Kidd Creek refinery, located in Timmins, Ontario, Canada, produces copper, zinc, indium, cadmium, silver and sulphuric acid. Operations include mining and metallurgical divisions.

Zinc Operations
The zinc plant has the capacity to produce 150,000 tonnes per year. The Kidd Mining Division provides most of the feed, and zinc custom feeds from other sources account for the balance. The plant is ISO 9002 quality certified.

At the plant, zinc concentrate is roasted to burn off sulphur. The sulphur is converted to sulphuric acid to be used by companies producing pulp and paper, fertilizers and pigments. The zinc is reduced to an oxide in a residue called calcine, which is then leached with sulphuric acid to dissolve the zinc. The solution is treated to remove impurities and leave a pure zinc sulfate solution.

The zinc is recovered from the purified solution by electrolysis to produce sheets of high-grade zinc. These sheets are melted and cast into various ingot sizes ranging from 25 kilograms to more than 1 tonne.

Flowsheets
Zinc Plant

Learn more about Kidd Creek's mining and metallurgical operations.