The Effects of Blends of Enugu Coal and Anthracite on Tin Smelting Using Nigerian Dogo Na Hauwa Cassiterite

Fatai Afolabi Ayeni, OladunniOyelola Alabi, Rose Okara

National Metallurgical Development Centre, Jos, Nigeria.

DOI: 10.4236/jmmce.2013.16052                

Abstract

The effects of blending Enugu coal and anthracite on tin smelting using Nigerian Dogo Na Hauwa cassiterite have been studied. The work utilized various blends ranging from 100% to 0% anthracite. The content of the Enugu coal in the blend varied from 5% to 100%. The various tin metal recovery percentage for each batch of smelting using various blends was noted. Anthracite alone had the highest recovery of 71.90% followed by 5% blend of Enugu with anthracite. The result, however, showed that as the Enugu Coal was increased in the blend, the recovery was also decreasing. This equally affected the quality of tin metal recovered by increasing the grade. The work recommended that since the cost of production is the critical issue, 5% - 15% range of Enugu Coal should be used in preparing blends to bring down the cost of imported anthracite which is put at $906.69 per ton. The use of 15% Enugu coal will result in lowering the cost of imported anthracite by $136.0.

Keywords

Effects; Blending; Enugu Coal; Anthracite; Smelting; Cassiterite; Tin

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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