What is "isasmelt"

The ISASMELT process is an energy-efficient smelting process that was jointly developed from the 1970s to the 1990s by Mount Isa Mines Limited (a subsidiary of MIM Holdings Limited and now part of Glencore Xstrata plc) and the Australian government’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (" CSIRO"). It has relatively low capital and operating costs for a smelting process.

ISASMELT technology has been applied to lead, copper, and nickel smelting, and by 2013 fifteen plants were in operation in ten countries, with another five in various stages of development. The installed capacity of the operating plants in 2013 was over 8 million tonnes per year (t/y) of feed materials, with additional capacity to come on line in 2013 and 2014.

Smelters based on the copper ISASMELT process are among the lowest-cost copper smelters in the world.