike hot working this
procedure entails an essential strain hardening of the metal by increasing the number of lattice
defects= howe(er simultaneously formed lattice (oids cause a considerable decrease of electrical
and thermal conducti(ity. After cold working the metal is hard copper.
Erocess annealing is a heat treatment that is necessary if the hardened copper must be softened
again either for continued working or for producing (soft$ copper with high electrical conducti(ity.
.pecial furnaces are used for the purpose of steady heating and cooling of the metal L often in a
nonoxidi*ing atmosphere. To achie(e the intended microstructural change the recrystalli*ation
temperature of +00 0 ,00 G1 must be exceeded= in practice the metal is heated to 600 0 /00 G1 for
accelerated recrystalli*ation. Copper products with exactly defined properties can be obtained if all
annealing conditions are carefully controlled.
The engineering techni"ues are (ersatile. The following working methods are of special
importance%
hot working cold working
hot rolling
cold rolling
extrusion
cold drawing
drop forging
cupping
#oils only ca. 0.00+ mm thick are manufactured by rolling and wires to 0.006 mm diameter by
drawing. Dany products of (arying si*e are fabricated by modern (ariants of the extrusion process
5&8>8. The fabrication of tubes is also "uite di(erse 5&888.
Other Fabricating "etho#s
4n many cases machining operations are re"uired e.g. cutting turning planing drilling and
sawing. 9owe(er these are more important for copper alloys than for pure copper because of
copperMs tendency to gum. Boncontinuous casting processes are likewise more suitable for copper
alloys because copper has a disad(antageous coolability. These include sand mold casting
permanent mold casting gra(ity die casting pressure die casting and centrifugal casting.
1ontinuous or semicontinuous casting processes howe(er are well-suited for pure copper.
!al(anoplasty is an electrolytic operation for manufacturing complicated ob:ects that re"uire high
precision and flawless surfaces such as hollow bodies disk matrices and electrotypes. A special
gal(anic method is copper plating which in(ol(es electrolytic deposition of a thin layer of copper
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on another metal either for surface protection or as a base layer for electroplating with another metal
( Hlectrochemical and 1hemical <eposition$.
Eowder-metallurgical techni"ues are used primarily for the mass production of small pieces
especially intricate forms such as electrotechnical and mechanical structural parts. The metal
powders are first compacted by pressure and then sintered in a controlled atmosphere. The copper
powder is often mixed with other powdered metals including those that do not form common
copper alloys ( Eowder Detallurgy and .intered Daterials$.
There are other important fabricating methods 5&8?8. Noining is usually carried out abo(e room
temperature by soldering bra*ing or welding. .oldering may be used for all sorts of copper owing
to the low temperature. 9owe(er welding and bra*ing are feasible only with deoxidi*ed or oxygen-
free copper.
Ohen tough-pitch copper is heated in an atmosphere containing hydrogen the steam generated (see
!ases and Copper $ collects within the grain boundaries at high pressure and can destroy the grain
structure by forming cracks. This phenomenon is known as Jhydrogen embrittlement.K
Dechanical :oining and metal bonding are also possible ways of :oining copper with other
materials.
.urface treatment of copper is a group of operations for surface protection or surface refinement.
These include mechanical electrical or electrochemical handling e.g. polishing matte finishing
pickling by dilute sulfuric or nitric acid metal coating or electroplating (with nickel nickel and
chromium tin sil(er gold or platinum metals$ lac"uering or coating with synthetic plastics
(mainly for electrical insulation$ enameling of ob:ects (applied art$ and chemical or
electrochemical coloring (decoration$. 1oloration is effected by chemicals mostly specially
formulated metal salt solutions which form thin layers of insoluble green red brown or black
compounds.
$ses
Copper is a useful material with a wide range of applications because of its combination of
properties. 'ecause of its excellent electrical conducti(ity it is the dominant conductor material.
Copper is used primarily as round wire or rods bare or insulated for current generation
transmission and conduction= (arious sorts of cables are produced for special applications.
.ubstantial "uantities of copper are made into generators motors transformers and other electrical
appliances. About 60 % of the world consumption of copper is for electrical purposes. As a result of
its high thermal conducti(ity copper is well-suited for (essels and pipes especially for heating
cooling and heat exchange.
Ohile high-conducti(ity copper is re"uired for electrotechnical and electronic uses special copper
"ualities are chosen for other uses. About ,0 % of world copper production is used for alloying.
Copper alloys are usually cold-worked= only ca. &0 % of them are cast.
Copper is fre"uently used in the chemical and food industries because of its high resistance to
corrosion. There is substantial use of copper in mechanical engineering by fabricators of precision
implements in (ehicle construction and in ship building. There is increasing interest in copper
building construction as a material for installation wall lining and roofing. 9ydraulic engineers use
copper sheets for tightening on dams sluices (floodgates$ and bridges.
)ther areas of application are in the fabrication of household articles art ob:ects coins and medals
and in military hardware as ammunition. There is a smaller demand for other purposes such as
electrodeposition= powder-metallurgical copper special materials for brakes and self-lubricating
bearings small precision parts filters graphite brushes= and alloying additi(es for aluminum iron
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and steel. Ise in copper compounds chiefly copper sulfate and copper oxides consumes only
& 0 + % of the primary world production.
Table ++ lists the distribution of copper consumption among (arious industries.

Table ++. 4ndustrial use of copper (including alloys$ in the Oestern world in &??/ percentage by
country 5&?08
Branch $nite# %urope Asia
States
Hlectrical and electronic industry +/ ,>./ /0
4ndustrial machinery and e"uipment && ? ?
'uilding construction 6, ,?./ &/
Transportation ? 7./ &&
1onsumer and general products &+ >./ &/
.ubstitution and Diniaturi*ation. .e(eral materials compete with copper and may substitute for it
depending on the relati(e costs. Copper is partly replaced by aluminum in automoti(e radiators and
in transmission cables high-(oltage long-distance lines and household wiring. Copper wires and
cables for telecommunications are being displaced by microwa(e technology and fiber optics.
Copper is being replaced by plastics for water pipes in both residential and commercial
construction. 4n the area of corrosion-resistant materials in addition to plastics there are also
stainless steel and titanium.
The mo(ement toward making smaller and smaller parts has been one of the most per(asi(e and
continuing pressures on the copper market. A dramatic drop in the use of copper has occurred in the
widespread acceptance of printed circuits. The use of wire has plummeted. The number and si*e of
the connectors ha(e dropped. )n the other hand miniaturi*ation has steadily decreased the cost of
the final products thus increasing the number of units sold.
At the same time howe(er this dri(e towards miniaturi*ation whether in the thickness of an
automoti(e radiator or in the si*e of an electronic component is a challenge to the copper industry
to produce purer copper and more useful alloys and to the copper fabricating industry to produce
the new miniaturi*ed products.
4n se(eral applications copper is resisting substitution by using new technologies. #or example in
telecommunications copper continues to be the preferred signal carrier for the last mile. The new
x<.A (<igital .ubscriber Aine$ technology allows the existing copper infrastructure of ordinary
telephone wires to also carry high-speed data. The installation of optical fiber in communication
trunk lines has led to a re(olution in the telecom industry. Copper application was partly displaced
but o(erall this increased the demand for copper. Another de(elopment is the use of copper circuitry
in silicon chip technology which makes the microprocessors faster and lowers energy consumption.
Another example is the automobile radiator which was formerly made of copper which was then
displaced by aluminum. Bew technology was de(eloped for producing smaller and lighter copper
brass radiators with higher thermal conducti(ity than aluminum radiators. A final example for
inno(ation in copper is the de(elopment of superconducting power cables made from high-
temperature superconductor wire. This technology will impro(e energy efficiency and now pro:ects
in 1hicago and Tokyo ha(e been started.
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Process Economics
1ost of Copper Eroduction and Copper Erice. The cost of copper production is characteri*ed by
high capital in(estment in mining pro:ects and in smelters and refineries. Dining pro:ects are
financed by large consortiums and banks. The capital in(estment for a green-fields smelter is in the
region of +/00 0 ,000 PCt of design copper production. .melter enlargement in(estment is
approximately half that. Therefore increased smelter production is preferably achie(ed by
enlargement.
4n the last &/ years copper leaching pro:ects ha(e been established. This is due to lower capital
in(estment than smelters (about half$ and also leaching operations built to increases the copper
yield of ores.
)perational costs are high due to energy consumption which is the most important factor. #or
primary copper production the o(erall energy consumption per tonne of copper is about 6/ !N
about half of which is consumed in mining and beneficiation and the rest in smelting and
electrorefining. #or secondary copper coming for example from copper scrap smelting and
refining the o(erall energy consumption is only +0 !NCt.
<ue to se(eral smelter enlargements leaching operations and also new energy-efficient milling and
smeltingCrefining processes the o(erall production cost of copper are falling.
The copper price is set primarily at the two metal exchanges% the Aondon Detal Hxchange (ADH$
and the Bew Qork 1ommodity Hxchange (1)DHR$. Aike the copper production cost also the
copper prices ha(e been in an o(erall declining trend since the Oorld Oar 44. The copper price also
increases and decreases in the same economic cycles as industrial growth and recession. The
de(elopment of copper prices since &?70 is shown in #igure ,>.
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&uestions ' New benefication process.
& ne" copper mine is #eing de!eloped that contains a relati!ely lo"'grade ore, 0()"t* Cu( %he
+lant Cost Inde, for 200- e.uates to /$/( %he pre!ious mine de!eloped #y your company contains
1(2 "t* Copper ore( %he in!estment in a #enefication process plant #uilt in 1000 for that mine to
produce 1000 t1day Cu amounted to 1/0 2illion U34( &t the time, the +lant Cost Inde, "as $/-(
a) Calculate a 51' /0* capital cost estimate for a #enefication process "ith a 1/0(000 ton ore1
day processing capacity for your ne" mine
#) 6efine your estimate #y applying the Functional Unit 2ethod( 7o" many functional units
does your process ha!e8
c) &ssume the capacity restrictions indicated #y Ullman 9te,t, figure) are correct( 6ecalculate
your estimate su#'#
d) Calculate a 51' :0* cost estimation using the ;ang Factor method
e) Compare the estimates su# a,#,c and d
Pyromettallurgical copper complex
Figure $ gi!es a 'generic' flo" scheme of a pyrometallurgical copper production comple,(
a) 6e!ie" and discuss "hether it is possi#le or not to arri!e at a first capital cost estimate for
a ne" production comple, that processes the copper from a#o!e mine1#enefication on the
#asis of the information contained in Ullmann
#) <hat method or methods could you use to arri!e at a first capital cost estimate8 <hat
information "ould you re.uire8
c) Ullmann presents $ successi!e technologies that dominated the copper production scheme(
&nalyse this succession .ualitati!ely using engineering economics and a life'cycle costing
perspecti!e(
&ssume in 200- a 6e!er# Furnace "ould re.uire /00 2illion U34 in!estment, operate for $0 years,
and re.uire :0 =>1ton Cu heat, "hile the uto?umpu furnace re.uire 1 @illion U34 in!estment #ut
only 20 =>1ton Cu heat( Aour company uses a 20 year period to "rite'off its assets(
For the follo"ing t"o situations: heat cost is 1/ U341=> and $0 U341=>B interestC/*
1( Calculate the Discounted Cash Flo" of resulting from #oth in!estments
2( Calculate the Eet +resent Falue of @oth in!estments
&t "hat energy cost is the DCF the same for #oth options, at "hat energy cost the E+F8
Copper value chain
%he information gi!en spans the greater part of the copper !alue chain
a) Dra" a schematic of this !alue chain
#) &ssume from mine to consumer 1000 U34 added !alue is created( Use your ?no"ledge of
the minerals and mining industry to indicate appro,imately "here in the chain "hat part of
this !alue is created, and discuss
c) Ullmann indicates su#stitution and miniaturiGation are important trends affecting copper
use( Discuss ho" these impact the !alue chain( <hat conse.uences do you see for copper
primary producers8 <hat strategies may they employ to impro!e their position8
d) <hat impacts to you foresee from the current financial crisis8
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