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A direct smelting plant for producing molten metal from a metalliferous feed material using a molten bath based direct smelting process is disclosed. The plant includes a gas delivery duct assembly extending from a gas supply location away from the vessel to deliver oxygen-containing gas to gas inje

A direct smelting plant for producing molten metal from a metalliferous feed material using a molten bath based direct smelting process is disclosed. The plant includes a gas delivery duct assembly extending from a gas supply location away from the vessel to deliver oxygen-containing gas to gas injection lances extending into a direct smelting vessel. The gas delivery duct assembly includes a single gas delivery main connected to the gas injection lances to supply oxygen-containing gas to the gas injection lances. The gas delivery main is located at a height above a lower half of the vessel.

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1. A direct smelting plant for producing molten metal from a metalliferous feed material using a molten bath based direct smelting process, the plant comprising: (a) a fixed direct smelting vessel to hold a molten bath of metal and slag and a gas space above the bath, the vessel including a hearth a

1. A direct smelting plant for producing molten metal from a metalliferous feed material using a molten bath based direct smelting process, the plant comprising: (a) a fixed direct smelting vessel to hold a molten bath of metal and slag and a gas space above the bath, the vessel including a hearth and a side wall;(b) a solids feed assembly arranged to supply solid feed material, including metalliferous feed material and carbonaceous material, from a solid feed material supply location away from the vessel and downwardly and inwardly into the vessel and into a slag layer of the molten bath;(c) an oxygen-containing gas feed assembly arranged to supply an oxygen-containing gas from an oxygen-containing gas supply location away from the vessel into the vessel, the oxygen-containing gas feed assembly including: (i) a gas injection assembly including a plurality of gas injection lances that extend downwardly through openings in the vessel and are arranged to inject the oxygen-containing gas into the vessel above the molten bath to combust combustible gases released from the molten bath and(ii) a gas delivery duct assembly including a single gas delivery main and a gas delivery duct extending from a gas supply location away from the vessel and arranged to deliver the oxygen-containing gas to the gas injection assembly, the gas delivery duct assembly including the single gas delivery main connected to the gas injection lances and including the gas delivery duct connected to the single gas delivery main to supply the oxygen-containing gas from the gas supply location to the gas injection lances, and the gas delivery main being located at a height above a lower half of the vessel;(d) an offgas duct assembly that extends from an upper region of the vessel to facilitate flow of offgas from the vessel;(e) a metal tapping assembly to tap molten metal from the bath during a smelting operation; and(f) a slag tapping assembly to tap slag from the bath during a smelting operation;wherein the gas injection lances extend downwardly and inwardly relative to the gas delivery main, and the gas delivery main is spaced away from the vessel so that there is a clearance between the vessel and the gas delivery main to allow removal of the gas injection lances through the clearance. 2. The plant defined in claim 1 wherein the gas delivery main is located above a connection of the gas injection assembly to the vessel. 3. The plant defined in claim 1 wherein the gas delivery main is a ring main that defines an endless path for gas flow within the main. 4. The plant defined in claim 1 wherein the gas delivery main is a horseshoe main. 5. The plant defined in claim 1 wherein the gas delivery main includes a single inlet for oxygen-containing gas and a plurality of outlets for oxygen-containing gas, with the number of outlets corresponding to the number of gas injection lances. 6. The plant defined in claim 5 wherein the outlets for the oxygen containing gas are equally-spaced around the vessel. 7. The plant defined in claim 1 wherein the gas injection lances can be disconnected from the gas delivery duct assembly and removed from the vessel and replaced with replacement lances. 8. The plant defined in claim 1 wherein the gas delivery duct assembly includes a plurality of members that connect the gas delivery main to the gas injection lances. 9. The plant defined in claim 8 wherein the members are coaxial with the gas injection lances. 10. The plant defined in claim 8 wherein each connection member includes a spool that extends from an inlet end of one gas injection lance and an expansion joint that is connected at one end to the spool and at the other end to one of the outlets of the gas delivery main. 11. The plant defined in claim 1 wherein the side wall of the vessel comprises: (a) a lower cylindrical section,(b) an upper cylindrical section that has a smaller diameter than the lower section, and(c) a transition section that interconnects the upper and lower sections. 12. The plant defined in claim 11 wherein the transition section includes the openings for the gas injection lances and the lances extend through the openings into the vessel. 13. The plant defined in claim 12 wherein the transition section is frusto-conical. 14. The plant defined in claim 11 wherein the gas delivery main is located above the lower cylindrical section of the vessel. 15. The plant defined in claim 11 wherein the gas delivery main is located above the upper cylindrical section of the vessel. 16. The plant defined in claim 11 wherein the gas delivery main is located adjacent an upper part of the upper cylindrical section of the vessel. 17. The plant defined in claim 16 wherein the gas delivery main is positioned to be outboard of the diameter of the lower cylindrical section of the vessel. 18. The plant of claim 1, wherein the offgas duct assembly extends outwardly from the vessel through a space formed between two of the gas injection lances and the gas delivery main. 19. The plant of claim 1, wherein the plurality of gas injection lances include ends that connect to a lower surface of the gas delivery main. 20. The plant of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the gas delivery main is located above the vessel. 21. A method of producing molten metal from a metalliferous feed material using a molten bath based direct smelting process, the method comprising: holding a molten bath of metal and slag with a gas space above the molten bath in a fixed direct smelting vessel, the vessel including a hearth and a side wall;supplying solid feed material from a solid feed material supply location away from the vessel and downwardly and inwardly into the vessel and into a slag layer of the molten bath using a solids feed assembly, the solid feed material including metalliferous feed material and carbonaceous material;supplying an oxygen-containing gas to the vessel from an oxygen-containing gas supply location away from the vessel using an oxygen-containing gas feed assembly, the oxygen-containing gas feed assembly including: (i) a gas injection assembly that includes a plurality of gas injection lances extending downwardly through openings in the vessel, and(ii) a gas delivery duct assembly including a single gas delivery main and a gas delivery duct extending from a gas supply location away from the vessel, the single gas delivery main being connected to the gas injection lances, the gas injection lances extending downwardly and inwardly relative to the gas delivery main, the gas delivery main being spaced away from the vessel so that there is a clearance between the vessel and the gas delivery main to allow removal of the gas injection lances through the clearance, wherein supplying the oxygen-containing gas includes supplying the oxygen-containing gas to the gas injection lances using the gas delivery main and the gas delivery duct, the gas delivery main being located at a height above a lower half of the vessel;injecting the oxygen-containing gas into the vessel above the molten bath using the plurality of gas injection lances to combust combustible gases released from the molten bath;providing a flow of offgas from the vessel using an offgas duct assembly that extends from an upper region of the vessel;tapping molten metal from the molten bath using a metal tapping assembly; andtapping slag from the molten bath using a slag tapping assembly.