R.T.

Jones, An overview of Southern African PGM Smelting, Nickel and Cobalt 2005: Challenges in Extraction and Production,
44th Annual Conference of Metallurgists, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 21-24 August 2005, pp.147-178.

An overview of Southern African PGM smelting

R.T. Jones
Mintek
Private Bag X3015, Randburg, 2125, South Africa

ABSTRACT

The largest known platinum group metal (PGM) deposit in the world is the
Bushveld Complex in South Africa, with the Great Dyke in Zimbabwe also being one of
the biggest. It is therefore not surprising that the majority (just over 5 million troy
ounces or 156 metric tons per annum) of the world’s platinum is produced in Southern
Africa. Primary smelting of ore concentrates is carried out in that region by five
companies, namely Anglo Platinum, Impala Platinum, Lonmin Platinum, Northam
Platinum, all of South Africa, and Makwiro Platinum in Zimbabwe. The only other
primary smelter of platinum group metals is Stillwater Mining of Montana, USA,
although very significant quantities of PGMs are produced as co-products by Norilsk
Nickel of Russia. Smaller (but still significant) quantities of PGMs are produced by
Falconbridge and Inco of Canada, also as co-products from nickel sulphide smelting.
There are many similarities between PGM smelting and nickel sulphide smelting, and the
range of technologies in use includes six-in-line rectangular electric furnaces, three-
electrode circular AC furnaces, Peirce-Smith converters, and Anglo’s ACP (based on
Ausmelt technology). PGMs are also recovered from residue materials using DC arc
furnace technology.

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 INTRODUCTION

The platinum group metals (PGMs) are a family of six greyish to silver-white
metals with close chemical and physical affinities. The three heavier metals platinum
(Pt), iridium (Ir), and osmium (Os), have densities of about 22 g/cm3; and the three
somewhat lighter metals palladium (Pd), rhodium (Rh), and ruthenium (Ru), have
densities of about 12 g/cm3. The PGMs belong to the transition metals of Group VIII in
the Periodic Table, as do iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co). These metals have
similar geochemical behaviour and tend to be concentrated together geologically. The
PGMs, along with gold (Au) and silver (Ag), are classified as noble metals because of
their high resistance to oxidation and corrosion.

Their great scarcity classifies them as precious metals. Only about one thirteenth
as much platinum is produced as gold, itself a very rare metal. (By contrast, about 5
million times as much iron as platinum is produced in the world.) As precious and noble
metals, PGMs are chemically more versatile than gold, and have found numerous
industrial applications. They are also the only competitors for gold as investment metals
and for jewellery purposes.

Platinum was originally called “platina” or “little silver” in Spanish, as it was

considered a poor-quality by-product of silver mining operations 400 years ago in
Colombia. Platinum was formally discovered only in 1751, although it (possibly
mistaken for silver at that time) was used as far back as the 7th century BC in Egypt,
when the ‘Thebes casket’ was produced. (This was made for Shepenupet, daughter of
the King of Thebes, and has gold hieroglyphics on one side and platinum on the other.)
The catalytic properties of PGMs were described in the period 1823 – 1838.
Interestingly, jewellery and catalysis remain the most important applications of these
metals today.

PGMs have extraordinary physical and chemical properties that have made them
indispensable to the modern industrial world. The PGMs have very high melting points,
and are chemically inert to a wide variety of substances (even at very high temperatures),
and thus resist corrosion. They also have excellent catalytic properties, and are widely
used in the chemical industry and in automobile catalytic converters. Commercial
substitution by cheaper metals has rarely been successful, although an individual
platinum group metal may readily be replaced by another.

The most economically important of the PGMs are platinum, palladium, and
rhodium, with ruthenium, iridium, and osmium being less prevalent and less in demand.
Gold, though it is a precious metal, is not one of the PGMs although it is often lumped
together with the PGM content when talking about the valuable products from PGM
smelting. The base metals nickel, copper, and cobalt commonly occur together with the
PGMs and are produced as co-products in the smelters and refineries. The PGM market
is fundamentally strong, particularly in platinum, where recent years have shown good

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growth in jewellery demand, and in autocatalysts, especially for the diesel vehicles that
now make up 50 per cent of new car sales in Europe.

Platinum group elements are generally associated with nickel-copper sulphides in

magmatic rocks. Depending on the relative concentrations (and market prices) of the
precious and base metals, the PGMs are produced either as the primary products, or as
by-products of the nickel and copper. The primary PGM-rich deposits include the
Bushveld Complex in South Africa (the largest known layered igneous complex of its
type in the world, extending some 350 km from west to east, and some 250 km from
north to south, containing more than two thirds of the world’s reserves of PGMs), the
Great Dyke in Zimbabwe (the second largest known deposit of platinum in the world),
the Stillwater deposit of the USA, and the Lac des Isles deposit of Canada. PGMs are
produced in significant quantities as by-products from the Norilsk-Talnakh area of Russia
and the Sudbury deposit of Canada. Other deposits occur in Finland, the Jinchuan
deposits of northwest China, the Duluth complex of the USA, and in numerous smaller
deposits. PGMs are also produced in small quantities as by-products from the nickel-
copper industry in Australia and Japan (1).

Table I shows the geographical distribution of the most important PGMs, and
Table II shows the demand by market sector for Pt, Pd, and Rh, courtesy of Johnson
Matthey (2).

Table I - PGM production in 2004, in millions of troy ounces per annum

(1 troy ounce = 31.1035 g; 1 million troy ounces = 31.1035 metric tons)
Pt supply Pd supply Rh supply
Moz tons Moz tons Moz tons
South Africa 5.030 156.5 2.500 77.8 0.587 18.3
Russia 0.850 26.4 3.800 118.2 0.105 3.3
North America 0.385 12.0 1.055 32.8 0.018 0.6
Other 0.235 7.3 0.265 8.2 0.016 0.5
Total 6.500 202 7.620 237 0.726 22.6
Plus Recycled material 0.700 21.8 0.530 16.5 0.141 4.4

Table II - Demand by market sector for 2004

Pt demand Pd demand Rh demand
Automobile 43% Automobile 50% Automobile 85%
Jewellery 33% Electronics 14% Glass 6%
Industrial 23% Jewellery 14% Chemical 6%
Investment 0.6% Dental 13% Other 3%
Other 9%
* The figures for Automobile use reflect the demand for new material only, i.e. recycled
materials are excluded here.

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 PGM PRODUCTION IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

South Africa has more than three quarters of the world’s platinum reserves, and is
the world’s largest producer of platinum group metals (PGMs). These vast resources
occur together with the world’s largest reserves of chromium and vanadium ore in the
unique Bushveld Complex geological formation. South Africa’s PGM output is derived
almost exclusively from the Bushveld Complex, with only about 0.1 per cent coming
from the gold deposits of the Witwatersrand and Free State, and the Phalaborwa copper
deposit.

Platinum group metals now constitute South Africa’s largest mining export
earner, accounting for a third of all sales last year. Revenue from PGMs surpassed those
from gold for the first time in 2001, although gold dominated briefly again in 2002.

Since the identification of economic deposits of platinum in South Africa in 1924

by Hans Merensky, a number of platinum mines have come and gone, and some have
merely changed identity (3-5). South Africa currently has four integrated primary
platinum producers, namely Anglo American Platinum Corporation Ltd (6) (formerly
Rustenburg Platinum Holdings Ltd), Impala Platinum (7), Lonmin Platinum (8) (which
includes Western Platinum), and Northam Platinum (9). Their range of operations
includes open-cast and underground mining, milling, flotation, drying, smelting,
converting, refining, and marketing. Anglo Platinum, Impala Platinum, and Lonmin
Platinum are the three largest producers of platinum in the world. Since 1971, these
operations have established South Africa as the world’s largest producer of PGMs. The
precious metals are the most valuable products in South African platinum ores, unlike the
situation in many other countries where smaller quantities of platinum are produced as
by-products or co-products of base-metal production, particularly of nickel. Apart from
South Africa’s platinum mines, only Makwiro Platinum (10) (formerly Hartley Platinum)
in Zimbabwe, and Stillwater Mining (11) in Montana, USA are major primary producers
of PGMs. For comparative purposes, mention should also be made of Norilsk Nickel
(12), which, although strictly not a primary PGM smelter, is the world's largest producer
of nickel and palladium, and is also one of the leading producers of copper, platinum and
gold. Other significant producers of PGMs include Falconbridge and Inco of Canada.

Table III shows the production by individual companies of the economically most
important PGMs, namely platinum, palladium, and rhodium. Most company production
figures are taken from their most recent annual reports (for 2003 in most cases) that are
mostly available from their company websites. Note that Russian law was amended only
this year to allow the release of official production figures for PGMs, and it is still too
early for this information to be available. However, estimated production figures
produced by Johnson Matthey (13) for the Polar Division (which produces the bulk of
Norilsk’s PGMs) are believed to be fairly reliable.

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 Table III - Company production figures for 2003, millions of troy ounces per annum
Pt Pd Rh Pt + Pd + Rh
Primary producers of PGMs
Anglo Platinum, South Africa 2.31 1.19 0.23 3.73
Impala Platinum, South Africa 1.96 1.05 0.25 3.26
Lonmin Platinum, South Africa 0.93 0.42 0.14 1.49
Stillwater Mining, USA 0.13 0.45 0.005 0.58
Northam Platinum, South Africa 0.21 0.10 0.02 0.33
Zimplats, Zimbabwe 0.09 0.07 0.01 0.17
Producers of PGMs as by-products
Norilsk Nickel, Russia 0.65 2.70 0.06 3.41
Falconbridge, Canada 0.11 0.33 0.002 0.44
Inco, Canada 0.09 0.11 0.017 0.21

SOUTH AFRICAN PLATINUM-GROUP METAL ORES

South Africa has the greatest concentration of primary PGM producing

companies (14,15), each of which has their own approach to smelting, governed to a
large extent by the type of ore that they process.

The currently exploitable South African reserves of platinum-group metals are

concentrated in narrow but extensive strata known as the Merensky Reef, the Platreef,
and the UG2 chromitite layer. These three layers in the Bushveld Complex each have
their own distinctive associated mineralogy, and have been well described
mineralogically (16-18). The Merensky Reef has the PGMs occurring in conjunction
with base metal sulphides; the Platreef has an even greater quantity of base metal
sulphides present; and the UG2 chromitite layer has a high chromite content together
with relatively low quantities of base metal sulphides. Platreef is currently smelted only
by Anglo Platinum, but Merensky and UG2 ores are processed by all the producers.
These ores are quite different from each other, and require different approaches to
metallurgical processing. For example, UG2 ore has a much lower content of nickel and
copper sulphides, and contains much more chromite than Merensky ore. The Platreef can
be considered as metallurgically similar to Merensky ore, although somewhat enriched in
palladium.

The extent to which UG2 ore is processed has a major influence on the smelting
behaviour, as traditional six-in-line furnaces are susceptible to build-ups of high-melting
chromite spinels if the Cr2O3 content of the feed is too high.

With the change in political dispensation in South Africa, and the change in
mineral rights legislation (bringing South Africa closer in line to common international
practice), there has been a great deal of new mine development, especially on the Eastern
Limb of the Bushveld Complex, with much of the new capacity centred around UG2

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ores. Most of these new mines have concentrate offtake agreements with existing
smelters and refiners.

Ore from the Merensky Reef contains up to 3% base-metal sulphide minerals,

distributed as follows: pyrrhotite (45%), pentlandite (32%), chalcopyrite (16%), and
pyrite (2 to 4%). The majority of the PGMs in the Merensky ore are associated with
pentlandite, occurring either in pentlandite grains or at the pentlandite-gangue grain
boundaries. To a lesser extent, the PGMs are associated with other base-metal sulphides
or occur in the form of minerals such as braggite, cooperite, laurite, or ferroplatinum.
The major gangue minerals are pyroxene, plagioclase feldspar, and biotite.

The principal constituents of UG2 ore are chromitite (60-90%), orthopyroxene,

and plagioclase, together with minor amounts of talc, chlorite, and phlogopite, as well as
smaller amounts of base-metal and other sulphides and platinum-group minerals. The
base-metal sulphides are predominantly pentlandite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, pyrite, and
to a lesser extent millerite. The sulphide grains of UG2 ore are generally finer than those
of the Merensky Reef.

Merensky ore contains much more sulphide than does the UG2 ore, and the
minerals are found in a silicate substrate, while UG2 ore has a chromite matrix. The
Cr2O3 content of the UG2 ore presents major challenges in processing. In Merensky
ores, the ratio of nickel to copper is fairly constant at about 1.7, but the PGM to base
metals ratio is not constant (19).

The Merensky and UG2 reefs are situated in close proximity to each other. The
UG2 reef lies anywhere between 20 and 330 metres below the Merensky horizon, and
varies in thickness between 0.15 to 2.5 metres. Reserves of PGMs plus gold are
estimated (20) at 547 million ounces in the Merensky Reef, and more than 1000 million
ounces in the UG2 reef. Another estimate (21) says the UG2 reef contains about 800
million ounces of PGMs.

The PGM content of the UG2 reef is comparable with, and sometimes higher
than, that of the Merensky Reef. The PGM content in the Merensky Reef ranges between
about 4 and 10 g/t, whereas the UG2 reef contains between 4.4 and 10.6 g/t. UG2 ore is
by far the richest source of rhodium, which is currently the highest-priced PGM and an
important constituent of the catalysts used in motor car exhaust systems. The copper and
nickel contents of UG2 ore are generally less than a tenth of those found in the Merensky
Reef. The Cr2O3 content of UG2 ore is about 30%, as opposed to about 0.1% for
Merensky ore. The low-grade chromite produced as a by-product during the treatment of
UG2 ore is also sold, and there is no reason why it could not be used for the production
of ferrochromium (22,23). The high demand for palladium also makes the processing of
UG2 concentrates very attractive.

Average grades and current values of the individual precious metals in Merensky,
UG2, and Platreef ores are shown in Table IV. Further detail regarding the distributions

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of the individual PGMs in various reefs and sectors of the Bushveld Complex is available
elsewhere (17). The content and value of base metals in the three ores are shown in
Table IV.

Table IV - Typical content of precious and base metals in Merensky, UG2, and Platreef
ores (16), and their current potential value. Market prices (24) are as of the
week preceding 16 May 2005.
Price Merensky ore UG2 ore Platreef ore
$/t mass $/t mass $/t mass
$/oz g/t g/t g/t
ore % ore % ore %
Pt 875 3.25 91.4 59 2.46 69.2 41 1.26 35.4 42
Pd 193 1.38 8.6 25 2.04 12.7 34 1.38 8.6 46
Rh 1550 0.17 8.5 3 0.54 26.9 9 0.09 4.5 3
Ru 67 0.44 0.9 8 0.72 1.6 12 0.12 0.3 4
Ir 155 0.06 0.3 1 0.11 0.5 1.9 0.02 0.1 0.8
Os 400 0.04 0.5 0.8 0.10 1.3 1.7 0.02 0.3 0.6
Au 425 0.18 2.5 3.2 0.02 0.3 0.4 0.10 1.4 3.4
Total
5.5 112.7 100 6.0 112.4 100 3.0 50.5 100
PGM+Au
% $/t mass % $/t mass % $/t mass
$/t in in
ore
ore % in ore ore % ore
ore %
Ni 17403 0.13 22.6 62 0.07 12.2 80 0.36 62.7 67
Cu 3300 0.08 2.6 38 0.018 0.6 20 0.18 5.9 33
Total
0.21 25.3 100 0.09 12.8 100 0.54 68.6 100
Ni+Cu

It is evident from the data above that Pt, Pd, and Rh make up a remarkably
constant 96% of the value of all the precious metals, for all three ore types. In the case of
Merensky ore, these three dominant PGMs make up about 80% of the value of all the
metals produced (i.e. PGMs plus base metals). For UG2 ore, the fraction is closer to
90%. The situation is quite different for Platreef ore, where the contained base metals
may be worth even more than the precious metals (if base metals prices are high, as they
are at present).

The average grain size of the PGM minerals is about 45 mm in Merensky ore, and
15 mm in UG2. In order to liberate the PGM minerals, UG2 concentrate is more finely
milled (about 80% less than 75 mm) than Merensky concentrate (about 55% less than
75 mm) (25). During concentration, the recovery of PGM+Au is around 80 to 87 per cent
(25). Typical analyses of the Merensky and UG2 concentrates at Lonmin’s Western
Platinum Mines have previously been published elsewhere (25-27).

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 From a given quantity of ore, the mass of UG2 concentrate is generally lower
(around 1.3% of the feed ore) than that of Merensky concentrate (around 2.5% of the
feed ore). Hence, the grades of UG2 concentrates are commonly higher, and the amount
of concentrate to be smelted is smaller.

BENEFICIATION PROCESSES

Each processing step is designed to increase the grade (concentration) of the

valuable components of the original ore, by reducing the bulk of the products. The
mined ore undergoes comminution, and a gravity concentrate is extracted. The sulphides
are concentrated by flotation. The flotation concentrates undergo smelting and
converting, to produce a PGM-containing nickel-copper matte. The matte is treated
hydrometallurgically to separate the base metals from the precious metals. Finally, the
PGM concentrate is refined to separate the individual precious metals into their pure
forms. As a rough guide (25), the PGM contents during the various stages are as follows.

Ore 0.0005% (5 g/t)

Flotation concentrate 0.0150% (100 – 400 g/t)
Converter matte 0.20%
PGM concentrate 30 – 65%
Refined metals 99.90% for Rh, Ru, Os
99.95% for Pt, Pd, Au

During each separation stage of the process, there is an increase in the

concentration of PGMs – about 30:1 in the concentrator, about 10:1 in the furnace, about
3:1 in the converter, and about 200:1 in the base-metals refinery.

For South African producers, the approximate distribution of the operating costs
for each stage is as follows (28):
Mining: 72% Concentrating: 10% Smelting: 9% Refining: 9%

PGM recovery is typically about 85% in the concentration stage, 95 to 98% in

smelting, and 99% in refining. By far the greatest loss of PGMs occurs during crushing,
milling, and flotation, and research into these operations could prove very rewarding, as
could the development of new processes that remove some of the constraints on the
various concentration stages.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CONVENTIONAL MATTE-SMELTING PROCESS

Please note that analyses of concentrate, furnace slag, furnace matte, converter
slag, and converter matte have been presented elsewhere (14).

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Concentrate Drying

The concentrate is dried in a spray drier or flash drier. This reduces the energy
requirement for smelting, as well as decreasing the occurrence of ‘blowbacks’ or
explosions in the furnace. The dry concentrate is transferred pneumatically from the
drier into the furnace.

Smelting

Smelting is intended to separate the gangue (oxide and silicate) minerals from the
sulphide minerals associated with the noble metals. The sulphide minerals form a matte
that is treated further; the gangue is discarded as slag. As the concentrate melts, two
liquid phases form: a lighter silicate- and iron-rich slag with a relative density around 2.7
to 3.3, and a denser molten matte (rich in nickel and copper sulphides, and other base and
precious metals) with a relative density of about 4.8 to 5.3. Prills of molten matte grow
in size by coalescing with other prills, then settle out from the slag under the influence of
gravity, at a rate which depends on the viscosity of the slag. A flux, often limestone, may
be added to reduce the viscosity and liquidus temperature of the slag.

PGM smelting in Southern Africa takes place exclusively in electric furnaces at

present. Rectangular six-in-line submerged-arc electric furnaces are the most widely
used, although there are also some circular three-electrode furnaces in operation.
Smelting typically takes place at temperatures around 1350ºC, although smelting of UG2
concentrates can require temperatures in the region of 1600ºC or higher.

Because of the low concentration of valuable minerals in the concentrate, the

furnace is operated at a high slag:matte ratio (between about 4 and 9). These two phases
are tapped separately from the furnace (from opposite ends, in the case of a rectangular
furnace). In the case of Merensky ore being smelted in a six-in-line furnace, the slag is
tapped at temperatures around 1350ºC, and the matte is somewhat cooler, around
1200ºC. The unwanted slag constituents are discarded (usually after being subjected to
granulation using a high-flow water stream, milling, and flotation to re-capture any
entrained droplets of matte). The furnace matte contains nickel, copper, cobalt, iron,
sulphur, and the PGMs. The furnace matte is tapped into ladles and transferred by crane
to a converter vessel.

The furnaces are normally operated with a ‘black top’, i.e. with a layer of
unsmelted concentrate on top of the molten bath. This limits the amount of radiation
from the surface of the bath to the walls and roof of the furnace. In one documented case
(19), a 15 cm layer of concentrate covers a 100 cm layer of slag, which in turn covers a
58 cm layer of matte.

The electrical power consumption in the furnace is approximately 600 to

1100 kWh per ton of concentrate, but depends on the nature and grade of the material

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being treated, as well as the operating conditions in the furnace. Electrical power
typically accounts for approximately 40 per cent of the direct smelting costs (19).

During smelting, some magnetite (and other spinels such as chromite) that is not
reduced and fluxed, dissolves in the matte and slag. Magnetite sometimes forms an
intermediate viscous zone between the matte and slag layers, causing an increase in
entrainment. A build-up of magnetite or other spinels causes a reduction in operational
furnace volume. Near the slag-matte interface, the concentration of matte particles in
slag is at its highest, as is the concentration of chromium oxide in the slag.

Converting

During the converting process, air is blown into the molten matte, over a period
of a few hours, in order to remove much of the iron and sulphur by oxidation (primarily
of FeS). The converters most commonly employed are of the Peirce-Smith type; these
are of horizontal cylindrical shape with an opening at the top for charging and
discharging; tuyeres for blowing are arranged in horizontal rows along the lower back of
the vessel; a tilting mechanism allows pouring to take place. Silica sand is added to the
converter to flux the iron oxide that is formed by the oxidation of the iron, and to form an
iron silicate slag having the approximate composition of fayalite (2FeO.SiO2), with some
dissolved magnetite. Some of the sulphur leaves the system in the gas phase as sulphur
dioxide (SO2). The oxidation reaction is sufficiently exothermic to maintain a
temperature around 1250ºC in the converter. The temperature is controlled by adding
cold feed or revert materials (spillages, etc.) to the converter if it becomes too hot. The
converter slag is periodically skimmed off, but the matte is poured out only once it has
attained the desired iron content. The required degree of iron and sulphur removal during
converting is dictated by the choice of the subsequent refining process. The converter
matte is either cast into cast-iron moulds or refractory-lined pits, and crushed, or it can be
granulated by pouring it into a very fast-flowing stream of water.

The converter slag requires further treatment, as the vigorously turbulent

conditions cause the entrainment of prills of valuable converter matte, and the oxidizing
conditions cause some of the valuable base metals (especially cobalt and nickel) to
dissolve in the slag in oxide form. Until a few years ago, it was common for the molten
converter slag to be returned intermittently to the primary smelting furnace (by ladle to a
cast-steel launder projecting slightly into the furnace through the matte-tapping end
wall). In other cases the slag is granulated, and subjected to milling and flotation; it is
also possible to introduce the slag into a slag-cleaning furnace. Breaking the recycle
loop, by not returning the converter slag to the furnace, is rather attractive, as the quantity
of PGMs locked up in this loop can represent a large financial investment. It is not
uncommon for up to a third of the matte produced in the converters to be returned to the
furnace.

A further advantage of breaking the recycle loop is that this reduces the load of
chromium to the primary smelting furnace. Some magnetite and chromite spinels form

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in the oxidizing conditions of the converting process. If the converter slag is returned to
the furnace, these can settle out and precipitate on the furnace hearth, thus considerably
reducing the volume of the furnace over time.

The converter matte (also known as white metal) has a relative density of about 6,
and consists primarily of Ni3S2, Cu2S, and FeS, along with small amounts of cobalt and
precious metals. The matte also contains small amounts of impurities such as selenium,
tellurium, arsenic, lead, tin, antimony, and bismuth.

Off-gas handling

It used to be common practice for furnace exhaust gases to pass through an

electrostatic precipitator and then to be discharged to the atmosphere through a tall stack.
The SO2 in the gas can be used in the production of sulphuric acid, but the low
concentration produced from the furnaces, and the intermittent production from the
converters makes this challenging.

Of the sulphur entering the smelter, 60 per cent leaves in the converter gases, 20
per cent in the furnace gases, 15 per cent in the converter matte, and 5 per cent in the
furnace slag (29). The furnace gases have an SO2 content of around 0.4 per cent, which
is generally considered too low for efficient recovery. The converter gases, for 70 per
cent of the blowing time, have an SO2 content of more than 4 per cent; the overall
variation is typically from 2.5 to 6 per cent. The difficulty in dealing with a gas of such a
variable composition is one of the driving forces behind the development of continuous
converting processes.

Refining

The converter matte is usually milled prior to treatment in the base-metal refinery,
where the copper and nickel are extracted by a sulphuric-acid leaching route. In most
plants, the leach residue makes up the high-grade PGM concentrate that is provided to
the precious metals refinery for final separation of the pure precious metals.

LIMITATIONS OF THE CONVENTIONAL MATTE-SMELTING PROCESS

Environmental concerns have focused on the problem of SO2 emissions,

especially the stray emissions around the mouth of the converter. Even with a large fume
hood above the mouth of the converter, fugitive emissions remain a problem. A
sulphuric acid plant is probably the most effective means of capturing the sulphur.
However, the intermittent nature of converting operations makes this rather challenging.

As increasing amounts of UG2 concentrate are processed (to utilize deposits

accessible from existing mines, and to maximize production of rhodium, as well as

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platinum), so the quantity of base metal sulphides decreases. The conventional process
requires sufficient matte (at least 10% of the mass of the slag) to be present to allow for
effective coalescence of droplets and collection of the valuable metals. This causes
limits to be placed on the mining of ore such that only material containing more than a
specified amount of nickel and copper is acceptable to the process. This limitation can
be lifted only if additional collector material is available.

The UG2 concentrates contain significant quantities of chromite, which easily

results in the build-up of (highly refractory) chromite spinel layers in the furnace. This
affects furnace operation, and the accumulation reduces the working volume of the
furnace over a period of time. This can be mitigated to some extent by the addition of
some carbon to the furnace, as more reducing conditions allow for greater solubility of
chromium oxide in the slag.

The intermittent batch mode of converting is not conducive to good plant

operation, and there is a significant move towards the development of continuous
converting processes.

Although most current smelters and refineries have PGM recoveries in the region
of 95 to 99% each, the recovery from concentrators is only around 85%, and that from
mining itself is also relatively low. Clearly, any new processes being developed should
be sufficiently flexible to allow greater recoveries in these areas, preferably by removing
some of the constraints imposed by present practices.

The long processing times in the refining of PGMs result in a large lockup of
precious metals. Sometimes, the value of the PGMs permanently locked up inside
process units exceeds the capital cost of the units themselves. The composition of the
metal produced in the smelter can make a difference in reducing the length of the
processing pipeline in the refinery. This should be taken into account when investigating
new processes.

HISTORICAL SMELTING DEVELOPMENTS

The early days

Platinum mining on a large scale began around 1926, and, before the 1920s were
over, no less than seven mining operations had started in South Africa. The platinum
ores were mostly processed by traditional milling and gravity-table concentration.
Flotation was used for the first time to produce a sulphide platinum concentrate in 1926,
at Potgietersrus (21).

The weakening of the platinum price in the early 1930s led to widespread
closures and amalgamations, resulting in the formation of a single dominant company,
Rustenburg Platinum Mines, in 1931. By 1936, throughput had expanded to 18 000 tons

12 of 32
of ore per month, and the oxidized ore was nearly exhausted. It became necessary to
commission a flotation plant and to install a small blast furnace and converter unit for the
production of platinum-rich copper-nickel matte, which would cost less than bulk
concentrate to transport to the UK refinery. A second blast furnace was commissioned in
1953. Blast-furnace smelting was labour intensive, and utilised expensive coke.
Furthermore, a very large volume of gas was emitted containing between 1 and 2 per cent
sulphur dioxide, posing a serious pollution problem.

Interestingly, reverberatory smelting (where the energy is supplied by the flame

generated by the combustion of coal, oil, or natural gas, as well as indirect radiation) was
never applied to platinum production in South Africa, despite this technology being used
quite extensively for copper production. The probable reason for this is the difficulty in
achieving the somewhat higher temperatures required for platinum smelting. The slags
produced in platinum smelting have liquidus temperatures one or two hundred degrees
Celsius higher than those produced in copper smelting.

Electric smelting

Electric smelting was used for the first time in the primary production of
platinum, with the commissioning of a 19.5 MVA Elkem rectangular electric furnace
(with six in-line submerged electrodes operating in pairs in a three-phase electrical
system) at the Rustenburg Section of Rustenburg Platinum Mines in 1969. The furnace
was 27.2 m long, 8.0 m wide, and 6.0 m high. The sidewalls of the furnace were
externally water cooled. The furnace was lined with magnesite, and utilised firebrick for
the roof. Concentrates were pelletized and dried prior to being fed to the furnace.

Electric smelting remains the most prevalent today, with all PGM smelting done
this way, with the exception of that carried out at Norilsk Nickel. The furnaces in use
today are described further below.

Drying

There has been a significant move away from pelletization, and towards the
pneumatic feeding of dried concentrates. The lowering of the amount of moisture
introduced into the furnace has lowered the energy requirement of smelting, and has
drastically reduced the occurrence of ‘blowbacks’ or furnace eruptions. This has reduced
the quantity of dust emitted from the furnaces, and has significantly improved the safety
and cleanliness of the smelting operation.

Sidewall cooling

There has been an increasing move in recent years to higher-intensity furnaces

fitted with copper cooling, both for rectangular furnaces (at Anglo Platinum’s Polokwane
smelter) and circular furnaces (such as those at Lonmin Platinum and Makwiro

13 of 32
Platinum). Containment issues are important, especially at the higher operating
temperatures used to cope with increasing chromite contents in the furnace feed.

Hatch copper-finger coolers have been installed in the sidewalls of some

furnaces, and this has improved the integrity of the furnace linings. More recently,
waffle coolers have been used on the newer higher-intensity furnaces. Although copper
cooling has allowed the use of higher power fluxes in furnaces, it has brought with it new
challenges of its own in terms of localised copper wear resulting from gaseous attack and
possible electrochemical effects.

UG2

Although the UG2 chromitite horizon was identified as containing PGMs in the
1920s, it took many years for this reef to be exploited. Traditionally, the grades were
regarded as lower than those of the Merensky Reef, but more recent developments have
shown that in many areas the PGM values are higher than in the Merensky Reef.

A blend of Merensky and UG2 concentrates has been processed since the late
1970s. During the 1980s, Mintek developed a process for the treatment of UG2
concentrates without the requirement for blending. Testwork (30) showed that a UG2
concentrate could be produced having a PGM grade around 430 g/t, at a recovery of 87
per cent. This was achieved with a mass pull (i.e. concentrate to ore ratio) of about 1 per
cent, and a Cr2O3 content of 2.9 per cent. Even higher grades (more than 1000 g/t) could
be achieved at even higher recoveries (more than 90 per cent), if the constraint on the
Cr2O3 content was relaxed (to between 4 and 10 per cent).

The higher concentrations of MgO, SiO2, and Al2O3 in the UG2 concentrate
require a higher smelting temperature. The Cr2O3 content of UG2 concentrate is
typically seven to ten times that of Merensky concentrate, and if allowed to deposit in the
furnace hearth, would rapidly build up and reduce the volume of the furnace. Depending
on the individual process, UG2 smelting may have a higher energy requirement per ton
of concentrate. For example, pilot tests (26,27) demonstrated the smelting of Merensky
concentrate at 1350ºC and 896 kWh/t, and UG2 concentrate at 1470ºC and 1088 kWh/t.
However, because UG2 concentrates have a higher concentration of PGMs, as a result of
the small quantities of sulphide minerals in the ore, they actually require significantly
less energy per mass of PGMs produced. (In addition, the chromite content of UG2 ore
is potentially saleable, after recovery of the PGMs, and the removal of gangue.)

Pilot-scale tests (26,27) have shown that adequate coalescence of matte prills can
be obtained by the use of a higher smelting temperature, and higher power flux (kW/m2
of furnace hearth area) to increase mixing in the bath. The pilot tests led to the adoption
of circular electric furnaces with three graphite electrodes for UG2 smelting, as this
configuration can better withstand the higher temperature and power flux required. The
slag from this operation has a PGM content too high (2.5 to 3.5 g/t) to be discarded, so it
is granulated and returned to the flotation circuit for the recovery of the PGMs. Lime or

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limestone is sometimes used as a flux, to improve the compatibility of the slag with the
basic refractory lining.

Recycling or cleaning of converter slag

The chromite problem is seen as increasingly important as the amount of UG2 ore
being mined continues to grow faster than the amount of Merensky ore. A recent trend is
the breaking of the traditional recycle of converter slag to the primary smelting furnace.
The converter slag can be treated either in a slag-cleaning furnace (as practised by Anglo
Platinum) or by subsequent milling and flotation.

Continuous converting

Continuous converting has been investigated by a number of platinum producers.

This is seen as a way to improve environmental issues, and to de-bottleneck those plants
where the converters are the limitation to increased production. The steady stream of
SO2 generated during continuous converting is suitable for sulphuric acid production.

SO2 emissions

Various techniques have been used in the attempt to reduce SO2 emissions from
smelters, with different degrees of success. These are discussed further in the sections
detailing the individual smelters.

NEW PROCESSES UNDER DEVELOPMENT

ConRoast

Matte smelting has been in use for the production of PGMs for many decades, but
new PGM smelting processes continue to emerge. An alternative PGM smelting process
has recently been developed using alloy smelting in a DC arc furnace (31,32). This
process has been implemented on a large-scale continuous demonstration basis (32). The
ConRoast process eliminates many of the traditional constraints on feed composition and
also has environmental advantages in the control of SO2 emissions.

The ConRoast process, jointly developed between Mintek and Falconbridge, is a

significant departure from sulphide matte smelting, in that it collects PGMs in an iron-
rich alloy in a DC arc furnace. Sulphide ore concentrates are dead-roasted in a fluidized
bed prior to the smelting step. This enables a continuous high-strength SO2-containing
gas to be captured from a single enclosed vessel, and avoids the presence of sulphur from
that point onward in the process.

The DC arc furnace attains the correct balance of high temperature and reducing
conditions to achieve very high recoveries of PGMs without suffering a spinel build-up

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in the furnace. The similarity of the alloy and slag liquidus temperatures greatly
simplifies the problem of containment of the high-temperature molten phases in the
furnace.

A long-term large-scale demonstration of the DC arc furnace for PGM smelting

has been underway at Mintek since 2004, and the recovery of PGMs has been
demonstrated very successfully on over six thousand tons of low-sulphur high-chromium
revert tailings to date, at a throughput of approximately one thousand tons per month
(32).

SOUTHERN AFRICAN PLATINUM SMELTER DATA

Production data and equipment and processing details for the Southern African platinum-
group-metal smelters (and some others for comparison) are given in Tables V to X.

Table V – Smelter location, year of first production, and annual production

PGMs, Ni, Cu,
Smelter Location Year
Moz/a kt/a kt/a
Anglo – Waterval Rustenburg, South Africa 1926 4.162 22.1 12.9
Anglo – Mortimer Swartklip, South Africa 1973 (0.754) (2.6) (1.5)
Anglo – Polokwane Polokwane, South Africa 2003
Impala Platinum Rustenburg, South Africa 1969 3.725 16.4 8.7
Lonmin Platinum Marikana, South Africa 1971 1.758 3.18 2.12
Northam Platinum Northam, South Africa 1992 0.385 1.51 0.86
Makwiro Platinum Selous, Zimbabwe 1997 0.187 1.63 1.0
Stillwater Mining Columbus, Montana, USA 1990 0.599 0.75 0.5
Norilsk Nickel – Taimyr Peninsula, Early
3.410 239 451
Nickel Smelter Siberia, Russia 1940s
Norilsk Nickel – Taimyr Peninsula, Early
- - -
Nadezhda Smelter Siberia, Russia 1980s
Norilsk Nickel – Taimyr Peninsula,
- - - -
Copper Smelter Siberia, Russia

16 of 32
Table VI – PGM Furnace information

17 of 32
 Table VII – PGM Furnace operation information
Furnace Energy Slag Matte
PGM Matte
consumption, Tapping Tapping
Conc. Fall *,
kWh/t of Temperature, Temperature,
grade, g/t %
concentrate ºC ºC
Anglo Waterval #1 150 700 1550 - 22
Anglo Waterval #2 150 700 1550 - 22
Anglo Waterval Slag cleaning - - - - -
Anglo Mortimer 145 820-850 1650 1550 15
Anglo Polokwane 150-200 800-850 1600 1550 15
Impala #3 130 680 1460 1300 12
Impala #5 130 680 1460 1300 12
Lonmin #1 300-350 850 1600-1650 1500-1550 14
Lonmin – Pyromet (3) - 880 - - -
Lonmin – Barnes-Birlec - 1270 - - -
Northam 130 1044 1485 1385 18
Makwiro 75 750-850 1580 1420 12
Stillwater - 5 MW 600-1200 850-950 1500-1550 1150-1250 14-25
Stillwater - 1.5 MW - 900-1000 - - -
* Matte fall is the mass of matte produced relative to the mass of the original concentrate feed.

Table VIII – PGM Converter information

Converter
No. of
Year of Converter Slag
Type of No. of Tuyeres
Smelter First Dimensions Recycle
Converter Converters per
Production ,m to
Converter
Furnace
Anglo Waterval - Ausmelt
2002 1 - 1 No
ACP (ACP)
Anglo Waterval - PS - Peirce-Smith 6 3.0 x 7.6 - No
Anglo Mortimer - None 0 - - No
Anglo Polokwane - None 0 - - No
Impala - Peirce-Smith 2 3.6 x 7.3 32 No
Impala - Peirce-Smith 4 3.0 x 4.6 16 No
Lonmin 1971,2002/
Peirce-Smith 3 3.0 x 4.6 18 No
3
Northam 1992 Peirce-Smith 2 3.0 x 6.1 22 Yes
Makwiro 1998 Peirce-Smith 2 3.0 x 4.6 16 Yes
Stillwater Kaldo
1999 2 2.0 x 3.32 - Yes (a)
(TBRC)
Norilsk – Nickel 100 t
Early 1940s Russian 6 - Yes (b)
capacity
Norilsk – Nadezhda - Peirce-Smith 6 - - -
Norilsk – Copper - Peirce-Smith 9 4x9 - Yes (c)
(a) Recycled in granulated form
(b) From copper smelter
(c) To reverb furnace

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 Table IX – Driers, Acid plants, Gas cleaning, and Stack height
Stack
Smelter Drier Type Acid Plant Gas Cleaning Equipment
Height, m
Anglo Waterval Flash (4) Yes Ceramic filters 183
Anglo Mortimer Flash No ESP 100
Anglo Polokwane Flash (2) No Baghouse 165
Impala Spray (4) Yes ESP; Sulfacid plant 77 (91)
Lonmin Flash; No Baghouse for drier; 120
Spray (2 old) ESP and dual-alkali wet scrubber
Northam Flash No ESP and wet scrubber 200
Makwiro Flash (1) No ESP 105
Stillwater Fluid bed No Baghouse and SO2 wet scrubber 26
Norilsk – Nickel Sinter plant - - -
Norilsk – Nadezhda Niro spray (6) No ESP (6); Elemental S production -
Norilsk – Copper Rotary (3) Yes Wet gas cleaning; 180
Elemental Sulphur production

Table X – Granulation
Furnace Converter
Smelter
Slag Matte Slag Matte
Anglo Waterval Yes Yes Yes No *
Anglo Mortimer Yes No ** - -
Anglo Polokwane Yes No ** - -
Impala Yes No Yes Yes
Lonmin Yes No Yes Yes
Northam Yes No No Yes
Makwiro Yes No No Yes
Stillwater No Yes Yes Yes
* Waterval converter matte is slow-cooled
** Mortimer and Polokwane furnace matte is cast and crushed

ANGLO PLATINUM

Anglo Platinum has three smelter plants – Waterval, Mortimer, and Polokwane.
Anglo Platinum have chosen to have one central facility where all their converting and
subsequent treatment by slow cooling and magnetic separation prior to refining can take
place. Furnace matte from all three of their smelters is treated in the Anglo Platinum
Converting Process (ACP), at the Waterval Smelter near Rustenburg. This strategy of
decoupling their furnaces and converting operations provides some operational flexibility
as well as offering a range of siting possibilities for future expansions.

The year 2003 saw significant changes in Anglo Platinum’s smelting capacity,
with the commissioning of the Polokwane Smelter, the Anglo Platinum Converting
Process (ACP) plant, and the Waterval Slag-cleaning Furnace.

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Waterval Smelter

The largest of Anglo Platinum’s smelting plants is the Waterval Smelter at their
Rustenburg Section. All converting of furnace matte from Anglo’s three PGM smelters
takes place here.

The first electric furnace installation for platinum matte smelting was
commissioned in 1969, and has been described by Mostert (29) and others (33). The
19.5 MVA six-in-line submerged arc furnace used electrodes 1.25 m in diameter, spaced
3.4 m apart. The maximum electrode current was 32.4 kA at 201 V. Based on the cross-
sectional area of the electrodes, this results in 2.65 A/cm2. The electrodes were normally
submerged about 48 cm into the slag layer, which varied in thickness between 1.3 and
1.5 m. The thickness of the matte layer was around 76 cm. A second furnace was
installed in the early 1970s. The mean residence time in the furnace was around 20
hours. A 25 per cent addition of limestone was added to the concentrate as a flux. The
resulting slag had a liquidus temperature of 1300ºC, an electrical resistivity of 4.7 Wcm at
1400ºC, and a viscosity of 3.7 poise at 1400ºC (33). A temperature gradient of 0.75ºC
per cm was measured in the slag (33).

During the 1990s, most of the smelter was upgraded. The rotary multi-hearth
driers and pelletizing plants which produced semi-dry pellets (about 10 per cent
moisture) were replaced by flash driers in 1992, thereby eliminating the labour-intensive
process of pellet production, as well as lowering the cost of smelting. Flash drying
technology was seen to have lower capital, maintenance, and labour costs, higher
efficiency, and more effective dewatering capacity than conventional spray/rotary drying
or pressure filtration technologies. The two 18 MW Elkem furnaces were replaced by the
current Hatch furnaces. The Peirce-Smith converters were lengthened from their original
6.1 m (20 ft) to 7.6 m length, and their number was increased from four to six.

Waterval Smelter treats concentrates from a number of different concentrators.

There are three flash driers; one smaller and two identical larger units. The dried
concentrate is blended with lime, and is pneumatically transferred to the furnaces. The
two furnaces are of a Hatch design, accommodating six Söderberg electrodes 1.25 m in
diameter. Both of the furnaces at the Waterval Smelter are rated at 39 MVA (34 MW).
The two furnaces measure 25.8 m x 8.0 m inside, and have a combination of chrome-
magnesite and magnesite refractories. Based on these figures, they have a power flux of
165 kW/m2. The maximum voltage supplied by the transformer is 350 V, and the
maximum current is 27 kA per phase. The electrode consumption is around 3.5 kg of
electrode paste per MWh. Limestone is added to the furnace as a flux, to the extent of
about 10 per cent of the mass of the concentrate. The furnace off-gases pass through
ceramic filters, resulting in significantly reduced dust losses, and are then expelled to the
atmosphere via the main stack.

Anglo Platinum uses a matte slow-cooling process (34) for the recovery of PGMs.
In this process, the converter matte (consisting predominantly of nickel, copper, and

20 of 32
sulphur, together with minor amounts of iron, and trace quantities of PGMs) is chill-cast
into 30-ton ingots in refractory-lined moulds in the ground, covered with a lid for about a
day, and cooled for approximately five days. During slow cooling, an iron-nickel phase
and a copper-nickel alloy phase separate. Around 95% or more of the platinum group
elements concentrate in a relatively small volume of magnetic Ni-Cu-Fe alloy. This
alloy can be magnetically separated after crushing and milling, with the intention of
shortening the overall processing time for the recovery of the noble metals. (A quicker
process reduces the hold-up of precious metals in the extraction and refining circuits.)
This enables the PGMs to be processed directly in a precious metals refinery, without the
need to first pass through a base metals refinery. In this way, a clear separation is made
between the business of processing the base metals and the precious metals business.

Anglo Platinum Converting Process (ACP)

Anglo Platinum announced in 1998 that they were busy with the development of
a new continuous converting process, now known as the Anglo Platinum Converting
Process (ACP). The prime objective of the ACP project was to reduce emissions of
sulphur dioxide at the Waterval smelter to the Department of Environmental Affairs and
Tourism's permitted levels of under 20 tons per day by the end of 2004. Prior to the ACP
process implementation, the Waterval Smelter was able to capture only 50% to 55% of
the sulphur dioxide emissions, and needed to increase the sulphur fixation to 95% in
order to come within acceptable world-class environmental standards. (For interest,
South African guidelines allow 100 parts per billion of sulphur dioxide.) During May
2003, the Waterval Smelter came under heavy criticism in the media regarding its SO2
emissions, and it was acknowledged that they had emitted 68 700 tons of SO2 during the
previous year (i.e. an average of 188 t/d), with figures as high as 248 t/d at the beginning
of 2003. By September 2003, emissions had already been reduced to 130 t/d.

The Anglo Platinum Converting Process (ACP) was also intended to increase the
available converter capacity for the group's expansion programme. The plant, developed
in conjunction with Ausmelt and others, uses Sirosmelt submerged lance technology
from Ausmelt, adapted to the requirements of nickel-copper matte smelting, with copper
waffle coolers from Hatch.

The ACP project was started in 1995 with feasibility studies. Final approval of
the project was concluded in July 2000, and site construction began in August 2000. At
the peak of construction, more than 3 000 workers were employed on-site.
Commissioning began in March 2002, and the first slag was tapped on 13 June 2002.
The ACP converter plant was brought on stream in 2003, and continues to increase
throughput, with the intention that it would be fully operational by the second quarter of
2004. The ACP unit underwent a hearth rebuild in January 2004. The cost of the first
stage of the ACP project (Stage A) was about R1.4 billion, and the cost of a second unit
(Stage B) is projected to be an additional R0.5 billion. Construction of the second
converter was planned to begin in early 2003. The second ACP unit (Stage B) is
scheduled for completion by 2006. The phasing out of the existing Peirce-Smith

21 of 32
converters and the old single-contact-absorption sulphuric acid plant is planned once the
second standby ACP reactor is commissioned. (This acid plant treated the 4-6% SO2 off-
gas from the Peirce-Smith converters.) This is anticipated to occur during the fourth
quarter of 2005, with the first slag tap scheduled for the first quarter of 2006.

While Stage A included the complete infrastructure to support the new Ausmelt
converting process, which included raw-material handling, slag and matte granulation,
hot-gas cleaning, as well as the acid plant for sulphur fixation, Stage B will include only
the converter and gas-cooling component, which ties in with the existing support
infrastructure. The second converter will serve to ensure continued operation during
periodic converter overhauls or in the event of a major converter failure of the operating
unit. This project has a building footprint that measures 24 m x 28 m and is about 54 m
high. The height of the building is necessary to accommodate the relatively slender
converter and water-cooled uptake as well the lance-handling equipment. It adjoins the
existing converter building on its eastern side.

The ACP technology is the first application of Ausmelt converting to the PGM
industry. Extensive testwork was carried out on a pilot scale prior to embarking on the
original project. Two modes of operation were tested – continuous-processing and batch-
processing. Batch-processing was deemed at the time to be the most appropriate.
However, during early ramp-up, a decision was made to change to continuous-converting
in order to achieve better end-point control of the converting process and, in this way,
render the process more stable. This change has not warranted any significant design
change in the Stage B converter. It was also found during early ramp-up that accretion
build-up within the converter uptake was resulting in unacceptable furnace availability.
In addition to measures implemented on the operating unit – which have brought the
accretion build-up under control – the design of the Stage B freeboard has been changed
to further reduce the possibility of accretion formation.

Air Products has built a R120 million over-the-fence air-separation unit that will
supply about 237 t/d of oxygen, 2.1 t/d of nitrogen as well as up to 45 000 normal m3/h of
plant and instrumentation air to the smelter.

The converter has the capacity to treat 72 000 t of converter matte per year. This
means that the plant will be able to treat material containing 33 000 t of nickel a year,
corresponding to about 4 million ounces of platinum per year.

The converter is designed to accept all furnace matte from the three Anglo
Platinum smelters (Polokwane, Mortimer, and Waterval), as well as Waterval slag-
cleaning furnace matte. The furnace matte is transported in solid form from the smelters
to the ACP, where it is fed into the converter together with silica and coal as feedstock.

The furnace technology was a consolidation of Hatch (engineering, procurement,

and construction management contractor for the furnace, and copper cooler design),
Ausmelt (Sirosmelt lance smelting), and Foster Wheeler technologies. The furnace, with

22 of 32
an uptake of high-pressure water-cooled jacketed membrane and water running at
temperatures of up to 220°C and pressures of up to 70 bar was designed by Foster
Wheeler. Other technology suppliers were Paul Wurth, as well as Germany-based
Lockwood Greene Petersen (acid plant). The ACP uses the most advanced technology,
and is the only converter in the world with a combination of waffle coolers in the
crucible and high-pressure water membrane boiler freeboard and uptake.

Mortimer Smelter

The Mortimer Smelter at the Union Section has one six-in-line furnace, used
primarily for smelting UG2 concentrates. The Union furnace matte is converted at the
Waterval Smelter.

Polokwane Smelter

The Polokwane Smelter was built to process concentrates from Anglo Platinum’s
operations (fully or jointly owned) on the Eastern Limb of the Bushveld Complex. The
68 MW six-in-line furnace is the highest-power furnace in the PGM industry, and is
designed to run at a higher power flux than the other six-in-line furnaces. The furnace
was designed to achieve the high operating temperatures necessary for smelting
concentrates with high chromite contents. The smelter was successfully commissioned
in March 2003, ahead of schedule and within budget. Having a design capacity of
650 000 tons per year will allow the Polokwane Smelter to process concentrate from
existing and new mines on the Eastern Limb, as well as to provide some backup capacity
for the Waterval and Mortimer smelters. The plant is expected to eventually account for
40% of Anglo Platinum’s production. The furnace was running at about 50% capacity
around the middle of 2004.

Some repairs have been required on the furnace cooling system, and Anglo
Platinum announced a six-week shutdown of the furnace from 10 September 2004, to
enable essential repairs to be carried out on the smelter’s cooling system (copper waffle
coolers).

IMPALA PLATINUM

At Impala Platinum, flotation concentrate is electrically smelted in six-in-line

electric furnaces, and the resulting furnace matte treated in Peirce-Smith converters to
remove the iron. The iron-free (less than 1% Fe) converter matte is granulated and sent
to the base metals and precious metals refineries in Springs for further processing.

Impala has four rectangular six-in-line submerged-arc furnaces, of which only the
two largest (38 MW and 35 MW) are in use. The furnaces are served by four Niro spray
driers. Six Peirce-Smith converters are available, although not all are in operation at any

23 of 32
given time. In addition to the treatment of their own concentrate, Impala also have a
significant business in the toll-treatment of a variety of materials.

Impala’s first six-in-line furnace (7.5 MVA) was installed in 1969, and a number
of different furnaces and driers have been installed (and some de-commissioned) since
then. A detailed chronology of the installations has been provided elsewhere (35). The
largest furnace (39 MVA) is 25.9 m long and 8.2 m wide, and has electrodes of 1.14 m in
diameter, spaced 3.32 m apart (centre to centre). The phase current is maintained at 24 to
26 kA, and the phase voltage is between 500 and 550 V. The furnace is normally
operated at 38 MW.

The fine particle size of the concentrate presented serious problems in the initially
installed drying process (filters). Filters became blocked; the concentrate became too
dry; and dust losses increased. Furnace blow-backs (sometimes explosive in nature)
resulted from steam generation inside the furnace, and had a detrimental effect on
atmospheric pollution (as well as on the loss of feed material). Niro spray drying, to a
moisture content of less than 0.5%, reduced the above problems. ‘Dry feeding’ of the
furnaces was instituted in 1986. Once some materials of construction problems were
solved, typical running times on the driers exceeded 95%. Dry feeding of concentrate
virtually eliminated ‘blow-backs’, and made it possible to reduce the number of feed
pipes from 28 to between 4 and 6, as the distribution of feed in the furnace was
improved. Dry feeding also increased furnace efficiency by 12 to 15%. Using burnt lime
in place of limestone increased smelting capacity by about 5%.

Because of the high value of the PGMs, the grade-recovery relationship is heavily
skewed towards maximum recovery. This has a major impact on smelter capacity, as has
Cr2O3 control in the concentrator. The low grade of concentrate smelted, in order to
maximize PGM recovery over the concentrator, has a high SiO2 and MgO content, and a
low FeO content. This requires a high operating temperature, namely 1460ºC for slag,
and 1260ºC for matte. High power fluxes help to prevent spinel build-ups, and the Cr2O3
contents of the concentrates are carefully controlled. The Merensky concentrate has a
Cr2O3 content of less than 0.5 per cent, and the UG2 concentrate runs at about 1.6 to 1.7
per cent Cr2O3. This results in an overall Cr2O3 content of less than 1 per cent in the
blended concentrate. Impala was the first producer to experiment with UG2 on a plant
scale as early as 1971 (35).

High-quality magnesite refractory bricks are used to line the hearth and lower
side walls, while firebricks are used for the upper walls and roof. Copper cooling of
side- and end-walls was provided by Hatch Associates.

A very low tonnage of converter matte (also known as white metal) is the final
product from the smelter. This is granulated and supplied as the feedstock for the Impala
Refineries. Impala’s Base Metals Refinery uses Sherritt Gordon ammonia leach
technology.

24 of 32
 All waste gases, from driers, furnaces, and converters, are treated prior to
disposal. During smelting and converting, two distinct gas streams are produced. The
converter off-gas contains 4-9% SO2 which is treated in a conventional sulphuric acid
plant to produce 94% H2SO4. (The single-contact Lurgi-designed sulphuric acid plant is
one of the few in the world running on converter gas alone.) The furnace off-gas
contains 0.6-0.9% SO2 which was (until 2002) vented through a 91 m concrete stack to
the atmosphere. In October 2002, a Sulfacid plant was installed to recover SO2 from the
furnace off-gas into a weak (up to 13%) sulphuric acid solution. Prior to the installation
of the Sulfacid plant, Impala’s smelter emitted 34 tons of SO2 per day to the atmosphere
from its off-gas stacks (28 t/d from the furnace off-gas stack, 4.5 t/d from the acid plant
stack, and 1.5 t/d from the drier stacks). The Sulfacid plant installation was very
successful, and achieves an 85% recovery of SO2 from the furnace off-gas (36). The
Sulfacid plant reduced SO2 stack emissions by 40% to less than 20 tons per day (37).

In the 1990s, the Impala operation was predominantly characterised by smelting

Merensky ore concentrates in low power density furnaces, with converter slag being
recycled to the furnaces. Now, in 2005, the plant operates fewer (two) higher intensity
copper-cooled furnaces treating a much greater proportion of UG2 ore concentrates and
other toll-smelted materials. Converter slag is no longer recycled to the furnaces. The
chromium content permitted in the furnace feed has risen from about 0.8% to about 1.8%
Cr2O3. SO2 emissions have decreased significantly. Over the time that platinum
production has doubled, the number of smelter employees decreased from about 500 to
about 350. Impala’s smelting strategy seems to have been one of using only tried and
trusted conventional furnace and converter technologies and spending a lot of effort in
getting them to work reliably and optimally.

LONMIN PLATINUM

Operations at the Western Platinum Smelter commenced in December 1971 with

the commissioning of a 7.5 MVA Merensky six-in-line furnace. In November 1982, the
smelter was expanded with the commissioning of two 2.3 MVA Infurnco circular
furnaces to smelt UG2 concentrate. The UG2 smelting facilities were expanded in
March 1991 with the commissioning of three 5 MVA Pyromet circular furnaces.
Western Platinum was the first mine to commission separate facilities for treating UG2
ore for the recovery of PGMs and associated base metals (38). The Merensky six-in-line
furnace was subsequently upgraded to 10 MVA.

For a long time, the Merensky and UG2 concentrates were smelted separately.
The Merensky concentrate (received as a slurry) was filtered in a rotary drum filter and
partially dried through a rotary kiln (to a moisture content of about 8 per cent) before
being fed into the six-in-line furnace. The green charge and limestone flux were
manually rabbled inside the furnace. The furnace matte was tapped periodically, while
slag was tapped almost continually and granulated in a high-flow water stream.

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Converter slag was returned to the Merensky furnace to recover entrained matte. The
UG2 concentrates, containing relatively high concentrations of chromite, were dried in
spray driers. The bone-dry concentrate was then pneumatically conveyed to one of
several circular three-electrode submerged-arc AC electric furnaces. Burnt lime was
used as a flux. Smelting of UG2 concentrate in a circular three-electrode furnace (39)
requires a higher power flux than the smelting of Merensky concentrate. A higher than
usual smelting temperature is used, and the smelting zone is more concentrated, so that
the slag is more agitated. The agitation of the slag is necessary to promote coalescence
of the small quantity of matte that has to be separated from the slag. The agitation also
causes the accretion of chromite on the hearth to be minimized. Around 80 to 90 per cent
of the chromite present is discarded in the furnace slag. Furnace matte with a chromium
content of 2 per cent could be blown to converter matte containing less than 40 ppm of
chromium, which is acceptable to the base-metal refinery. The Merensky furnace matte
and UG2 furnace matte were combined and converted together.

All the converter matte is processed at the base-metal refinery (BMR), using
Sherritt technology from Canada, to produce nickel sulphate crystals, pure copper
cathodes, and a high-grade PGM concentrate. The capacity of the BMR was expanded in
1991 to be able to treat 54 tons of converter matte per day.

Water granulation of the converter matte was introduced to prevent the formation
of magnetite and trevorite (which previously formed by oxidation during cooling in
moulds before crushing). These materials did not leach significantly in the BMR and
reported to the PGM concentrate. The PGM concentrate currently has a grade of about
60 per cent (38).

Western Platinum was the first company to exploit the UG2 on a large scale for
its PGM content (18). Metallurgical investigations were undertaken in conjunction with
Mintek during 1980. Mining of the UG2 at Western Platinum Mine commenced in 1982,
and the UG2 concentrator started up in March 1983. The UG2 ore is generally milled
separately from the Merensky ore. More than 80 per cent of Lonmin Platinum’s current
annual production is sourced from the UG2. Lonmin UG2 ore is commonly mined at
depths ranging from 30 m to 700 m below the surface.

In 2002, Lonmin started operating a new 28 MW circular furnace that was able to
accept a combined blend of UG2 and Merensky concentrates that were dried in a flash
drier. The furnace performed well and was used as the sole production unit. On 26
December 2002, a serious explosion occurred on the south matte tap hole of the No.1
Furnace some nine months after commissioning (40). This resulted in a lengthy shut
down of the smelter. Contingency plans were put in place soon after the explosion and
included the re-commissioning of the Merensky and Pyromet furnaces, and the signing of
an agreement with Impala Platinum to toll treat a portion of the concentrates. The
additional costs incurred amounted to some $34 million ($8 million for the re-
commissioning, and $26 million for toll smelting). A team consisting of personnel from
Lonmin’s metallurgical services and Hatch (the consultants used during the design and

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construction of the No.1 Furnace) launched an extensive investigation into the cause of
the failure. The conclusion reached was that hot matte had come into contact with the
deep matte waffle cooler resulting in a release of water into the furnace and a subsequent
explosion, which destroyed the deep matte waffle. A review of the original design
indicated that improvements could be made to the monitoring and process control
systems, feed blending systems, the refractory lining, the copper waffle cooling system,
and the tap blocks. These design improvements, together with the re-building should
significantly reduce the risk of a similar accident. The repaired furnace was re-started in
December 2003, with the first matte tap taking place on 25 January 2004.

However, on 18 November 2004, a second (unrelated) serious incident took place

when cooling water leaked into the furnace, causing a steam explosion, resulting in
structural damage. Although the smelter was out of action for approximately two months
until 20 January 2005, Lonmin was able to treat much of its concentrate output via its old
Pyromet furnaces, while sending the remaining material to Impala for toll-refining. The
outage consequently had little impact on refined PGM production, although the cost
implications were about $14 million.

A dual alkali sulphur fixation plant, producing a calcium sulphite product, was
commissioned in July 2003. This has brought the level of SO2 discharged to the
atmosphere via the SO2 plant stack to less than 3.5 tons per day (representing about 96%
SO2 capture).

NORTHAM PLATINUM

Northam operates the world’s deepest platinum mine, with a lowest depth of
2000 m. The ore grade is 10 g/t in situ, and 5.5 g/t mined. The first smelting was carried
out in August 1992, with first production in 1993.

Northam uses a very conventional matte-smelting process, using a single six-in-

line furnace. In 1999, Northam announced plans to increase their production of UG2
concentrate above the roughly 10 per cent (relative to the combined feed of Merensky
and UG2 concentrates) that was in use at the time. Concentrates are dried in a flash drier,
and the dry feed is pneumatically fed to the furnace. Burnt limestone is used as a flux.
The six-in-line furnace, supplied by Davy, is rated at 16.5 MVA (15 MW), with a normal
operating range between 11 and 12 MW. The smelter produces about 360 tons per
month of converter matte.

In the first leaching stage of Northam’s base metals refinery, nickel is removed as
a sulphate. The PGM concentrate is removed as the residue from a pressure leaching
stage. Finally, copper is removed by electrowinning. The PGM concentrate is refined by
Heraeus in Germany.

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 In January 2003, the smelter was shut down for a complete furnace rebuild after
operating continuously for the past eleven years. The plant was re-commissioned during
March 2003.

MAKWIRO PLATINUM (ZIMPLATS)

The Great Dyke in Zimbabwe is the world’s second largest platinum deposit, but
it took until the 1990s for it to be exploited. PGM concentrates were produced
commercially at Mimosa from 1995, but no smelting was done locally. However, BHP
and Delta Gold of Australia entered into a joint venture to develop what was then known
as Hartley Platinum. The mine and plant was designed for a capacity for treating
180 000 tons of ore per month, with full-scale production of 0.15 Moz/a Pt, 0.11 Moz/a
Pd, 0.012 Moz/a Rh (i.e. Pt+Pd+Rh = 0.27 Moz/a).

A circular furnace was chosen for the smelter. While evaluating options for the
plant, both Ausmelt and conventional electric smelting options were considered, but no
significant difference in capital or operating costs was projected. Therefore,
conventional technology was implemented. The furnace was lined in mid 1996.
Smelting began in early 1997, and had not yet reached full capacity when operations
were suspended in 1999. (The sidewalls needed to be rebuilt in August 1998.)

Under the auspices of the new owners Zimplats, the renamed Makwiro Platinum
started up again a few years later. Ore is processed at the Selous Metallurgical Complex
at the Hartley mine site. The first concentrate was produced in November 2001, the first
furnace matte in January 2002, and the first converter matte in April 2002. A major
break-out at the smelter occurred in July 2003, resulting in the Elkem furnace being out
of operation for seven weeks. The breakout occurred under a slag taphole following
magnesite hydration, which took place when cooling water from a slag tapping block
entered the furnace. A rebuild of approximately 25 per cent of the lower sidewall, in the
region of the plate coolers, was required. The furnace was restarted 6 August 2003,
following these improvements. Converter matte is transported to Impala Refining
Services in South Africa for refining and marketing.

CONCLUSIONS

South Africa dominates world production of platinum. Because of the high value
of the PGM products, a risk-averse, conservative approach is often adopted towards the
introduction of changes in processing technology, and PGM matte smelting remains very
closely based on traditional nickel-copper matte smelting. However, platinum smelting
has undergone many changes during the past three-quarters of a century, and will
continue to develop further, in particular to address environmental concerns, and to
maximize recovery from all available ore-bodies. The metallurgically challenging

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extraction of PGMs will continue to require an advanced understanding of many aspects
of PGM smelting, in both chemical and electrical fundamentals (41), as well as an
improved understanding of the physical aspects of furnace design. Clearly, large-scale
pilot testing will be required for new processes that are currently under development,
with a view to addressing the limitations of the conventional matte-smelting processing
route.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This paper is published by permission of Mintek. The assistance of many friends

and colleagues in the platinum industry is gratefully acknowledged.

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