Yunnan Copper Corporation, which has been licensed to use the Isasmelt technology for a smelter in the city of Kunming, will treat 600,000 tonnes of copper concentrate to produce 125,000t of copper a year, MIM process technologies general manager Lyle Bruce said.

A team from China is now in Australia to spend several weeks learning bricking techniques on the Mount Isa Isasmelt furnace, which is now undergoing rebricking after having just completed a record 24-month production period.

Early in 2001, MIM Processing Technologies will arrange a comprehensive training programme in Mount Isa for the group which will operate the new plant.

"The Isasmelt furnace will form the core of a modernisation project of an existing smelting complex," Bruce said.

"It will reduce energy consumption significantly and greatly improve the environmental performance of the smelter."

The Isasmelt process was developed to commercial scale by MIM at the company's copper and lead smelters in Mount Isa, and is now in use or being installed in eight smelters around the world.

The project in China brings to more than 2Mt the annual worldwide installed Isasmelt copper feed capacity.