Peirce-Smith converter

The Peirce-Smith converter is a crucial piece of equipment in copper metallurgy, specifically used in the conversion stage of matte smelting. This process involves taking molten matte, a mixture of copper, iron, and sulfur sulfides, and blowing air or oxygen-enriched air through it. This oxidizes the iron and sulfur impurities, which are then removed as slag and sulfur dioxide gas, respectively. The result is blister copper, which is about 98.5-99.5% pure. This batch operation is a key step in refining copper before it undergoes final electrolytic refining to achieve high purity.12