Question -
Answer -
During the roasting of pyriteore, a mixture of FeO and Cu2Ois obtained.
The role of silica in themetallurgy of copper is to remove the iron oxide obtained during the process ofroasting as ‘slag’. If the sulphide ore of copper contains iron, then silica (SiO2) is added as flux beforeroasting. Then, FeO combines with silica to form iron silicate, FeSiO3 (slag).
