5. Lead metal production
Lead concentrates are processed by pyrometallurgy to produce working lead, which is then purified by refining to produce soft lead. Co-products are also recovered during the refining process: silver, copper, zinc, antimony and bismuth.
The processes used to produce lead work involve either :
classic, old-fashioned oxidative and agglomerative roasting, followed by oxide reduction and melting;
which use direct melting in a molten bath.
5.1 Agglomerating mesh and reduction
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This is the oldest process, and up until the 1950s, it was used by all foundries, accounting for almost all world production.
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Lead metal production
Conventional lead production processes
Bibliography
Websites
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Battery Council International
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CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) – Australia
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Statistical and economic data
World lead reserves and primary resources
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), lead reserves were in the region of 78.5 Mt in 2009 (table 1 ), and identified world resources are estimated at over 1.5 billion tonnes.
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