Smelting Practice At Olympic Dam

The Olympic Dam smelter utilises Outokumpu Oy flash smelting technology to produce blister copper directly from high-grade copper concentrate. This paper describes the unit processes involved in the smelting operation, which include filtering and drying, materials handling, smelting, gas and dust handling, waste heat recovery, sulphur fixing, anode refining, and casting. Detailed heat and mass balances, as well as energy consumptions and costs as a percentage of total smelting costs, are presented for each unit process. The smelting process at Olympic Dam differs from conventional methods by employing a two-stage process: the first stage uses the Outokumpu flash smelting technology in a direct-to-blister mode, while the second stage involves conventional fire refining in anode furnaces prior to casting. The concentrates are produced through a series of grinding, flotation, and leaching processes, achieving a final leached concentrate with a typical copper grade of 55%. Since commissioning in July 1988, the performance of the Olympic Dam Smelter has improved, increasing throughput rates beyond initial design capacities, demonstrating reliability and predictability in production despite certain unresolved factors such as refractory wear and dust generation. This work provides insights into modern copper smelting practices and operational efficiencies achieved at the Olympic Dam facility.