740
C. Zschiesche and I. Bauer
up to now, an operational experience of nearly 100 years [1]. While Norddeutsche
Affinerie shaped its company profile and became an important custom smelter for
copper concentrates, the lead smelter and refinery were adapted to the demand for
treating crude lead bullions with varying impurity concentrations. As expressed in
Aurubis’s 2025 vision, it is the target to expand and improve the flowsheet in terms
of a multi-metal recovery strategy.
The lead smelter in Hamburg allows Aurubis to have a more efficient processing of copper complex materials, extracting other valuable metals than the only Cu,
precious metals or platinum group metals such as Bi, Sb, Sn, and Te. The execution of the project “new lead refinery” was an important step ahead towards to a
sustainable commitment to refine crude lead in a facility which is capable to cope
with varying bullion concentrations and production of intermediates which fit to
the further purification processes to make those metals useable for urbanization and
digitalization.
The current paper provides a description of the improvements which were
achieved by executing the project “new lead refinery” gathered during the first four
years of production.
The Lead Smelter and Refinery
Figure 1 shows the current metallurgical flowsheet combining copper and lead metallurgy. At the site of the lead production line, the core equipment is the electric
furnace.
With its capability to process various secondary raw materials and intermediates,
the secondary smelting process is a key pillar of Aurubis recycling business on the
market of Cu-, Pb-, and precious metals’-bearing materials. In this process, Cu is
recovered in a matte phase which is converted before sent back to the primary copper
operations. Crude lead is utilized as a carrier to manage the flow of minor elements,
such as Bi, Sb, Sn, and Te. As and Ni-bearing raw material could be processed while
producing a concentrated metal alloy—called speiss. The produced slag is utilized as
construction material. The connectivity of the electric furnace and the lead refinery
is given by the crude lead stream and a couple of intermediates produced in the lead
refinery (dross) which will be then recycled back.
Commissioning of the New Lead Refinery in 2014
With the project “new lead refinery,” Aurubis generated the basement for a sustainable
lead refining operation according to recent standards to operate such a metallurgical
plant in the near of one of the most attractive cities in Germany. The main goals of
this project were:
C. Zschiesche and I. Bauer
up to now, an operational experience of nearly 100 years [1]. While Norddeutsche
Affinerie shaped its company profile and became an important custom smelter for
copper concentrates, the lead smelter and refinery were adapted to the demand for
treating crude lead bullions with varying impurity concentrations. As expressed in
Aurubis’s 2025 vision, it is the target to expand and improve the flowsheet in terms
of a multi-metal recovery strategy.
The lead smelter in Hamburg allows Aurubis to have a more efficient processing of copper complex materials, extracting other valuable metals than the only Cu,
precious metals or platinum group metals such as Bi, Sb, Sn, and Te. The execution of the project “new lead refinery” was an important step ahead towards to a
sustainable commitment to refine crude lead in a facility which is capable to cope
with varying bullion concentrations and production of intermediates which fit to
the further purification processes to make those metals useable for urbanization and
digitalization.
The current paper provides a description of the improvements which were
achieved by executing the project “new lead refinery” gathered during the first four
years of production.
The Lead Smelter and Refinery
Figure 1 shows the current metallurgical flowsheet combining copper and lead metallurgy. At the site of the lead production line, the core equipment is the electric
furnace.
With its capability to process various secondary raw materials and intermediates,
the secondary smelting process is a key pillar of Aurubis recycling business on the
market of Cu-, Pb-, and precious metals’-bearing materials. In this process, Cu is
recovered in a matte phase which is converted before sent back to the primary copper
operations. Crude lead is utilized as a carrier to manage the flow of minor elements,
such as Bi, Sb, Sn, and Te. As and Ni-bearing raw material could be processed while
producing a concentrated metal alloy—called speiss. The produced slag is utilized as
construction material. The connectivity of the electric furnace and the lead refinery
is given by the crude lead stream and a couple of intermediates produced in the lead
refinery (dross) which will be then recycled back.
Commissioning of the New Lead Refinery in 2014
With the project “new lead refinery,” Aurubis generated the basement for a sustainable
lead refining operation according to recent standards to operate such a metallurgical
plant in the near of one of the most attractive cities in Germany. The main goals of
this project were: