Lead Smelting and Refining, With Some Notes on Lead Mining
Science
Lead Smelting and Refining, With Some Notes on Lead Mining
Lead -- Metallurgy; Lead mines and mining
2474:2915 :: 1:1.18.
2915:2233 :: 1:0.76⅔.
2474:2233 :: 1:0.90.
It may be assumed that for every ton of charge (containing about 80 per
cent. of ore) there will be 1.1 ton of material to go to the converter,
and that the product of the latter will be 0.9 of the weight of the
original charge of raw material.
Each converter requires 400 cu. ft. of air per minute. The blast
pressure is variable, as different pots are always at different stages
of the process, but assuming the maximum of 16 oz. pressure, with a
blast main of sufficient diameter (at least 15 in.) and the blower
reasonably near the battery of pots, the total requirement is 21 h.p.
The cost of converting will be approximately as follows:
Labor, 3 foremen at $3.20 $ 9.60
“ 9 men at $2.50 22.50
Power, 21 h.p. at 30c 6.30
Supplies, repairs and renewals 5.00
——————
Total $43.40 = 60c. per ton of charge.
The cost of converting is, of course, reduced directly as the time is
reduced. The above estimate is based on unfavorable conditions as to
time required for working a charge.
The total cost of treatment, from the initial stage to the delivery of
the desulphurized ore to the blast furnaces, will be, per 2000 lb. of
charge, approximately as follows:
Crushing 1.0 ton at 10c $0.10
Mixing 1.0 ton at 10c .10
Roasting 1.0 ton at 63c .63
Delivering 1.1 ton to converters at 12c .13
Converting 1.1 ton at 60c .66
Breaking 0.9 ton at 60c .54
——-——-
Total $2.16
The cost per ton of ore will be 2.16 ÷ 0.80 = $2.70. Making allowance
for the crushing of the ore, which is not ordinarily included in the
cost of roasting, and possibly some overestimates, it appears that the
cost of desulphurization by this method, under the conditions assumed
in this paper, is rather higher than in good practice with ordinary
hand-worked furnaces, but it is evident that the cost can be reduced to
approximately the same figure by introduction of improvements, as for
example in breaking the desulphurized ore, and by shortening the time
of converting, which is possible in the case of favorable ores. The
chief advantage must be, however, in the further stage of the smelting.
As to this, there is the evidence that the Broken Hill Proprietary
Company was able to smelt the same quantity of ore in seven furnaces,
after the introduction of the Huntington-Heberlein process, that
formerly required thirteen. A similar experience is reported at
Friedrichshütte, Silesia.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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