LEAD CONCENTRATE

The Lead Concentrate fresh from the filter needs to be refined to remove the sulfur.

Concentrate is unloaded at the sinter plant than Lead Concentrate is mixed with other lead bearing materials and with sand and limestone. After that the mixture is spread on a moving grate. Coke is added as fuel, and the Sulfur in the Ore Concentrate combusts to Sulfur Dioxide gas.

This Sulfur Dioxide is an important byproduct of the lead refining process. It is captured at a separate acid plant and converted to sulfuric acid, which has many uses. After the Ore has been roasted in this way, it fuses into a brittle material called Sinter. The Sinter is mostly Lead Oxide, but it can also contain oxides of zinc, iron, and silicon, some lime, and sulfur. As the sinter passes off the moving grate, it is broken into lumps. The lumps are then loaded into the blast furnace.