COMINCO'S NEW ELECTROLYTIC ZINC PLANT.

Cominco opened its ultramodern, highly automated, 272,000-mt/yr zinc electrolytic and melting plant at Trail, British Columbia. The new electrolytic plant features large-sized cathodes, computer-controlled cranes, and a computer-automated robot to fabricate new cathodes, mechanical stripping of plated zinc deposits from aluminum cathodes, automated cathode brushing and automated anode cleaning. Mechanized operations in the melting section include weighing, stacking and feeding stripped sheets of zinc to electric induction furnaces; dross skimming; custom alloying; and final product stacking, weighing, and strapping. The effectiveness is best demonstrated by the 58% reduction in labor at the new plant, while increasing the design capacity by 10%.