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What is the difference between reduction smelting and matte smelting?

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Diagram of a zinc-lead blast furnace system showing ore and coke entering through charge hoppers, with labeled furnace, air preheater, blower, taphole for slag and lead bullion, and a connected lead-splash condenser using rotors to separate and cool lead and zinc, with pathways for molten metals and off-gas. — metallurgy A zinc-lead blast furnace and lead-splash condenser. This technology is utilized mainly for producing zinc while managing both lead and zinc from raw materials, a technique that was highly influential in 20th-century smelting.

In metallurgy, smelting is a pyrometallurgical process used to liberate metallic elements from their compounds. The primary difference between reduction smelting and matte smelting lies in the chemical nature of the feed material and the resulting products.1

Reduction Smelting

In reduction smelting, the metallic charge fed into the furnace consists of oxide compounds. A reducing agent, such as carbon, is added to the furnace to strip oxygen from the metal, leaving the metal in an uncombined, metallic state. The waste rock is separated as a molten slag, which is also oxide-based.12

Matte Smelting

Matte smelting is typically used for sulfide ores, such as those of copper, nickel, and lead. In this process, the metallic charge is a combination of sulfides that melt and recombine to form a homogeneous intermediate product known as matte. While the slag remains an oxide, the matte must undergo further treatment—often in a converter—to oxidize the remaining sulfur and iron before the final metal can be recovered.31