Metso Outotec will deliver its 100th anode casting system to PT Smelting’s (PTS) copper smelter in Gresik, East Java, in Indonesia. Metso Outotec has been a frontrunner in the development of anode casting technology for several decades. Today, most of the world’s copper anodes are produced with Metso Outotec’s proprietary anode casting technology.
“The Gresik project marks a true milestone for us. The system to be delivered to PTS is one of the world’s largest twin-wheel anode casting shops with a guaranteed capacity of 120 t/h,” explains Sami Maaniittu, director of anode casting at Metso Outotec.
“We started the development and testing of automatic anode casting already in 1969 in Harjavalta, Finland. Before that, castings were made manually with controlled ladle tilting. The first anode weighing and casting machine was delivered to the U.S. in 1972, and a year later, the first complete anode casting shop was installed at the Harjavalta Smelter in Finland,” Maaniittu says.
Metso Outotec’s twin-wheel casting concept, paving the way for today’s industry standard, was developed in the 1990s. The optimized equipment design significantly improves casting capacity and provides more efficient use of floor space. The wheels are supported on large centre bearings and driven by double drive systems developed to eliminate the backlash effect in the wheel movement and to ensure even quality. The first twin-wheel anode casting systems were delivered in 1997. Since then, the twin-wheel has become the first choice of high-capacity anode casting shops.
Today, most of the anode casting shops supplied by Metso Outotec are fully electric without any hydraulic systems. Their high level of automation ensures premium anode quality with excellent weight accuracy and low reject rate combined with high capacity and availability.
In addition to full anode casting systems, Metso Outotec offers a variety of modular updates for the existing installations, including automation and services.