摘要 |
A process for the recovery of copper or lead from a sulfide ore concentrate containing the same. The ore concentrate, a carbonaceous material, an alkali metal carbonate and gaseous oxygen are introduced into a reaction zone to form a reaction mixture. The amount of carbonaceous material introduced is sufficient to reduce all of the copper or lead constituent of the sulfide ore to its elemental state in a single stage. A sufficient excess of carbonaceous material is provided to react with the oxygen and generate heat in situ to maintain the reaction zone at a temperature of from about 600 DEG to 1350 DEG C. thereby causing reduction of the metal sulfide to substantially pure copper or lead for recovery. The sulfur constituents of the ore react with the alkali metal carbonate to form sulfides. The other metal constituents of the ore are retained in the molten reaction mixture.
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