Copper in solidified copper smelter slags

An appreciable amount of copper is slagged in high-grade matte smelting and converting. The major part of copper lost in slag is recovered through slag-cleaning operations. Copper losses in slag are of two main types: copper is either dissolved in molten slag as cuprous oxide (or as sulphide) or forms a mechanical dispersion in slag. For slag cleaning by froth flotation, mineralogy and morphology of solidified slag as well as chemical composition of copper-bearing phases are of great interest. These phenomena are reviewed and discussed in this paper.