Which copper ores are processed by smelting?

In the context of metallurgy, smelting is primarily used to process sulfide ores of copper.12

Because these ores are not typically smelted directly into pure metal, they are first processed through mineral dressing—often involving selective flotation—to create a concentrate containing 20–30 percent copper. This concentrate is then smelted to produce a matte, a crude mixture of molten sulfides (typically 40–45 percent copper) along with iron and sulfur. This matte serves as an intermediate product that undergoes further treatment, such as converting in a Bessemer-type converter, to oxidize impurities and eventually yield metallic copper.231

While smelting is a standard pyrometallurgical approach for sulfide ores, it is important to note that other copper-bearing materials, such as oxide ores, are more frequently processed using leaching (hydrometallurgy), which operates at lower temperatures and avoids the generation of sulfur dioxide. The choice between these methods depends on the specific mineral composition and the economic and environmental considerations of the operation.435