Copper Penetration of a Lance in a Smelting Furnace of the Mitsubishi Process

This study was aimed to determine the main cause of lance fracture in a smelting furnace of the Mitsubishi continuous process for Cu production. Investigation of lances used in field operations, thermodynamic analysis and laboratory experiments were conducted. By analyzing the lances, damaged surface of the lances and penetration of matte components into the lance were observed. The depth of damage was strongly dependent on the lance height which was related to temperature. To determine the temperature of the lance fracture, thermodynamics calculations and laboratory experiments were conducted. Both results showed that the formation of Cu liquids above 1100 degrees C could be the main cause of lance fracture during operation of Cu smelting furnaces of the Mitsubishi process. Graphic