LEAD OPERATION AT TAKEHARA REFINERY.

Takehara Lead Refinery is designed to produce high quality electrolytic lead and many other by-products both from secondary lead-bearing materials and from purchased bullion. For treatment of various kinds of secondary lead materials, Takehara lead smelting operation consisting of a blast furnace and two short rotary furnaces is suitable and advantageous in respect to recovery of valuable metals and fixation of hazardous elements. The smelter feed is made up of lead-bearing materials, limestone, and iron scrap. Charge of iron scrap fixes sulfur in the matte without any environmental problems. The refinery plates out pure lead on lead cathode starting sheets in a hydrofluosilicic acid electrolyte, and leaves antimony, bismuth, gold, and silver to be recovered from the anode slimes. Meanwhile copper and tin are removed as dross or caustic soda scum produced at bullion melting kettles. Refined cathodes are melted, fluxed with caustic soda, and cast for market or pumped to the lead chemical operations.