China Nonferrous Metallurgy

A smelter in Guangxi Province uses pyrometallurgical process to treat jamesonite, and the granulated slag of blast furnace contains large quantity of Zn, In, Sn, Sb and other valuable metals.To effectively recover these valuable metals, the company decided to build a 2.5m² fuming furnace. Given the fact that traditional fuming furnaces have the disadvantages of easy floating fire bricks that require frequent maintenance and big center height of tuyeres which is not beneficial to reduction smelting, the company has redesigned a new type of fuming furnace with hearth by taking a series of measures, for instances, converting the furnace bottom structure into a hearth, optimizing the furnace dimensions, modifying the tuyere device and water jacket lining, etc. The new type of fuming furnace can not only be used as a fuming furnace to treat blast furnace slag, but also be used as a blast furnace to treat zinc alloy ore. When being used as a fuming furnace, by assuming a daily treatment capacity of 60t/d of Pb-Sb blast furnace slag, this fuming furnace can recover 1.73t of Pb, 1.89t of Sb, 4.6t of Zn, and 8428g of In per day, with remarkable economical benefits. The successful design and application of this fuming furnace with hearth is the extension and perfection of jamesonite pyrometallurgical process, which has blazed a new trail for comprehensive recovery of Zn, In, Sn, Sb and other valuable metals; further more, its production operation is stable, therefore, it has the value to be widely used.