Engineering for processes that don’t forgive thermal error.
Audits, thermal design and equipment development for copper and nickel smelters — from on-site diagnosis to invention patents.
Molten-matte evacuation device with advanced cooling
High-performance solution for concentrate smelting furnaces in copper and other non-ferrous metals.
The problem it solves
- Critical overheating of structural components
- Mechanical deformation that shortens equipment life
- Explosion risk from coolant water contacting molten metal
The innovation
Main body built in copper via additive manufacturing (3D printing), with a counter-current axial-flow cooling system relative to the molten matte. It features uniformly distributed extended surfaces, optimized flow distributors, and compatibility with ionic liquids as coolant.
Numerically validated results
A unique licensing or collaboration opportunity for mining and metallurgical companies looking to improve operational safety, reduce maintenance costs, and extend equipment life.
Three ways to work on a thermal process
Each service line picks up where the last one leaves off: first we diagnose, then we design the solution, and when the solution is genuinely new, we protect it.
Detecting design flaws and process losses
We identify where the current design is losing thermal efficiency or creating risk, before it turns into lost production.
Thermal design and mechanical equipment
We run numerical models of fluid-dynamics and cooling problems, and design in 3D the equipment that solves them — new or redesigned.
Invention patent development
When an operating solution is genuinely new, we take it all the way to a patent — drawing on that same design and implementation experience.
Copper and nickel, at process temperature
We work in copper and nickel mining, where heat is part of the design — not a side effect to mitigate.
Typical thermal challenges
- Cooling systems for pyrometallurgical furnaces
- Optimization of process gas transport
- Thermal expansion in high-temperature ducting and equipment
Examples of field work
- Copper elements for furnace cooling
- Molten-material discharge plates
- Molten-material discharge passages
- Diagnosis of pyrometallurgical gas-handling systems
An engineering team, not a generic consultancy
SOLIDNET is an engineering team specialized in thermal processes for the copper and nickel pyrometallurgical industry.
With presence in Chile and China, we’ve taken part in more than 20 projects, with professionals who bring individual experience across more than 30 engineering developments.
We work directly with concentrate smelters and industrial process plants, from on-site audits to equipment design and, where it applies, the patent.
Case studies
We’re currently gathering client authorizations to publish specific projects and figures. This section will be updated shortly — if you’d like references directly, get in touch.
Three decades solving thermal problems in smelters
Projects carried out by SOLIDNET's professional team in copper smelters across Chile and the world, along with technical publications, visits to international smelters, and direct knowledge of process facilities.
Projects delivered
26 projects between 1991 and 2026 — reverse chronological order.
High Thermal Efficiency Axial-Flow Matte Discharge Plate
Invention of a device for evacuating matte in copper concentrate (or other metal) smelting furnaces, solving the thermal and mechanical limitations of existing discharge plates.
See patent detail →Installation of Canadian engineering firm Black Rock Spa in Chile
New Discharge Plate for Copper Concentrate Smelting Furnaces
New design and prototype fabrication capable of increasing discharge-plate service life and improving smelting-furnace productivity. CORFO project.
Concentrate Burner Evaluation — Flash Smelting and Converting Furnaces, Yanggu Xiangguang Smelter, China
Technical evaluation of the new concentrate burner developed by the smelter for its smelting and converting furnaces.
Gas Train Study at a Chilean Smelter Using Numerical Solutions
CFD model of the gas train at the Caletones Smelter, aimed at optimizing acid-plant utilization.
Cooled Block Failure Diagnosis — Flash Furnace, Chuquicamata Smelter
Diagnosis of the failure in the Flash Furnace's cooled block, using numerical models and process data.
New Cooled Block — Flash Furnace, Chuquicamata Smelter
New cooled-block design using numerical methods. Improvements were implemented that increase cooling performance and equipment availability.
Baseline Production Diagnosis Study — Potrerillos Smelter
Diagnosis of facilities and operations, plus a review of business-plan projects, to detect fatal flaws and design improvements.
Detail Engineering and Procurement — Peripheral Systems, Floor Redesign, Chuquicamata Flash Furnace
Detail engineering and procurement for the Flash Furnace floor modification, including the facilities required for air cooling.
Flash Furnace Basic Engineering — Chagres Smelter Development Project
Basic engineering to increase smelting capacity to 800,000 tpa of concentrate, modifying the Settler and the Reaction and Up-Take towers. Included development of a CFD model.
Conceptual Engineering for Productivity Improvement — Caletones Smelter
Conceptual engineering to increase processing capacity to 1,750 KTPA while ensuring sulfur capture above 94%. Included a new Teniente converter, a new casting wheel, and slag-flotation and concentrate-drying plants, with a CFD model of the gas train.
Detail Engineering and Procurement — Ministro Hales Mine Development Project
Detail engineering and procurement for coarse-ore crushing and conveying facilities, a stand-alone SAG concentrator plant, and a roasting plant with its auxiliary plants, including pneumatic conveying systems for concentrate and calcine.
Ministro Hales Mine Development — Basic Engineering
Basic engineering for crushing, coarse-ore conveying, a SAG concentrator plant, and a roasting plant with its auxiliary plants. Included modifications to the Peirce Smith converter hoods, with CFD models of the hoods.
Multidisciplinary Engineering — Anode/Cathode Impurity Treatment, DCN
Feasibility studies for treating impurities in anodes and cathodes, including flux injection systems, modification of the Flash Furnace charge feed, and an ion-exchange plant.
Business Development — Caletones Smelter, Chile
Conceptual engineering to optimize the smelter and acid-plant complex, including concentrate drying, the gas-handling system, primary gas hoods, and new Twin casting wheels.
Profile Engineering — Fresh Tailings Sand Treatment Plant, Codelco
Profile engineering for treating tailings sand from the Codelco Norte concentrator, with classifying screens and dynamic heap leaching.
Bankable Feasibility Study, Concentrator — Piura, Peru
Río Blanco Project, Minera Majaz S.A.: an open-pit copper and molybdenum mine at 2,200 masl in northern Peru, with a concentrator plant and associated facilities. Role: Mechanical Discipline Lead.
Complex Concentrate Treatment and Capacity Increase — Codelco Norte Smelter and Refinery
Conceptual engineering to process 700,000 tons of concentrate from the Alejandro Hales Mine, evaluating technology changes and investments between US$180 and 600 million, with a redesign of the refining and casting area.
Second-Stage Decontamination Plan — Chuquicamata Concentrate Smelter
Basic engineering to increase As and SO2 capture, with an electric furnace for slag processing and modifications to concentrate drying. US$130 million investment.
New Concentrate Burner — Flash Furnace
Design, fabrication and installation of a new burner with symmetric air feed and inlet air velocity regulation. In operation with very good results.
Settler Roof Cooling — Flash Furnace
Design, construction and installation of new cooling elements that allow magnetite build-up, significantly increasing their service life. Still in operation.
Fugitive Arsenic Capture and Abatement — Flash Furnace
Implementation of a fugitive-gas capture system, cleaning via baghouse filters, and arsenic neutralization with lime.
Second-Stage Work-Area Decontamination
Confinement of concentrate handling in hoppers and implementation of particulate-capture systems at conveyor transfer points and material discharges, recovered via baghouse filters.
Lance Smelting in the Teniente Converter
Design, fabrication and installation of a new copper-element cooling system in Teniente Converter No. 1, as an industrial trial of lance use. US$2.9 million investment.
Gas Capture and Treatment in PS Converters
Investment project that partially eliminated SO2 emissions from the Pierce Smith converters, through primary gas capture and subsequent treatment in acid plants. US$57 million investment.
25+ additional innovation projects — Chuquicamata Smelter
Improvements and innovations in the Flash Furnace: new cooled plates and channels, new copper cooling elements, hopper and pneumatic-conveying modifications, and improvements to concentrate dryers No. 4 and 5.
Publications
- 1995Prata, A.T., Pilichi, C.D.M. and Ferreira, R.T.S. — "Local Heat Transfer in Axially Feeding Radial Flow Between Parallel Disks," ASME J. Heat Transfer, Vol. 117, pp. 47-53.
- 1993Cooling of the Tuyère Line in Pierce Smith Converters — Interdivisional Maintenance Meeting, Chuquicamata.
- 1993Cooling Chamber in Teniente Converters — IV Congress on Mechanical Engineering in the Copper Industry, Universidad de Antofagasta.
- 1992Evaluation of Radiant Tubes in Teniente Converters — Interdivisional Smelter Meeting.
- 1992Maintenance Aspects at the Chuquicamata Concentrate Smelter — Interdivisional Smelter Meeting, Chuquicamata.
- 1989Heat Transfer Intensification Through Flow-Induced Self-Oscillations — X Brazilian Congress of Mechanical Engineering (COBEM), Rio de Janeiro.
- 1989A Model to Describe Boiling Heat Transfer in a Vessel at Above-Atmospheric Pressures — X Brazilian Congress of Mechanical Engineering (COBEM), Rio de Janeiro.
- 1987Analysis and Proposals for Obtaining Fresh Water from Brackish Water — First National Defense Engineering Congress, CINDEF'87.
- 1986General Correlation to Describe Nucleate Boiling Heat Transfer in a Vessel — II National Congress of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad de Santiago de Chile.
- 1984Multi-Stage Solar Desalination Using Waste Heat — IV National Solar and Wind Energy Seminar (SENESE), Universidad de Concepción.
- 1983Development of a Computational Method for the Thermal Design of Vertical-Tube Evaporators — Inter-University Energy Symposium, Universidad de Santiago de Chile.
Technical visits to copper smelters
Detailed facility knowledge
Tell us which thermal process you need to solve
SOLIDNET SA is on LinkedIn — where we share technical progress and ongoing projects.