Conventional division of working space of rotary furnace on processing zones (drying, sulfate and carbonate decomposition, material recovery (reaction zone), oxidative and clinker cooling) allowed to establish peculiarities of heat and mass transfer processes under conditions of counter flow movement of charge and gases. There were determined the regularities of changes in temperature of gaseous medium and materials in working space of heating unit, depending on ratio of specific heats of charge flow and gas flow components. Progressive increase in heat capacity of the flow is observed during the gas transfer in working space of rotary tube. Peculiarities of specific heat changes of materials flow depend on intensity of heat and mass transfer processes development in separate technological zones. The heat capacity of material flow increases in drying and reduction zones due to development of endothermic processes, and values of this characteristics are reduced in oxidizing and cooling zones. The most intensive development of heat transfer processes occur in the zone of charge preheating and formation of heat carrier flow (W m < W r). The least intensity of heat exchange with formation of high-temperature gas flow is observed in oxidizing furnace zone. Considering peculiarities of thermal compression of bulk materials, there were defined the intervals of their solid and liquid phase sintering, indicating conditions of intensive development of rotary furnace process without breaking of high temperature annealing conditions. Rotary furnace process of ore components occurs mainly in the solid phase sintering mode, which determines the minimum diffusion difficulties for the development of recovery processes with maximum output of zinc.