Gipronickel Institute Ltd

A. N. Glazatov, Senior Researcher, e-mail: ANGla@nikel.spb.su
B. L. Blekhshtein, Principal Engineer
M. V. Lukashova, Researcher, Laboratory of Pyrometallurgy

Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant
V. I. Morgoslep, Chief Engineer of Melt Department N 1
N. A. Shabunina, Chief of X-ray Spectral Analysis Production Sector of Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant, Testing and Analytical Center of Physical Methods of Analysis

Currently, irreversible losses of non-ferrous and noble metals to the granulated slag discharged from the slag cleaning furnaces and removed to dump take place at Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant of MMC Norilsk Nickel’ Transpolar Division. The said losses control is performed on shift basis by the method original development at the plant. Since the above sampler has not been certified, and due the absence of the approved parameters of sampling and samples preparation procedure, the slag’ analytical samples cannot be considered as the representative ones. The work principal objective was to develop the improved procedure of the dump product’ sampling and analysis for the components in question, thus providing the plant with the secure and certified control results. To solve the task, capacity of the conveyed slag at the exact time period and the slag’ size distribution have been studied, as well as the controlled components’ composition have been defined, based on the samples simultaneously collected at various points of the product’ stream. In accordance with the effective standards variation coefficients of mass contents of Ni, Cu, Co, Pt, Pd, Au, as well as of Fe, S, and moisture mass fraction have been determined. In accordance with the said data, science-based parameters for collecting slag’ representative point samples have been stated. Scheme of the slag samples preparation for chemical analysis has been developed and implemented. Levels of accuracy and maximum permissible errors in the secured results of the slag testing to be used as the audit’ metrological parameters have been experimentally defined. The testing method has been certified in compliance with the Russian Federation law in force.

1. GOST 13170–80. Rudy i kontsentraty tsvetnykh metallov. Metod opredeleniya soderzhaniya vlagi. Ores and concentrates of non-ferrous metals. Method of moisture content estimation. Introduced 1980-07–01. Moscow, 1999.

2. GOST 14180–80. Rudy i kontsentraty tsvetnykh metallov. Metody otbora i podgotovki prob dlya khimicheskogo analiza i opredeleniya vlagi. Ores and concentrates of non-ferrous metals. Methods of sampling and sample preparation for chemical analysis and moisture content estimation. Introduced. 1980-07–01. Moscow, 1990.

3. OST 48-276–86. Rudy i kontsentraty tsvetnykh metallov s poputnym soderzhaniem blagorodnykh metallov. Otbor i podgotovka prob dlya opredeleniya soderzhaniya blagorodnykh metallov i vlagi. Ores and concentrates of non-ferrous metals with associated content of precious metals. Selection and preparation of samples for precious metals and moisture content estimation. Introduced 1987-07–01. 16 pp.

4. Otsenka dostovernosti oprobovaniya granulirovannykh shlakov NMZ metodom avtomaticheskogo prodolnogo secheniya chasti potoka s transporternoy lenty. Dokumenty OTK NMZ AO «Norilskiy GMK». Reliability evaluation of granulated slags Nadezhda mettallurgical plant testing by automatic longitudinal streamwise section of conveyor belt. Documents of QC department. 1989.

5. Nalimov V. V. Primenenie matematicheskoy statistiki pri analize veshchestva (Application of Mathematical Statistics to the Analysis of Substances). Moscow, 1960. 430 pp.