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| | The History and Evolution of Smelting: Now Outdated, a Newer Technology is Trumping Traditional Roasting Methods
Author: BacTech Mining Corporation
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| | The predominant use of the smelting process is in the removal of metal from ores and concentrates derived from mine sites. Smelting utilizes a mixture of heat and chemical agents, changing the oxidation state of the ore and "releasing" the metal therein.
Smelting actually has quite an interesting history. Conceived in prehistoric times, during which the first metals were discovered -- namely copper and bronze, then iron a few thousand years later -- early humans learned to smelt to gain access to these "useful" metals that subsequently had an unequivocal impact on civilization. Hence the scholarly dividing of such periods into The Bronze Age and The Iron Age. The Incas and some other tribes in the Andes also possessed smelting capabilities. The first known metals to be subject to the process, even before the useful ones noted above, were tin and lead, although, since this took place well before the written word, there is little evidence about the details of the early smelting method.
Suffice it to say, there's a long list of civilizations that have used, and metals that have been subject to, various and evolving forms of a smelter. In recent centuries, base metals have been smelted in furnaces -- also known as cupolas or reverberatory smelters -- which burn fuel to melt the dry sulfide (sulfides often are partially roasted), emitting them through openings in the furnace roof. The first step, however, is the creation of two liquids: the oxide "slag" or by-product -- mainly impurities -- and the sulfide matte that contains limited impurities and the valuable metal. When smelted, the slag floats atop the matte and is removed for recycling or discarding, while the matte is sent to a converter that fully releases the metals. Of course, processes vary from metal to metal, but this general overview describes the process that has been used for -- literally -- millennia, in one way, shape, or form.
The problem today is that we have a growing pollution problem. Greenhouse gases, the depletion of the ozone layer -- all of this concern has led to efforts that ultimately render many industries "green." If not 100% green, at least we can come a step closer via the replacement of processes like smelting that -- although applicable throughout history -- emit impurities and toxins via furnaces, essentially contributing to the core of the pollution problem.
Cleaner solutions exist. Of these solutions, BacTech's bioleaching process, is proven to be effective, environmentally-friendly, fast, and safe, resulting in benign substances that pose no threat to humans, wildlife, or plant life. It's time ancient methods were put to the side, in an effort to evolve to the cleaner, greener remediation and metal recovery. |
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