Smelting Technology for Copper Sulfide Concentrates: Balancing Efficiency, Economic Feasibility, and Environmental Performance—A Review of International Experience

Based on publications by Russian and international researchers, the article reviews the challenges of current copper concentrate smelting technologies. The authors identify and examine three main issues that require resolution: increasing the efficiency of smelting copper sulfide ores by lowering the copper content in slags generated during converting; improving efficiency, including through additional economic gains from waste utilization; and reducing harmful environmental impacts. The development trends toward new, efficient, environmentally safe, and economically viable technologies apply not only to the selected object of study, but also to several other nonferrous metals, such as lead and zinc.