Production

Main structural departments of the plant:

• Anode Casting Division
• Tankhouse
• Rod Continuous Casting Division
• Foil Electrodeposition Division
• Laboratory
• Development

Process of copper fire refining is the initial stage in the processing of copper-containing raw materials (blister copper and copper scrap) and is carried out in the copper smelting department in two furnaces: MAERZ with a capacity of 125 thousand tons of anode copper per year and AN-1 with a capacity of 45 thousand tons of anode copper per year. Casting of copper is carried out at the M-24 of WENMEC SYSTEMS (Sweden) and M-15 OUTOKUMPU (Finland) carousel type casting units with weight dosing.

Along with the anodes, the department produces copper powder – a raw material for the production of copper sulfate. Scrap copper is melted in a small reverberatory kiln, then a stream of copper is sprayed with high pressure water.

There is a certification and primary processing of scrap containing precious metals (electronic scrap, catalysts, jewelry industry waste, etc.) organized at a separate section of the copper smelting department.

Copper electrolytic refining is carried out in the Tankhouse (copper electrolysis department) with unsupported technology the first in Russia. Copper cathodes are obtained by deposition of copper on cathode plates made of titanium and stainless steel. With the unsupported technology, it was possible to achieve a very high purity of copper cathodes (the average copper content in the cathodes is 99.997%). For the product analysis, modern analytical equipment is used: atomic emission spectrometers «THERMO SCIENTIFIC» (USA) with spark excitation of the spectrum, gas analyzers «RON-600» by LECO (USA).

Washing, stripping of copper cathodes, weighing and strapping of packages are carried out in automatic mode on cathode stripping machines manufactured by WENMEC (Sweden), OUTOKUMPU and OUTOTEC (Finland).

Disposal of spent electrolyte is carried out in the vitriol production department, with modern domestic technology with the use of vacuum crystallization units. The new technology has improved product quality, working conditions and environmental conditions. Copper and nickel are extracted from the solutions of the electrolysis department in the form of commercial products – copper sulphate, copper vitriol and nickel sulfate, grade «P» (pure). Copper sulfate meets the requirements of GOST 19347-2014 of the highest grade «A». The company’s specialists have developed and patented a technology for obtaining nickel from the spent solutions in the form of nickel sulfate, which meets the requirements of GOST 4465-2016 of the «P» grade.

Refined gold and silver are obtained with the technology and equipment of the «OUTOKUMPU» company (Finland) from the sludge formed during the copper and secondary raw materials electrolytic refining. The plant specialists have developed and implemented technologies for separation of the concentrate obtaining platinum and palladium in powder. This modern technology with an automated process control system provides stable production of high-purity gold and silver in ingots and pellets.

Copper wire rod production (semi-finished product for drawing) with a diameter of copper rod of 8 mm was launched in July 2007. Copper wire rod is obtained from cathode copper grade M00k in accordance with GOST 859 by continuous casting and rolling on equipment of SOUTHWIRE company (USA), MORGAN company (England) and SIEMIENS company (Germany). The developer of technology is SOUTHWIRE company (USA). Consistently high quality of copper rod is guaranteed by the use of our own cathode copper, automation of all stages of the process, continuous control of the surface quality during rolling, modern laboratory equipment for testing of physical and mechanical properties of wire rod and its chemical composition.

Copper rod with a copper content of at least 99.9% will become a high quality raw material for the production of electrodeposited copper foil. The copper foil production process includes the following operations:

• copper dissolving and preparation of sulfuric acid electrolyte;
• obtaining of "raw" foil on ED-Cells;
• processing of "raw" foil on Treater (foil coating devices);
• cutting and winding of commercial products

For the foil production, the following sections are required: a copper dissolving section, a deionized water preparation section and a waste neutralization section.

The foil is produced on ED-Cells. Electrodeposition of copper is done on a rotating drum-cathode immersed in a sulfuric acid electrolyte by the action of a current. The current strength determines the ED-Cell performance, while drum-cathode rotation speed determines thickness of the foil.

Physical properties of copper foil depend on the microstructure of the foil, which in turn depends on the conditions of the electrodeposition process, namely: on composition of the electrolyte, current density, introduction of organic additives and temperature.

After «raw» foil of the specified parameters is obtained, it is processed on a Treater (foil coating apparatus) by electrodeposition coating in order to ensure the resistance of the foil to etching and oxidation, as well as to increase adhesion to various materials used in the production of printed circuit boards.

The foil processed on the Treater is then cut on a cutting machine. A cutting machine (Slitter) is a device for slitting and winding of fabricated copper foil onto a core, the size and material of which is determined by the customer.

After cutting, each roll is packed in a container and shipped to a consumer.

Cold-rolled copper foil and Electrodeposited copper foil, although both made of copper, are fundamentally different products. The fundamental difference in properties is due to the method of foil production. Copper is a fairly ductile material, but there are physical limits for obtaining uniform thickness across all surface of the foil with the cold rolling method. According to GOST 1173-2006 — «Copper foil, tapes, sheets and plates», the minimum thickness of the product is 0.05 mm, which is much thicker than the foil that can be obtained by the electrodeposition method.

The copper foil production department, which is under constraction at JSC KMEZ, will be able to produce foil with a thickness of 9 to 105 microns, depending on the request of the customer. But it’s not only thickness, there are other unique properties of electrodeposited foil. In the production of electrodeposited copper foil for copper deposition from sulfate electrolyte onto the polished surface of a rotating drum cathode traditional processes are used. As a result of deposition the drum side foil gets a smoth shiny surface, and the electrolyte side foil gets a matte surface, which ensures high adhesion of the foil to the dielectric during its pressing. The possibility of applying various coatings on electrodeposited foil makes it an even more high-tech product, which ensures its exceptional usage in the production of modern foil dielectrics for printed circuit boards of any complexity class, and during manufacture of lithium-ion batteries.