--- title: "Adoption of high oxygen bottom blowing in copper matte smelting: why is it taking so long? (Disponible en anglais seulement)" date: 2015-08-27T15:44:00-04:00 author: jessica napert canonical_url: "https://www.bbaconsultants.com/fr-ca/publications/adoption-of-high-oxygen-bottom-blowing-in-copper-matte-smelting-why-is-it-taking-so-long-disponible-en-anglais-seulement" section: Publications --- 1. In light of the rapid deployment of bottom blowing smelting in China over the last ten years, one has to wonder why it has taken the copper industry so long to adopt ultra-high oxygen enrichment via Savard-Lee type injectors. As early as 1976, Kellogg and Henderson suggested, in their landmark paper on energy usage in the copper industry, that ‘maximum use of oxygen enrichment of process air’ was one of seven ‘energy saving features’ for copper matte smelting and converting. Yet today, shrouded injection and high oxygen enrichment has not been implemented in copper bath smelting outside China and Vietnam. In this paper, the authors explore the reasons why bath smelting processes such as the Noranda Reactor and the Teniente Converter still operate around 40% oxygen enrichment, while the bottom blowing SKS/BBS process typically runs at 65 to 75% oxygen, with all three processes producing white metal. Are there fundamental metallurgical explanations for this striking difference beyond the long-standing skepticism towards high oxygen shrouded injection and its perceived high implementation cost? Note that this white paper was written in collaboration with François Larouche and Enzo Palumbo. It was the subject of a presentation at COM 2015 – The Conference of Metallurgists. To receive a copy, email us at . Ce contenu est fourni uniquement à des fins d’information générale. Tous droits réservés ©BBA 1. ![Joel Kapusta canva](https://www.assets.bbaconsultants.com/bba-production-assets/production/images/avatars/_size_avatar/204413/Joel-Kapusta-canva.webp) Joël Kapusta, Ph. D. Expert-conseil principal, Injection sonique et pyrométallurgie Lire la biographie [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelkapusta/) **Expert-conseil senior en injection sonique et pyrométallurgie,** Joël cumule plus de 30 ans d’expérience en traitement des minéraux et en métallurgie extractive, tant en production qu’en ingénierie. Son parcours couvre l’optimisation des procédés, l’implantation de technologies, les études technico-économiques et les essais industriels. **Expertises clés** - Métallurgie extractive des métaux non-ferreux - Audits, optimisation, et intensification des procédés métallurgiques - Phénomènes d’injection submergée & dynamique des fluides - Conception, démonstration, et mise en œuvre de tuyères soniques **Réalisations majeures :** Joël a contribué à 38 projets miniers et à plus de 20 projets en métaux de base, avec des mandats en Europe, en Afrique, en Asie et dans les Amériques. **Approche et valeur ajoutée :** Il met à profit une expertise pyrométallurgique de bout en bout pour diagnostiquer les procédés, optimiser la performance et accompagner l’évolution des installations dans des environnements d’exploitation complexes. - [ 17 août 2026 Phase de base de l'ingénierie structurelle: créer de la valeur dès les premières décisions - ![Nicolas Samson](https://www.assets.bbaconsultants.com/bba-production-assets/production/images/avatars/_size_avatar/197852/Nicolas-Samson.webp) Nicolas Samson, ing. 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In light of the rapid deployment of bottom blowing smelting in China over the last ten years, one has to wonder why it has taken the copper industry so long to adopt ultra-high oxygen enrichment via Savard-Lee type injectors. As early as 1976, Kellogg and Henderson suggested, in their landmark paper on energy usage in the copper industry, that ‘maximum use of oxygen enrichment of process air’ was one of seven ‘energy saving features’ for copper matte smelting and converting. Yet today, shrouded injection and high oxygen enrichment has not been implemented in copper bath smelting outside China and Vietnam. In this paper, the authors explore the reasons why bath smelting processes such as the Noranda Reactor and the Teniente Converter still operate around 40% oxygen enrichment, while the bottom blowing SKS/BBS process typically runs at 65 to 75% oxygen, with all three processes producing white metal. Are there fundamental metallurgical explanations for this striking difference beyond the long-standing skepticism towards high oxygen shrouded injection and its perceived high implementation cost? Note that this white paper was written in collaboration with François Larouche and Enzo Palumbo. It was the subject of a presentation at COM 2015 – The Conference of Metallurgists. To receive a copy, email us at . Ce contenu est fourni uniquement à des fins d’information générale. Tous droits réservés ©BBA