Chapter 12
I The First Half Century - The Initial Struggle
II The Second Fifty Years - The Start Of Expansion
III The Third Fifty Years - Federation And The First World War
IV The Fourth Period - Second World War To The Present
i General Conditions
ii Iron and Steel Production
iii Aluminium Technology
iv Innovative Copper Refining Process
v The EDIM-4WD Load-Haul-Dump Vehicle
vi Copper Rod Production
vii Copper Wire and Cables
viii The Diecasting Industry
ix Automotive Components
x Whitegoods or Consumer Durables
xi Hardware
xii Some Recent New Industries
xiii The National Measurement System
xiv Manufacturing Industry in this Decade
xv Acknowledgements
References
Index
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Innovative Copper Refining Process
The innovative ISA process developed by Mount Isa Mines Limited (MIM) for the electrolytic refining of copper was first implemented by Copper Refineries Pty. Ltd., Townsville in 1979. The process features the use of permanent stainless steel cathode plates and an associated cathode copper stripping machine. The permanent stainless plate is made from 3.25 mm thick 316L stainless steel and is welded to a 304 stainless steel hanger bar which is copper plated to provide the necessary electrical conductivity. An extrusion of acrylic PVC is used as side-edge masking together with a sacrificial seal of high melting-point wax. Dipping in the same wax provides masking for the bottom edge of the plate. This edge protection system, together with operating know-how, is the technical innovation and ensures that the copper cathode deposit will not dislodge during normal handling but will readily strip from the stainless plate in the stripping machine. The ISA Process has been most successful and has been licensed in Australia, Austria, Canada, Mexico and the USA.
Organisations in Australian Science at Work - Copper Refineries Pty Ltd; Mount Isa Mines (M.I.M.); Mount Isa Mines Holdings Ltd
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Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering |  |
© 1988 Print Edition page 898, Online Edition 2000
Published by Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, using the Web Academic Resource Publisher
http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/875.html