Abstract: Disclosed is a pyrometallurgical process for producing a crude solder from a feedstock selected in terms of its levels of Sn, Cu, Sb, Bi, Zn, As, Ni and Pb, the process comprising at least the steps of obtaining in a furnace a liquid bath of metal and slag, introducing a reducing agent and optionally also energy, separating the crude solder from the slag and removing liquid from the furnace. Further disclosed is a crude solder comprising at least 9.5-69% wt of tin and at least 25% wt lead, at least 80% tin and lead together, 0.08-12% wt of copper, 0.15-7% wt of antimony, 0.012-1.5% wt of bismuth, 0.010-1.1% wt of zinc, at most 3% wt of arsenic, at most 2.8% wt of nickel, at most 0.7% wt of zinc, at most 7.5% wt of iron and at most 0.5% wt of aluminium. The crude solder may readily be further prepared to become suitable as feedstock for vacuum distillation.

Abstract: A process for copper production comprising electrorefining of copper in an electrolytic cell, wherein the voltage difference over the cell is maintained at less than 1.6 volt, the anode comprises at most 98.0% wt of copper and less than 1.00% wt of iron, the current density through the cell is at least 180 A/m2 of cathode surface, electrolyte is removed from the cell during the operation at an average refreshing rate of 30-1900% per hour, by overflow of a first stream of electrolyte over a cell wall, and a gas is introduced into the cell and bubbled through the electrolyte in between anode and cathode. Further disclosed is a liquid molten metal composition suitable for copper anode electrorefining comprising at least 90.10% wt and at most 97% wt of copper, at least 0.1% wt of nickel, at least 0.0001% wt and less than 1.00% wt of iron, and 250-3000 ppm wt of oxygen.

Abstract: A disclosed dilute copper metal composition has 57-85% wt Cu, ?3.0% wt Ni, ?0.8% wt Fe, 7-25% wt Sn and 3-15% wt Pb. A process includes partially b) oxidizing a black copper composition to obtain a first copper refining slag and a first enriched copper metal. The process further includes oxidizing h) the first enriched copper metal to obtain a second copper refining slag, whereby at least 37.0% wt of the amount of tin and lead processed through steps b) and/or h) is retrieved in the first and second copper refining slags together, partially reducing c) the first copper refining slag to form a first lead-tin based metal composition and a first spent slag, adding the second copper refining slag to the first lead-tin based metal composition thereby forming a first liquid bath, partially oxidizing d) the first liquid bath, thereby obtaining the dilute copper metal composition.

Abstract: A process for a producing crude solder product and a copper product includes the steps of providing a black copper comprising >=50% wt of copper together with >=1.0% wt of tin and/or >=1.0% wt of lead, and refining a first portion of the black copper to obtain a refined copper product together with at least one copper refining slag. The process further includes the steps of recovering a first crude solder product from the copper refining slag, thereby forming a solder refining slag in equilibrium with the first crude solder product, and contacting a different portion of the black copper with the solder refining slag thereby forming a spent slag and a lead-tin based metal, followed by separating the spent slag from the lead-tin based metal.

Abstract: Disclosed is a slag comprising, on a dry basis and expressed as the total of the metal present as elemental metal and the presence of the metal in an oxidized state, a) at least 7% wt and at most 49% wt of Fe, b) at most 1.3% wt of Cu, c) at least 24% wt and at most 44% wt of SiO2, and d) at least 2.0% wt and at most 20% wt of CaO, characterised in that the slag comprises, on the same basis, e) at least 0.10% wt and at most 1.00% wt of Zn, f) at least 0.10% wt and at most 2.5% wt of MgO, and g) at most 0.100% wt of Pb. Further disclosed are an improved object comprising the slag, a process for the production of the slag, and a number of uses of the slag, whereby the slag may comprise up to at most 1.50% wt of zinc and down to 1.0% wt of CaO.

Abstract: A process for producing a solder product and a copper product from a first lead-tin based metal composition having at least 40% wt of copper and at least 5.0% wt together of tin and lead. The process includes the steps of partially oxidizing a first liquid bath having the first lead-tin based metal composition, thereby forming a first dilute copper metal composition and a first solder refining slag, followed by separating the slag from the metal composition, and partially oxidizing a second liquid bath having the first dilute copper metal composition, thereby forming a first high-copper metal composition and a third solder refining slag, followed by separating the third solder refining slag from the first high-copper metal composition, whereby the solder product is derived from the first solder refining slag.

Abstract: A disclosed process produces at least one concentrated copper product together with at least one crude solder product, starting from a black copper composition with at least 50% of copper together with at least 1.0% wt of tin and at least 1.0% wt of lead The process includes the step of partially oxidizing the black copper thereby forming a first copper refining slag, followed by partially reducing the first copper refining slag to form a first lead-tin based metal composition and a first spent slag. The total feed to the reducing step includes an amount of copper that is at least 1.5 times as high as the sum of the amounts of Sn plus Pb present, and the first spent slag includes at most 20% wt total of copper, tin and lead together.

Abstract: Disclosed is a metal mixture composition containing lead and tin, and comprising by weight at least 10% tin and 45% lead, at least 90% of tin and lead together, more lead than tin, from 1-5000 ppm of copper, at least 0.42% antimony and at least 0.0001 % wt of sulphur, at most 0.1% of the total of chromium, manganese, vanadium, titanium and tungsten, and at most 0.1% of each one of aluminium, nickel, iron and zinc. Disclosed is also a process comprising a pre-treatment step for producing this metal mixture composition, followed by a vacuum distillation step wherein lead is removed by evaporation and a bottom stream is obtained comprising at least 0.6% wt of lead.

Abstract: Disclosed is a slag comprising, on a dry basis and expressed as the total of the metal present as elemental metal and the presence of the metal in an oxidized state, a) at least 7% wt and at most 49% wt of Fe, b) at most 1.3% wt of Cu, c) at least 24% wt and at most 44% wt of SiO2, and d) at least 2.0% wt and at most 20% wt of CaO, characterised in that the slag comprises, on the same basis, e) at least 0.10% wt and at most 1.00% wt of Zn, f) at least 0.10% wt and at most 2.5% wt of MgO, and g) at most 0.100% wt of Pb. Further disclosed are an improved object comprising the slag, a process for the production of the slag, and a number of uses of the slag, whereby the slag may comprise up to at most 1.50% wt of zinc and down to 1.0% wt of CaO.

Abstract: The invention relates to the separation of metals in Fe-bearing zinc leaching residues, in particular neutral and weak acid leach residues. The process comprises the steps of: preparing agglomerates containing, besides the Zn leaching residue, at least 5 wt % of carbon and 2 to 10 wt. % of S; fuming said agglomerates in a static bed at a temperature above 1250° C., thereby producing a reduced Fe-bearing phase and Zn-bearing fumes; and extracting said Zn-bearing fumes. The high S content of the feed allows for a relatively high operating temperature without production of molten phases. This guarantees fast reduction and fuming kinetics, and permits the use of a compact technology such as a static bed furnace.