How much copper does copper matte usually contain?

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Molten copper pours from a large industrial furnace into rectangular molds at a copper smelting facility, with glowing metal and industrial equipment visible. — copper processing Molten copper being made into plates.

In the context of copper processing, copper matte—a molten mixture of sulfides—typically contains between 40 and 70 percent copper, depending on the specific smelting process employed.12

While some traditional methods aim for a range of 40–45 percent copper, other processes, such as those utilizing reverberatory or electric-arc furnaces, can produce matte containing 45 to 70 percent copper. This intermediate product, which also contains iron and sulfur, is subsequently treated in a converter to remove remaining impurities and produce metallic copper.12