St. Joe Reclaims Zinc With Heavy Media Separation

Since October 1965 the Josephtown Smelter of St. Joseph Lead Co. has commercially applied the Heavy Media Separation process to reclaim zinc and reject gangue from electrothermic zinc furnace residues. In addition, heavy medium is produced from the ferrosilicon which is present in the furnace residues. By way of background, the Josephtown Smelter produces zinc metal and zinc oxide by the electro- thermic process. The principal feed to the vertical shaft electric furnaces is sized sinter and coke. Temperature of the charge in the furnaces varies from roughly 900°C near the wall to 1300-1400°C in the central regions. Zinc smelting is rapid and nearly complete in the main body of the charge, but little zinc is smelted near the wall. In addition to fusing high gangue content particles, the high temperatures promote side reactions, the most important of which is reduction of iron oxide and silica to form a low grade ferrosilicon containing about 82 % Fe and 13% Si.