Design of Copper Cobalt Sulphating Roasters for Katanga Mining Limited in DR Congo

Abstract

In late 2006, Hatch was awarded a contract to supply fluid bed technology for the Katanga Mining Limited (KML) copper-cobalt processing project in D.R. Congo (DRC). The new roasting facility is part of the revitalization of an existing facility in the Katanga Province of the DRC being undertaken by KML. The sulphide ore fed to the roasting plant is treated under the “sulphating roast” conditions, followed by hydrometallurgical processing. Equipment for the first roasting line has been installed and the plant commissioning is currently (October 2009) underway. Hatch's Flu-idization Technology Group (FTG) in Mississauga, Canada supplied its proprietary equipment and technology to KML under a license agreement, which included the provision of detailed engineer-ing services for the roaster equipment. Hatch offices in Canada and South Africa also conducted the required engineering for the balance of the plant, including off-gas dust and SO2 scrubbers design, civil and structural, piping and ducting, electrical and process controls. This paper only describes the process conditions planned for the sulphating roast operation, and the custom-design features of the fluid bed equipment employed.