KGHM Polska Miedz : A farewell to the shaft furnaces

'It's as if we drove a newest Mercedes, instead of an old Opel,' Piotr Walczak, Vice-President of KGHM Polska Miedź for production, explained. 'Economic and environmental reasons stood behind our decision to implement the new technology. I hope it will start a successful operation on October.'

Reporters and employees took part in celebrations of phasing out old furnaces. Sirens marked the moment when copper ingots stopped flowing into the furnace.

'On July the 17, 1971, the first shaft furnace was ignited. Today the last one is being shut down. It was a truly emotional moment for all those who have spent many years here and who are also present here today,' Zbigniew Gostyński, Production Manager at KGHM Polska Miedź, commented.

As of October, 2016, production at the Głogów One Copper Smelter will be based on a one-stage smelting technology in the flash furnace. Blister copper will be produced directly from dried concentrate. This technology combines the three stages of concentrate roasting, smelting matte and converting into a single process.

The investment in flash furnace technology is an essential element of the Pyrometallurgy Modernisation Program, which has been carried out in KGHM Polska Miedź since 2010. It will allow to increase production through the use of the best and most cost-efficient technologies. It also eliminates environmental risks. Flash furnace technology is one of the most modern in the world. Its implementation in the Głogów One Copper Smelter gives the Polish metallurgy place among the world's highest-class producers, guaranteeing the reduction of processing costs and a more efficient recovery of valuable metals (by-products of copper smelting).