Lead plates acting as giant anodes stacked in an electrowinning facility at Kansanshi copper mine, Zambia.
Electrowinning [electro winning] or electroextraction of copper from solution onto cathodes by First Quantum Minerals at their Kansanshi plant near Solwezi in Zambia. Lead plates acting as giant anodes stacked in an electrowinning facility at Kansanshi copper mine, Zambia. This is the final step in which copper rich electrolytes are pumped through a series of tanks or 'cells' in the electrowinning tankhouse. Insoluble lead plates hang in the tanks alternating with sheets of stainless steel (blanks) or sometimes thin copper (starter sheets). Each lead plate acts as an anode of the electric circuit. Blanks or Starter Sheets serve as the cathode. A direct current DC passes from the anode through the electrolyte to the starter sheet or blank, causing the copper ions in the electrolyte solution to plate or attach onto the starter sheet or blank. After a week in the tankhouse, roughly 50 kg copper sheets that are percent pure and ready for market are removed and stacked.
Size: 6000px × 4000px
Location: Kansanshi, Solwezi, Zambia, Africa
Photo credit: © Blaize Pascall / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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