Water-modelling experiments were carried out to characterize the surface area of overflow droplets generated by a gas-lift pump under reduced pressure as a function of various operating parameters, namely, top pressure, gas flow rate, nozzle submergence, lift ratio and riser diameter. The liquid phase mass transfer coefficient was obtained by applying the penetration theory (Treybal, 1980; Bird et al., 1960) to the overflow generated from the riser. Under reduced pressure, chum-turbulent flow, consisting of distorted bullet-shaped bubbles, was predominant in the flow regime. The increase of liquid circulation rate and flight time and the decrease of droplet size increased the refining rate. Because of the large droplet size, the refining rate of molten metals was smaller than that of water.