ISACONVERT™—Continuous converting of nickel/PGM matte with calcium ferrite slag

The ISASMELT™ process is a top submerged lance (TSL) bath smelting technology which has been developed and optimized over the last 25 years. By the end of 2011, the total installed capacity of the ISASMELT technology will exceed 9,000,000 tonnes per year of feed materials in copper and lead smelters around the world. Commercial plants, operating in Belgium and Germany, are also batch converting copper materials in ISASMELT furnaces. This TSL technology is equally effective for continuous converting processes, whereupon it is called ISACONVERT™. Xstrata Technology (XT) has recently patented a new ISACONVERT process for the continuous converting of nickel/platinum group metal (PGM) mattes using the calcium ferrite slag system. This paper outlines the development of this new process and presents a conceptual flowsheet for how it can be integrated into an existing nickel/PGM smelter.