Patent ID: 8187357

Claim:
A process for producing a metal melt containing at least one base metal and at least one alloy constituent, wherein the production takes place in a melting vessel with slag covering the melt, the method comprising feeding an additive containing the alloy constituent to the melt by a feeding device, the alloy constituent being a transition metal and the additive being in the form of a solid, wherein the additive contains 10 to 70 percent by weight of the alloy constituent, 20 to 70 percent by weight of at least one of H 2 O and CO 2 which is/are volatilized by calcination during feeding of the additive to the melt, ≦5 percent by weight of sulfur, and 0.5 to 20 percent by weight of slag formers containing at least one of Ca and Mg, and wherein the additive is directly fed to the metal melt by a gas stream sufficient to penetrate through the slag to form a slag-free burn spot of the slag-covered melt, the slag-free burn spot having a temperature of 2,000° C. to 2,600° C.