Full name of the enterprise: Kazakhmys Smelting LLP Balkhash Copper Smelter

Geographical position: Balkhash city, Karaganda region

Mining deposit processed by the Concentrator or plant: Copper and pyrite concentrates of Kazakhmys Corporation LLP and KAZ Minerals Group are used as raw materials. Gold-bearing ores of reflective and converter classes are used as fluxes.

Date of commissioning: 1938

Historical background: On November 24, 1938, the first Kazakh blister copper was obtained at the Balkhash Copper Smelter and anode copper was poured in the same year.

Products:
Refined copper
Gold bars
Silver in bars and granules
Sulfuric acid
Lead in dust

Productive capacity:
Refined copper - 220.0 thousand tons/year
Gold in bars - 11.0 tons/year
Silver in bars and granules - 670.0 tons/year
Sulfuric acid - 1100.0 thousand tons/year
Lead in dust - 9,500 thousand tons/year

Company structure:
Charge Preparation Shop (CPSh)
Copper Smelting Shop (CSSh)
Copper Refining Shop (CRSh)
Sulfuric Acid Shop (SAP)
Precious Metals Plant (PMP)

Brief description of the technological process:
The technological process of the Smelter is based on the processing of copper concentrates with the main goal of extracting copper and obtaining marketable products.

Imported concentrates are delivered in gondola cars to the CPSh. After drying and preparation, the charge is transported by conveyors to the bunkers of melting units (Vanyukov furnaces) according to the technology of melting in a liquid bath.

The resulting copper matte is transported by ladles to the converters, where blister copper is produced, which is then fed into the anode furnaces. Upon completion of the fire refining process, the resulting anode copper is poured into molds of a casting wheel to obtain anode copper.

The anodes enter the CRSh and are loaded into the electrolysis cells. Electrolysis produces cathode copper.
Finished cathode copper is delivered to the warehouse for loading to the consumer.
After the electrolysis process, the copper electrolyte slime of the CRSh enters the Slime Area of the PMP for further processing and obtaining finished products - gold and silver.

Full name of the enterprise: Kazakhmys Smelting LLP Oxygen Plant.

Geographic location: Balkhash city, Karaganda region.

Date of commissioning: September 30, 1958.

Historical background: The technical progress of new equipment and new technology in the history of the formation and development of the largest non-ferrous metallurgy enterprise in Kazakhstan was the construction of an oxygen station and the use of oxygen in copper metallurgy at the Balkhash copper smelter.
The Oxygen Plant is designed to generate and provide structural divisions of the Balkhash Copper Smelter of Kazakhmys Smelting LLP, industrial sites in the Balkhash region with compressed air, process and technical oxygen and nitrogen.

Products:

• Compressed air;
• Process oxygen and nitrogen;
• Technical oxygen and nitrogen;
• Liquid oxygen and nitrogen.

Production capacity, average:

• Technological oxygen — 46,000 — 48,000 m3/hour;
• Compressed air — 40,000 — 60,000 m3 / hour;
• Technical oxygen — 930 m3 per day.

Number: According to the staff — workers 169 and engineering personnel — 24.

Brief description of the technological process:
Atmospheric air is compressed in turbocompressor units of the K-1500 type — 3 units and K-1700 — 2 units, goes for processing to air separation units (ASU) of the KAAr-15 type — 4 units.

In the process of compressing air in stages in a turbocompressor unit, its temperature rises. Air heat exchangers are used for intermediate and final cooling of compressed air. Compressed air passes through the annular space, while water constantly circulates in the tube space. Water is supplied for circulation by pumping units located in the pumping stations Dobersek and TCS No. 2 using a stationary pipeline system.

In air separation units, compressed air is separated by deep cooling into its main components (nitrogen and oxygen). The produced products are distributed to consumers through pipeline systems. Technological oxygen in the furnace VF-1, 2; furnace Kaldo of Precious Metals Plant of Balkhash Copper Smelter and in the melting unit of the LLP "555". Technological nitrogen — ZOTsM JSC.

Technical oxygen and nitrogen are filled into cylinders and delivered to consumers at the Balkhash production site, Shatyrkul. Kounrad, Sayak mines and organizations of Balkhash city.
About 20% of the total volume of compressed air is distributed through the air collector to the structural subdivisions of the Balkhash industrial site.

Full name of the enterprise: Copper and Enameled Wire Production Shop of Kazakhmys Smelting LLP. Karaganda region, Balkhash city, Abay street, 1.

Geographic location: Balkhash city, Karaganda region.

Deposit developed by the mine/processed by the concentrator or plant: In the workshop for the production of copper and enameled wire of Kazakhmys Smelting LLP. The raw material for the manufacture of products is wire rod KM M001 8.0 that meets the requirements of ST RK GOST R 53 803−2011 "Copper wire rod for electrical purposes. Specifications", produced by the Kazkat Plant made of cathode copper (Zhezkazgan city). Copper grade must be at least M001.

Commissioning date: The official opening of the Copper and Enameled wire Production Shop took place on 04/04/1996.

Historical background: The construction of Copper and Enameled Wire Production Shop of Kazakhmys Smelting LLP began in June 1995. The installation of all process equipment was completed in October 1995. Warranty tests were successfully completed in November-December 1995 according to a project carried out by Karaganda Promstroyproekt on the recommendations of the company MAG (Austria). Equipment was installed by the following companies: MAG (Austria), HENRICH@, SCHONAUER (Germany). The construction was carried out by Repair-Construction Department of Balkhash Mining and Smelting Combine, Imstalkon (Kazakhstan). Personnel training was carried out in Austria at the MAG plant (Austria).

Products:

• Wire brand CS (copper soft) in bobbins;
• Enamel wire brand ПЭЭИ-1, ПИИЭ-2;
• Wire brand CS (copper soft) in coils.

Production capacity:
The total production capacity of the technological equipment of the workshop is:

• 12 000 tons of enameled wire per year;
• 4000 tons of CS copper wire in coils; net weight — up to 2 tons with a diameter range of 1,000−2,800 mm.

Number: The staff of the workshop for the production of copper and enameled wire of Kazakmys Smelting LLP is 57 people.

Brief description of the technological process:
1.1 Production of MM wire in coils and an intermediate product — billets MK (copper round).


Production is carried out at the rough drawing section — in coils, net weight of 1 coil is not more than 2000 kg and in the range of diameters from 1,000 mm to 2,800 mm inclusive, on rough drawing machines of the A-15−01−40−26 type by Henrich (Germany).

Here, using the same technology, a blank of MK (diameters 1,000 mm; 1,400 mm; 1,580 mm; 2,800 mm) is also manufactured for further processing at the medium and fine drawing section.

Raw material — copper rod with a diameter of 8,000 mm is fed through the roller table from the wire rod warehouse to the transferring device of the rough drawing section. To ensure the continuity of the process, the lower end of the wire rod from the installed coil is welded on a two-stage butt welding machine DDS5/12 with the outer end of the next coil.

Through the deflecting rollers and the alignment mechanism (1), the wire is fed into the drawing device of the A-15−01−40/26 type through the number of drawing dies installed according to the approved routes.

To prevent direct contact between the surfaces of the wire and the hole of the die, the bandages of the drawing drums are continuously sprayed with a drawing emulsion during the drawing process. As a result, friction is significantly reduced and the thermal energy generated during friction is removed.

After drawing, the wire passes through the contact washers of the resistance annealing furnace, which leads to its heating. The annealing voltage value is automatically maintained in the set ratio of the speed. The annealing stress is adjusted according to the results of wire elongation tests. To protect against oxidation at high temperatures and to brighten the surface of copper in annealing furnaces, steam is used at the outlet of their resistance annealing furnace. The clarified wire is cooled by the emulsion, which is discharged into a special container and reused.

After the annealing furnace, the wire enters the compensation roller, with which the required tension force is set before starting and maintained during the entire manufacturing process.
The winding of a copper round (CR) wire billet, intended for subsequent processing in the workshop, is carried out in special containers.
The winding of soft copper wire (CS) into coils is carried out on a special detachable spool, after removal from which the wire tightly wound into a coil is installed on a wooden pallet, weighed and tested.

1.2 Production of soft copper wire of the CS brand in coils and wires of the ПЭЭИ1,2−200 brand
Production is carried out on enamel units at the site of medium and fine drawing and enamelling:
1) wire brand CS
 — in coils K200 and K250, in the range of diameters from 0.200 mm to 0.700 mm inclusive, on horizontal type enamel units HN4/N-8/8+4D manufactured by MAG (Austria);
2) wires brand ПЭЭИ1,2−200:
 — in coils of A250/400 type, in the range of diameters from 0.600 mm to 2.000 mm inclusive, on vertical type enamel units VN 6/2H-12/8+4D manufactured by MAG (Austria).
 — in coils of type K200 and K250 in the range of diameters from 0.200 mm to 0.700 mm inclusive, on enamel units of horizontal type HN4/N-8/8+4D manufactured by MAG (Austria).

A copper round billet (CR), manufactured at the rough drawing section and meeting the requirements of the enterprise’s regulatory and technical documentation, is loaded into a drawing attachment and then pulled through the dies along the approved route. Each drawing attachment provides a supply of drawing emulsion for cooling and lubrication.

After cleaning the wire with demineralized water, the wire enters the retorts of the annealing furnace, into the atmosphere of water vapor.

To subsequently prevent the oxidation of the hot surface by air oxygen, the wire after the annealing furnace passes through the tank of the cooling unit, at the outlet of which the wire is dried by air.

Enameling of the wire takes place in varnishing devices installed in front of the baking oven. The varnish coats the wire in the varnish distributor: on VN-enamel units — "comb", on HN — varnish-dispensing nozzles. Then excess varnish is cut off with the help of calibers installed in a special holder. The thickness of the lacquer layer is regulated by the number of calibers and the diameters of their outlets. The varnish residues flow into the receiving tray, are filtered and returned back to the service tank.

Next, the enamel on the wire is baked in the retort of the baking oven, which works on the principle of counterflow — the direction of the air flow in it is opposite to the direction of the wire. A mixture of lacquer solvent vapors with air, which enters the furnace along with the wire, is heated in the electric heating zone and burned on a catalyst. The generated heat depends on the amount of vapors introduced. Electric heaters (4) are also installed behind the catalyst to maintain the required gas temperature. The hot air mixture enters the retort of the baking oven. The working temperature of the retort for the polyesterimide resins used in the workshop, according to the given diameters, is from 400 °C to 580 °C. Part of the resulting mixture enters the afterburning catalyst with electrical heating from 600 °C to 650 °C, and then goes to the annealing furnace zone, and then to the exhaust fan of the exhaust gas emission system with automatic control.

The wire cooler is installed directly in the baking oven. The wire cooler works on the principle of a "pressure chamber". From the wire cooler, a certain regulated amount of air is constantly supplied to the retort from the side of the wire exit, which prevents the release of gases from the circulation furnace.

To facilitate the allocation of the wire on the coil, the wire is covered with paraffin by pulling the wire through the felt, which is supplied with a solution of paraffin.

After applying the paraffin, the finished wire is wound through a system of rollers onto a spool installed in the winding spool.

After passing the control in the testing laboratory, the finished products enameled wire and soft copper wire of the CS brand and enamel wire of the ПЭЭИ-1, ПИИЭ-2 brands in coils are installed on pallets and transported to the finished product warehouse (FPW) for storage and further shipment to the consumer.

The total capacity of the finished goods warehouse ranges from 252 tons to 362.88 tons depending on the type of coils.

Full name of the enterprise: Zhezkazgan Copper Smelter Kazakhmys Smelting LLP

Geographical position: Zhezkazgan city, Ulytau region

Deposit developed by the mine/processed by the Concentrator or Plant: Copper concentrates of Kazakhmys Corporation LLP are used as raw materials

Date of commissioning: 1971

Historical background: On February 23, 1971, the first cathode copper from the Zhezkazgan Copper Smelter was produced

Products:
Refined copper
Sulfuric acid
Lead in dust
Blue vitriol
Copper electrolyte slime

Productive capacity:
Refined copper - 200.0 thousand tons/year
Sulfuric acid - 260.0 thousand tons/year
Lead in dust - 9.0 thousand tons/year
Blue vitriol - 720.0 tons/year
Copper electrolyte slime - 850.0 tons/year

Company structure:
Charge Preparation Shop (CPSh)
Copper Smelting Shop (CSSh)
Copper Refining Shop (CRSh)
Sulfuric Acid Shop (SAP)

Brief description of the technological process:
The technological process of the smelter is based on the processing of copper concentrates with the main goal of extracting copper and obtaining marketable products. Copper concentrate from the Zhezkazgan Concentrators-1, 2 is fed through the pulp pipeline to the thickening and filtration areas and, after drying, enters the CPSh stacking chute. Imported concentrates are fed into the stacking chute through the flux and concentrate warehouse. The prepared charge is fed to the pelletizing area with the help of a conveyor system to obtain granules. Dry granules enter the bunkers of ore-thermal furnaces (OTFs) of the Smelting Shop, where the melting process takes place using the electric smelting technology.
The matte obtained during smelting in the OTFs is released from furnaces into ladles and subjected to conversion. Blister copper obtained in converters is transferred in liquid form to the Anode Area for fire refining in tilting cylindrical furnaces, followed by casting of anode copper and removal of anodes to the CRSh. The gases from the melting units are sent to produce sulfuric acid and lead dust.
Electrolytic refining of anode copper produces cathode copper. Finished cathode copper is delivered to the warehouse for loading to the consumer.
After the electrolysis process, the copper electrolyte slime of CRSh of Zhezkazgan Copper Smelter is transported by road to the Slime Area of the PMP of Balkhash Copper Smelter for further processing and obtaining finished products - gold and silver.

Full name of the enterprise: Kazkat Plant of Kazakhmys Smelting LLP.

Geographic location: Ulytau region, Zhezkazgan city.

Deposit developed by the mine / processed by the concentrator or plant raw material: The Kazkat Plant produces copper rod with a diameter of 8, 16.18 mm for electrical purposes in accordance with ST RK GOST R 53 803−2011. The initial raw material for the production of copper rod is cathode copper of the MOOK brand, which comes from the finished product warehouse of the Copper Refining Shop of the Zhezkazgan Copper Smelter.

Date of commissioning: The date of the official start-up of the plant is November 03, 1994.

Historical background: In 1992, the construction of the Kazkat Plant began. The development of technology and equipment of the plant belongs to the American company Southwire. The technology of the Kazkat Plant consists of processing cathode copper by continuous casting and rolling. In 1994, the construction and installation of equipment were completed. In Kazakhstan, the Kazkat Plant is the only plant for the production of copper rod.

Products:
The finished product of the Kazkat Plant is copper rod (Copper rod KM M001) with a diameter of 8, 16, 18 mm.

Production capacity:

• The nominal output of the Kazkat Plant line is 12 t/h;
• Production capacity — 50 thousand tons/year.

Number: Number according to the staff list — 97 people.

Brief description of the technological process:
The process of producing copper rod by continuous casting and rolling begins with the loading of copper cathodes into a shaft furnace. The copper charge completely fills the working space of the furnace below the edge of the loading window from 0 to 1 m. As it gradually descends, the charge warms up and melts due to the heat released during the combustion of liquefied carbon gas. The copper melt is directed along the inclined upper chute through the slag collector to the mixer, where the copper melt is leveled (averaged) in terms of chemical composition and temperature. From the mixer, the copper melt is directed through the heated lower movable chute to the foundry bath. From the casting bath, the melt enters the mold of the casting machine through a stopper control device and a casting tube heated by a burner.

The casting billet is formed by a trapezoidal groove of a rotating copper-zirconium bandage and a steel strip adjoining from above. The steel band moves in a system of four rollers and wraps around the casting wheel shroud at a sector of 215°, leaving the top of the shroud free for the billet to exit. Crystallization of the workpiece is carried out by cooling the wheel and belt with water. In order to prevent liquid copper from sticking to the working surface of the wheel and belt, soot is constantly applied to them from burning acetylene using acetylene burners. The endless cast billet goes along the guide table to the pulling rollers. Then the workpiece is fed into drum shears, where it is cut into measured segments until the temperature stabilizes and crystallization appears. After stabilization of the quality of the workpiece, the lifting table is lowered to a horizontal position, passing the workpiece to the preparation area. The scissors turn off automatically when the table is lowered. At the preparation site, the two upper edges are cut off.

Further, the workpiece, when the line is started is fed into the rolling mill with the help of pulling rollers, after starting the rollers are turned off. The mill consists of one reduction stand with rolls with a diameter of 309.88 mm with an individual drive and a group of alternately horizontal and vertical stands (2 — 8 stands — 203.2 mm in diameter and 9 stands — 205.74 mm), with a group drive, separately on 4 horizontal and 4 vertical stands. The roll gap is adjusted by moving one stand roll relative to the other.

The wire rod leaving the rolling mill enters the clarification line, where a cooled water-alcohol (clarifying) solution containing from 1.2% to 2.2% isopropyl alcohol is supplied under pressure. At the outlet of the rolling mill, the wire rod has a temperature of (600 ± 10) ° C, and a thin oxide film has formed on its surface. Under the action of a water-alcohol solution, a dark oxide film is removed from the surface of the wire rod, and the wire rod is cooled to a temperature of 50 — 70 ° C. At the end of the clarification line, the water-alcohol solution is removed from the surface of the wire rod and it is dried by blowing with compressed air in air wipes. The cooled and clarified wire rod passes through the detector of the defect machine and the pulling rollers into the chamber for applying a protective wax film, while changing direction from horizontal to vertical, and enters the anchor of the coiler.

When rotating at a variable speed, the armature forms the wire rod into coils of variable diameter. The weight of the coil is calculated according to the conditional weight of the coil and the number of coils.
The accumulated coils fall onto a wooden pallet mounted on a metal pallet. When the set weight on the pallet is reached, the pallet with wire rod coil is automatically moved by the movable platform from under the coiler. At the same time, the end of the wire rod with a diameter of 8 mm is cut with hand shears (16 and 18 mm — with special hydraulic shears), and another pallet with an empty wooden pallet is automatically moved along the conveyor in its place.

The mobile platform of the winder is 5-position: a pallet with an empty wooden pallet is fed to the first position by a loader. Then, according to the automatic cycle, it moves to the second position under the coiler, with the finished coil — to the third intermediate position, then to the fourth position, where pressing and strapping with steel tape is carried out, then to the fifth position, from where it is taken away by a loader to the scales, then to the finished product warehouse.