I have a reference to a copper mine in Australia troubled by sulphide ores
in 1907 installing McMurtrie Pots (sometimes spelled McMurtry) to
desulphurise the concentrates before smelting. I know that four 5 ton pots
were installed, and they took 12 to 16 hours to "blow a charge". The charge
was slightly sintered by the process, which was said to assist in smelting.
Can anyone tell me more about McMurtrie pots? I am particularly interested
in what they looked like. Clearly they were some form of roasting or
oxidising device, but so far I have not found them in any mining or ore
processing textbooks. The expression "blow the charge" suggests they must
have had a forced draft - my mental image is of something like a converter,
but operating at a much lower temperature.
Peter Bell
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