(Facility) Almalic Copper Smelter and Refinery

Plant in Uzbekistan with commodity Copper
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Nearby scientific data
  7. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  8. Mineral rights holdings
  9. Ownership information
  10. Production statistics
  11. Links to other databases
  12. Bibliographic references
  13. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10304413
MAS/MILS ID 4650007002
Record type Site
Current site name (Facility) Almalic Copper Smelter and Refinery
Alternate or previous names No Other Known Name.

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Town
Geographic coordinates: 69.58405, 40.84821 (WGS84)
Location accuracy 5000(meters)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Uzbekistan(country)

Geographic areas

Country
Uzbekistan

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary

Nearby scientific data

Town (1) 69.58405, 40.84821

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE SITE IS IN A FLAT LOCATION WITH A DRY, CONTINENTAL CLIMATE. THE SITE IS SHARED WITH THE ALMALIC ELECTROLYTIC ZINC PLANT AND THE AMMOPHOS PRODUCTION PLANT, WHICH PRODUCES DOUBLE SUPERPHOSPHATE FERTILISER.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Processing Plant
Development status Plant
Commodity type Metallic
Significant Yes
Year of first production 1964
Plant type Smelter/Refiner

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Unknown

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Uzbekistan Government
    Interest 100
    Home office Uzbekistan
    Year 1992
  • Type Operator
    Owner Almalyk Mining And Metallurgical Enterprise
    Home office Uzbekistan
    Year 1992

Production statistics

  • Year 1985
    Description Refined Copper Production For 1995 99000 Metric Tons (Projected).
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Copper Copper 99000mt
  • Year 1985
    Description Blister Copper Production For 1995 95000 Metric Tons (Projected).
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Copper Copper 95000mt
  • Year 1985
    Description Conc. Smelted @ 18% Cu For The Year 1995 553000 Metric Tons (Projected).
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Copper Copper 553000mt 18wt-pct
  • Year 1988
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Refined Copper Production (Estimated) 99000 Metric Tons.
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Copper Copper 99000mt
  • Year 1988
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Blister Copper Production (Estimated) 94000 Metric Tons.
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Copper Copper 94000mt
  • Year 1988
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Concentrate Smelted @ 16.5% Copper 544000 Metric Tons (Estimated).
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Conc. Copper Copper 544000mt 17wt-pct
  • Year 1989
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Refined Copper Production (Estimated) 98000 Metric Tons.
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Copper Copper 98000mt
  • Year 1989
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Blister Copper Production (Estimated) 93000 Metric Tons.
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Copper Copper 93000mt
  • Year 1989
    Description Concentrate Smelted @ 17.7% Copper 527000 Metric Tons.
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Conc. Copper Copper 527000mt 18wt-pct
  • Year 1990
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Refined Copper Production (Estimated) 88000 Metric Tons.
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Copper Copper 88000mt
  • Year 1990
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Blister Copper Production (Estimated) 83200 Metric Tons.
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Copper Copper 83200mt
  • Year 1990
    Description Concentrate Smelted @ 18.4% Copper 473000 Metric Tons.
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Conc. Copper Copper 473000mt 18wt-pct
  • Year 1991
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Blister Copper Production (Estimated) 95000 Metric Tons.
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Copper Copper 95000mt
  • Year 1991
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Concentrate Smelted @ Unknown % Copper 524000 Metric Tons (Estimated).
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Conc. Copper Copper 524000mt
  • Year 1991
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Refined Copper Production (Estimated) 99000 Metric Tons.
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Copper Copper 99000mt

Comments on the production information

  • THE PLANT WAS COMMISSIONED IN 1964 AND BETWEEN 1968 AND 1970 THE OXYGEN-FLAME SMELTING TECHNIQUE WAS INTRODUCED. WIRE ROD PRODUCTION COMMENCED SOMETIME DURING 1971 TO 1972. SOURCES OF CONCENTRATES (1989): CONCENTRATOR % OF CONCENTRATE FEED DISTANCE (KM) ALMALIC 93.4 ON SITE BURIBAI 2.1 2,200 KRASNOURALSK 0.6 2,500 UCHALI 0.4 2,400 GAI 1.0 1,800 MADNEULI 0.6 3,150 OTHERS 1.8 N.A. THE REFINERY TREATS THE TOTAL OUTPUT OF THE ALMALIC SMELTER PLUS ABOUT 6,000 METRIC TONS PER YEAR OF BLISTER FROM THE SREDNEURALSK SMELTER. ALMALIC HAS TWO SMELTING TECHNOLOGIES AVAILABLE: CONVENTIONAL REVERBERATORY SMELTING WITH OXYGEN ENRICHMENT, AT A RATE OF 250 CUBIC METERS PER METRIC TON OF CONCENTRATE; AND THE RUSSIAN-DEVELOPED OXYGEN FLAME SMELTING. THIS LATTER TECHNIQUE IS A TYPE OF FLASH SMELTING FURNACE, BUT IT USES A HORIZONTAL CONCENTRATE BURNER INSTEAD OF THE VERTICAL BURNER THAT IS MORE NORMAL IN WESTERN COUNTRIES. THE BURNER USES A BLAST ENRICHED TO ABOUT 95 PERCENT OXYGEN. THE LACK OF DUST COLLECTION AND SULPHUR FIXING EQUIPMENT LEADS TO SERIOUS POLLUTION PROBLEMS FROM THE SMELTER, WHICH TENDS TO BE SHUT DOWN IN THE SUMMER FOR THIS REASON. IN CONTRAST, GASES FROM CONVERTERS ARE CLEANED IN CYCLONES, AND THOSE FROM THE OXYGEN-FLAME FURNACE ARE CLEANED IN ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATORS. BOTH OF THESE GAS STREAMS THEN PASS THROUGH AN ACID PLANT BEFORE DISCHARGE. THE RECOVERED DUSTS ARE RECYCLED TO THE OXYGEN-FLAME FURNACE AND THE CONVERTOR. WASTE SLAGS ARE DISCARDED, BUT SLAGS WITH HIGH COPPER VALUES FROM THE OXYGEN-FLAME FURNACE AND CONVERTERS ARE EITHER RECYCLED OR CRUSHED AND FLOATED AT THE ALMALIC CONCENTRATOR. MATTES GRADING 25 TO 35 PERCENT COPPER COME FROM THE REVERBERATORY FURNACES AND MATTES GRADING 50 TO 55 PERCENT COPPER COME OUT O

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    COMMODITIES RESEARCH UNIT LIMITED, LONDON, THE COPPER,

  • Deposit

    LEAD, AND ZINC INDUSTRIES OF THE FORMER USSR, VOL. 3,

  • Deposit

    PP. 87-90 (1992).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 24-SEP-1996 Porter, Kenneth E. U.S. Bureau of Mines

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.