Plants for the production of

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

are generally referred to as lead smelters. Primary lead production begins with

sintering Clinker nodules produced by sintering Sintering or frittage is the process of compacting and forming a solid mass of material by pressure or heat without melting it to the point of liquefaction. Sintering happens as part of a manufacturing ...

. Concentrated lead ore is fed into a sintering machine with iron, silica, limestone fluxes, coke,

soda ash Sodium carbonate, , (also known as washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield moderately alkaline solutions ...

pyrite The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue giv ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

, caustics or

pollution control Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

particulates.

Smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ...

uses suitable reducing substances that will combine with those

oxidizing Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...

elements to free the metal. Reduction is the final, high-temperature step in smelting. It is here that the oxide becomes the elemental metal. A reducing environment (often provided by carbon monoxide in an air-starved furnace) pulls the final oxygen atoms from the raw metal. Lead is usually smelted in a blast furnace, using the lead sinter produced in the sintering process and coke to provide the heat source. As melting occurs, several layers form in the furnace. A combination of molten lead and slag sinks to the bottom of the furnace, with a layer of the lightest elements referred to as

speiss Speisses are alloys of heavy metals like iron, cobalt, nickel and copper White, L.A. "The development of the lead blast furnace at Port Pirie, South Australia", ''Transactions AIME, Vol 188, October 1950, Journal of Metals'', pages 1221–1228. with ...

, including

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, ...

and

antimony Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient t ...

floating to the top of the molten material. The crude bullion and lead slag layers flow out of the 'furnace front' and into the 'forehearth', where the two streams are separated. The lead slag stream, containing most of the 'fluxing' elements added to the sintering machine (predominantly silica, limestone, iron and zinc) can either be discarded or further processed to recover the contained zinc. The crude lead bullion, containing significant quantities of copper will then undergo 'copper drossing'. In this step elemental sulphur, usually in solid form is added to the molten crude lead bullion to react with the contained copper. A "matte" layer forms in this step, containing most of the copper originating from the crude lead bullion and some other impurities as metal sulfides. The speiss and the matte are usually sold to copper smelters where they are refined for copper processing. The lead from the blast furnace, called lead bullion, then undergoes the drossing process. The bullion is agitated in kettles then cooled to 700-800 degrees. This process results in molten lead and

dross Dross is a mass of solid impurities floating on a molten metal or dispersed in the metal, such as in wrought iron. It forms on the surface of low- melting-point metals such as tin, lead, zinc or aluminium or alloys by oxidation of the metal. For ...

. Dross refers to the

lead oxide Lead oxides are a group of inorganic compounds with formulas including lead (Pb) and oxygen (O). Common lead oxides include: * Lead(II) oxide, PbO, litharge (red), massicot (yellow) * Lead(II,IV) oxide Lead(II,IV) oxide, also called red lead o ...

s, copper, antimony and other elements that float to the top of the lead. Dross is usually skimmed off and sent to a dross furnace to recover the non-lead components which are sold to other metal manufacturers. The

Parkes process The Parkes process is a pyrometallurgical industrial process for removing silver from lead during the production of bullion. It is an example of liquid–liquid extraction. The process takes advantage of two liquid-state properties of zinc. The fi ...

is used to separate

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

from lead. Finally, the molten lead is refined. Pyrometallurgical methods are usually used to remove the remaining non-lead components of the mixture, for example the Betterton-Kroll process and the

Betts electrolytic process The Betts electrolytic process is an industrial process for purification of lead from bullion. Lead obtained from its ores is impure because lead is a good solvent for many metals. Often these impurities are tolerated, but the Betts electrolytic p ...

. The non-lead metals are usually sold to other metal processing plants. The refined lead may be made into alloys or directly cast. People who operate or work in such plants are also referred to as smelters.

Lead ores

lang=en, Evolution of the extracted lead ores grade in different countries (Canada, Australia). Galena, the most common mineral of

, is primarily lead sulfide (PbS). The sulfide is oxidized to a sulfite (PbSO₃) which thermally decomposes into lead oxide and sulfur dioxide gas. (PbO and SO₂) The sulfur dioxide (like the

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...

in the example above) is expelled, and the lead oxide is reduced.

Anglesite Anglesite is a lead sulfate mineral with the chemical formula PbSO4. It occurs as an oxidation product of primary lead sulfide ore, galena. Anglesite occurs as prismatic orthorhombic crystals and earthy masses, and is isomorphous with barite and ...

Cerussite Cerussite (also known as lead carbonate or white lead ore) is a mineral consisting of lead carbonate (PbCO3), and is an important ore of lead. The name is from the Latin ''cerussa'', white lead. ''Cerussa nativa'' was mentioned by Conrad Gessner ...

Pyromorphite Pyromorphite is a mineral species composed of lead chlorophosphate: Pb5( P O4)3 Cl, sometimes occurring in sufficient abundance to be mined as an ore of lead. Crystals are common, and have the form of a hexagonal prism terminated by the basal pl ...

Mimetite Mimetite is a lead arsenate chloride mineral (Pb5(AsO4)3Cl) which forms as a secondary mineral in lead deposits, usually by the oxidation of galena and arsenopyrite. The name derives from the Greek Μιμητής ''mimetes'', meaning "imitator" a ...

and

Wulfenite Wulfenite is a lead molybdate mineral with the formula Pb Mo O4. It can be most often found as thin tabular crystals with a bright orange-red to yellow-orange color, sometimes brown, although the color can be highly variable. In its yellow form ...

are other lead ores. Other elements frequently present with lead ores include

and

Secondary lead processing

Most of the lead produced comes from secondary sources. Lead scrap includes lead-acid batteries, cable coverings, pipes, sheets and lead coated, or terne bearing, metals. Solder, product waste and dross may also be recovered for its small lead content. Most secondary lead is used in batteries. To recover lead from a battery, the battery is broken and the components are classified. The lead containing components are processed in blast furnaces for hard lead or rotary reverberatory furnaces for fine particles. The blast furnace is similar in structure to a

cupola furnace A cupola or cupola furnace is a melting device used in foundries that can be used to melt cast iron, Ni-resist iron and some bronzes. The cupola can be made almost any practical size. The size of a cupola is expressed in diameters and can range ...

used in iron foundries. The furnace is charged with slag, scrap iron, limestone, coke, oxides, dross, and reverberatory slag. The coke is used to melt and reduce the lead. Limestone reacts with impurities and floats to the top. This process also keeps the lead from oxidizing. The molten lead flows from the blast furnace into holding pots. Lead may be mixed with alloys, including antimony, tin, arsenic, copper and nickel. It is then cast into

ingot An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedure of sha ...

Lead exposure

Humans have been smelting lead for thousands of years, poisoning themselves in the process. Although lead poisoning is one of the oldest known work and environmental hazards, the modern understanding of the small amount of lead necessary to cause harm did not come about until the latter half of the 20th century. No safe threshold for lead exposure has been discovered—that is, there is no known amount of lead that is too small to cause the body harm. The US

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

and the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

state that a blood lead level of 10 μg/dL or above is a cause for concern; however, lead may impair development and have harmful health effects even at lower levels, and there is no known safe exposure level. Authorities such as the American Academy of Pediatrics define lead poisoning as blood lead levels higher than 10 μg/dL. Lead smelters with little pollution controls contribute to several environmental problems, especially raised blood lead levels in the surrounding population. The problem is particularly significant in many children who have grown up in the proximity to a lead smelter.

History

The earliest known cast lead beads were found in the

Çatalhöyük Çatalhöyük (; also ''Çatal Höyük'' and ''Çatal Hüyük''; from Turkish ''çatal'' "fork" + ''höyük'' "tumulus") is a tell of a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic proto-city settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from app ...

site in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

(

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

), and dated from about 6500 BC, but the metal may have been known earlier. Ancient smelting was done using loads of lead ore and charcoal in outdoor hearths and furnaces. Although lead is a common metal, its discovery had relatively little impact in the ancient world. It is too soft to be used for weapons (except possibly as sling projectiles) or for structural elements. However, being easy to cast and shape, it came to be extensively used in the classical world of

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...

and

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

for piping and storage of water. It was also used as a mortar in stone buildings, and as a

writing material Writing material refers to the materials that provide the surfaces on which humans use writing instruments to inscribe writings. The same materials can also be used for symbolic or representational drawings. Building material on which writings or ...

Smeltmill Smeltmills were water-powered mills used to smelt lead or other metals. The older method of smelting lead on wind-blown bole hills began to be superseded by artificially-blown smelters. The first such furnace was built by Burchard Kranich at Ma ...

s were water-powered

mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Uni ...

used to

smelt Smelt may refer to: * Smelting, chemical process * The common name of various fish: ** Smelt (fish), a family of small fish, Osmeridae ** Australian smelt in the family Retropinnidae and species ''Retropinna semoni'' ** Big-scale sand smelt ''Ath ...

lead or other metals. The Roman lead smelting has led to evidence of global pollution. Greenland ice cores from 500 BCE to 300 CE show measurably elevated lead content in the atmosphere. Researchers studying an ice core from Colle Gnifetti, in the Swiss part of the

Monte Rosa : , other_name = Monte Rosa massif , translation = Mount Rose , photo = Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and Monte Rosa Glacier as seen from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, 2012 August.jpg , photo_caption = Central Mon ...

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

, have found that higher historical European airborne lead pollution levels are associated with changes in the monetary system from gold to silver from the year 640 CE, with the principal source likely to be the

Melle Melle may refer to: People * Basil Melle (1891–1966), South African cricketer * Gil Mellé (1931–2004), American artist, jazz musician and film composer * John van Melle (1887–1953), Dutch-born South African author * Melle Mel (born 19 ...

mines in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Later airborne pollution, between the years 1170-1216 CE, correlates even more strongly with contemporaneous records of lead and silver production from mines in the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorla ...

of England, at levels similar to those seen in the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

Georgius Agricola Georgius Agricola (; born Georg Pawer or Georg Bauer; 24 March 1494 – 21 November 1555) was a German Humanist scholar, mineralogist and metallurgist. Born in the small town of Glauchau, in the Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Empire ...

(1494-1555) presented details of lead smelting methods and facilities current in Europe in the first half of the 16th century in Book IX of his treatise on mining and metallurgy, ''De Re Metallica''. Methods ranged from primitive open-hearth arrangements (essentially bonfires on which lead ore was piled) to blast furnaces capable of continuous operation. In the USA there are 400 forgotten lead smelting firms that operated in the 1930s to 1960s and may have deposited dangerous levels of lead contamination in nearby soil.

Historic mining and smelting sites

Asia

Gazimursky Zavod Gazimursky Zavod (russian: Газиму́рский Заво́д) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Gazimuro-Zavodsky District of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia,Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the In ...

Australia

Boolaroo, New South Wales Boolaroo is a suburb of Greater Newcastle, city of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia, located west of Newcastle's central business district in Lake Macquarie's West Ward. It was the epicenter of the 1989 Newcastle earthquake. Boo ...

Argenton, New South Wales Argenton is a suburb of the city of Lake Macquarie, Greater Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia west of the Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle's central business district in Lake Macquarie's West Ward. argenton is most known for the heav ...

Cockle Creek Smelter Cockle Creek Smelter was a zinc and lead smelter located at the northern end of Lake Macquarie near Boolaroo in Newcastle, New South Wales. The smelter was built in by the Sulphide Corporation in 1896 and the first attempts to refine zinc using th ...

Europe

Grinton Smelt Mill Grinton Smelt Mill (also known as How Mill) is a ruined lead mining and processing site on Cogden Moor, south of Grinton in Swaledale, North Yorkshire, England. The site was built in its present form for the specific purpose of processing lead ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England *

Milford, Derbyshire Milford is a village in Derbyshire, England, on the River Derwent, between Duffield and Belper on the A6 trunk road. Until the end of the 18th century it was no more than a few houses near the point, about a quarter of a mile further south, ...

* Mendip Hills *

Wirksworth Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mar ...

* The tin and lead smelter in

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, was shut down in the 1990s. *

Upper Harz The Upper Harz (german: Oberharz, ) refers to the northwestern and higher part of the Harz mountain range in Germany. The exact boundaries of this geographical region may be defined differently depending on the context. In its traditional sense, th ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

* Copșa Mică works,

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

Rammelsberg The Rammelsberg is a mountain, high, on the northern edge of the Harz range, south of the historic town of Goslar in the North German state of Lower Saxony. The mountain is the location of an important silver, copper, and lead mine, the only min ...

, Germany *

Ballycorus Leadmines Ballycorus () leadmines is a former lead mining and smelting centre located in the townland of the same name, near Kilternan in County Dublin, Ireland. The mine opened around 1807 and was taken over by the Mining Company of Ireland (MCI) in 1826 ...

Dalnegorsk Dalnegorsk (russian: Дальнего́рск, lit. ''far in the mountains'') is a town in Primorsky Krai, Russia. Population: Name It was formerly known from its founding in 1897 as Tetyukhe (russian: Те́тюхе; ; literally meaning "river ...

* Eas Anie * Silberhütte (Harzgerode)

North America

* Noonday Camp, California * Tri-State district (SE Kansas, SW Missouri, NE Oklahoma) *

Southeast Missouri Lead District The Southeast Missouri Lead District, commonly called the Lead Belt, is a lead mining district in the southeastern part of Missouri. Counties in the Lead Belt include Saint Francois, Crawford, Dent, Iron, Madison, Reynolds, and Washingt ...

Old Mines, Missouri Old Mines (french: La Vieille Mine) is the name of an unincorporated community and surrounding area in southeast Missouri that were settled by French colonists in the early 18th century when the area was part of the Illinois Country of New France. ...

ASARCO Asarco LLC (American Smelting and Refining Company) is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in Tucson, Arizona, which mines and processes primarily copper. The company has been a subsidiary of Grupo México since 1999. Its three la ...

Murray, Utah Murray () is a city situated on the Wasatch Front in the core of Salt Lake Valley in the U.S. state of Utah. Named for territorial governor Eli Houston Murray, Eli Murray, it is the state's fourteenth largest city. According to the 2020 census, M ...

Midvale, Utah Midvale is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. Midvale's population was 34,124 according to 2019 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Midvale is home to the Sho ...

International Smelting and Refining Company The International Smelting and Refining Company was a subsidiary of Anaconda Copper that operated primarily out of the International Smelter near Tooele, Utah. The International Smelter began operation in 1910 as a copper producer handling ores ...

Tooele Tooele ( ) is a city in Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 35,742 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Tooele County. Located approximately 30 minutes southwest of Salt Lake City, Tooele is known for Tooele Army ...

, Utah * Silver City, Utah * Carondelet, St. Louis *

Bunker Hill Mine and Smelting Complex The Bunker Hill Mine and Smelting Complex (colloquially the Bunker Hill smelter) was a large smelter located in Kellogg, Idaho, in the Coeur d'Alene Basin. When built, it was the largest smelting facility in the world.National Research Council, 2 ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

Ketchum, Idaho Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, located in the central part of the state. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census, up from 2,689 in 2010. Located in the Wood River Valley, Ketchum is adjacent to Sun Valley and the communities sh ...

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

* Dewey-Humboldt, Arizona *

Priest Mine Priest Mine is an abandoned surface and underground mine in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is located about northwest of the hamlet of Marten River on an island in north-central Cross Lake. Dating back to the early 1900s, it is one of the old ...

, Canada *

Cerro Gordo Mines The Cerro Gordo Mines are a collection of abandoned mines located in the Inyo Mountains, in Inyo County, near Lone Pine, California. Mining operations spanned 1866 to 1957, producing high grade silver, lead, zinc ore, and more rarely gold ore an ...

* Butte, Montana *

Harbor Island (Seattle) Harbor Island is an artificial island in the mouth of the Duwamish River in Seattle, Washington, US, where it empties into Elliott Bay. Built by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company, it was completed in 1909 and was then the largest art ...

Sinsinawa, Wisconsin Sinsinawa () is an unincorporated community in Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. The community is in the towns of Jamestown and Hazel Green, one mile north of the border with Illinois. The community is east of Dubuque, Iowa, and west of t ...

East Chicago, Indiana East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. The city is home of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwater harbor characterized by industrial and manufacturing ac ...

South America

Active lead mines and smelters

Africa

* Kitwe, Zambia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Nyrstar Nyrstar is a global multi-metals business, with a market leading position in zinc and lead and growing positions in other base and precious metals, such as copper, gold and silver. Nyrstar has mining and smelting operations located in Europe, North ...

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South A ...

* Broken Hill, New South Wales *

Mount Isa Mines Mount Isa Mines Limited ("MIM") operates the Mount Isa copper, lead, zinc and silver mines near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia as part of the Glencore group of companies. For a brief period in 1980, MIM was Australia's largest company. It has ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

* Chanderiya Smelter Complex in the

Chittorgarh district Chittorgarh district is one of the 33 districts of Rajasthan state in western India. The historic city of Chittaurgarh is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district was established on 1 August 1948 by integrating portions of ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

state of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

*Rönnskär copper smelter is in

Skelleftehamn Skelleftehamn is a locality situated in Skellefteå Municipality, Västerbotten County, Sweden with 3,184 inhabitants in 2010. Notable people * Stieg Larsson, journalist, writer and author of crime fiction/ thriller ''Millennium'' trilogy. * Vic ...

, Sweden and its main products are copper, zinc clinker, lead and precious metals. *Bergsöe lead smelter outside

Landskrona Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...

in southern Sweden extracts lead from scrap car batteries. *

Tara Mine Tara Mines is a zinc and lead mine near Navan, County Meath, Ireland. Tara is an underground mine where the orebody lies between 50 and 900 metres below the surface in carbonate-hosted lead-zinc ore deposits. The deposit was discovered in 1970 ...

*KCM in Plovdiv which has produced lead for over 60 years using a blast furnace and is now in the process of bringing a new 60 million euro smelter TSL furnace online in order to replace the ageing blast furnace.

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

* Doe Run Resources Corporation is the largest integrated

producer in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and the largest primary lead producer in the

western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

. *

Hayden Smelter Hayden Smelter is a copper smelter at Hayden, Arizona, owned and operated by ASARCO. It has a tall chimney, which is the tallest free-standing structure of Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

* Belledune, New Brunswick *

Red Dog mine The Red Dog mine is a large zinc and lead mine in a remote region of Alaska, about north of Kotzebue, which is owned and operated by the Canadian mining company Teck Resources. It is located within the boundaries of the Red Dog Mine census-des ...

, Alaska *

Teck Trail Operations Teck may refer to: * Teck Castle (Burg Teck) in Württemberg, Germany * Teckberg, mountain on which it is located * Duke of Teck, a title of nobility, associated with Teck Castle * Teck Railway, Germany * Teck Resources, a Canadian mining company ...

, Trail, BC, Canada.

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

La Oroya La Oroya is a city on the River Mantaro in central Peru. It is situated on the Andes some 176 km east-north-east of the national capital, Lima, and is capital of the Yauli Province. La Oroya is the location of a smelting operation that ea ...

Cerro de Pasco Cerro de Pasco is a city in central Peru, located at the top of the Andean mountains. It is the capital of the Pasco region, and an important mining center. At elevation, it is one of the highest cities in the world, and the highest or the sec ...

, Peru

References

External links

The Charles Bathurst Smelt Mill, Arkengarthdale, England
{{Extractive metallurgy Lead Smelting

Lead ores

Secondary lead processing

Lead exposure

History

Historic mining and smelting sites

Asia

Australia

Europe

North America

South America

Active lead mines and smelters

Africa

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

See also

References

External links