MMC Norilsk Nickel Polar Division, Norilsk, Russia.

P. V. Malakhov, Chief Engineer, Center for Engineering Support of Production, e-mail: MalakhovPV@nornik.ru
S. B. Gradyushko, Director of Copper Plant

Institute Gipronickel, St. Petersburg, Russia.
S. S. Ozerov, Leading Researcher, Laboratory of Pyrometallurgy, Department of Science and Technology Development, Candidate of Technical Sciences
O. S. Novozhilova, Junior Researcher, Laboratory of Pyrometallurgy, Department of Science and Technology Development

Modern realities in the conditions of a tough market economy set the task of increasing the production profitability and reducing the production cost. One of the areas of reducing the cost of non-ferrous metal production in the Polar Division (PD) of MMC Norilsk Nickel is improving efficiency by increasing productivity (through the use of modern methods and technologies for process management and labor organization), reducing costs for material and technical resources, as well as directly reducing the turnover of target metals in the production process and their losses with waste products. Solving these problems requires an integrated approach. Pyrometallurgical production of the Polar Division of MMC Norilsk Nickel, in particular the Copper Plant (CP), is characterized by a significant turnover of non-ferrous metals with converter slag and losses with waste slag. During processing at the CP, about 20% (wt.) of Co received with raw materials is in circulation with converter slag, and up to 60% (wt.) is lost with waste slag from Vanyukov furnaces. The article presents the results of pilot tests to study the effect of pouring converter slag into the Vanyukov furnace on the content and form of non-ferrous metals in the waste slag of these furnaces at the Copper Plant. Organizational and technological measures are also defined to ensure minimal losses of non-ferrous metals with the waste slag of the Copper Plant`s Vanyukov furnaces.
The authors express their gratitude to the technological personnel of the smelting shop of the Copper Plant, as well as to the 2nd category engineers of the Gipronickel Institute Gusein Gusarov and Namig Lebron Ogly for their contribution to the pilot tests.

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