The first stage in the refining of lead blast furnace bullion is the removal of copper and this is normally done as a batch process in open kettles, A number of attempts have been made in the past to establish fontinuous processes operating in reverberatory type furnaces, but the growth of accretions in the furnace has always presented a serious problem._x000D_
This has been overcome in the plant of the Broken Hill Associated Smelters Pty Ltd at Port Pirie by the construction of a reverberatory furnace and ancillary cooling system of novel design._x000D_
Although a number of mechanical and metallurgical problems still remain to be solved, it is claimed that a workable continuous copper drossing process has been established.