Service to refining customers
By providing distinctive services to our refining customers, Umicore Precious Metals Refining is recognized as a world class player, not only for the quality of its technologies and products, but also for the quality of its services.
- The company often acts as a toll refiner, where the valuable metals contained in the raw materials are credited to the refining customer's metal account, followed by physical shipment, repurchase or account-to-account transfer.
- Alternatively, Umicore Precious Metals Refining purchases the raw materials (or more precisely, the metals contained) and uses its expertise to sell these at the best available market conditions.
- Metals within our VAT warehouse can be used for trading purposes. This administrative flexibility allows chain sales on refined metals, located in Hoboken, without application of the Belgian VAT and without VAT registration of foreign third parties in Belgium, as Umicore will act as representative to perform VAT-reporting duties.
- Specific services can be provided, such as metal transfers, leasing, geo-swaps, metal-swaps or any other techniques aimed at reducing capital employed or matching our customers' needs.
Sales
In addition to above metal-related services to its refining customers, Umicore Precious Metals Refining sells a wide range of metals/products as refined metal, compound or unrefined intermediate as the case may be, ranging from precious metals (Ag, Au, Pt, Pd, Rh, Ir, Ru) to base metals (Pb, Cu), minor metals (In, Te, Se, Sb, Sn, Bi) and derivated products (H2SO4, aggregates).
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The business unit Umicore Precious Metals Management in Hanau (Germany) and South Plainfield (New Jersey, USA) secures precious metal supplies for Umicore's valued metal customers, providing tailor made metals management solutions to Umicore’s product customers.
Please note that we do not sell directly to private investors – sales are conducted through industrial consumers, banks and certain trading partners.
Minor metals
Indium (In)
Indium was named after the blue-indigo color in its spectrum. The metal is not found in its native state, but is associated with lead and zinc in many ores. In the form of indium-tin-oxide (ITO), over 70% of indium consumption goes to transparent conductive coatings used in flat panel displays such as LCD-televisions, smart phones, laptops and tablets. Other applications include low melting point alloys, control rods for nuclear reactors and additives for zinc powder alkaline battery products.
Umicore Precious Metals Refining produces a crude In(OH)3 (Indiumhydroxide) for further refining. It has a a capacity of 50 tonnes of indium contained products per year.
Selenium (Se)
Selenium is often present in copper ore and is predominantly recovered from tankhouse slimes. Selenium is used as a glass coloring agent, pigment and animal feed additive, and as an additive in steel industry. It is also a semi-conductor with an electrical resistance that decreases with exposure to light, a property that made it ideal for photoelectric cells in the past.
Umicore Precious Metals Refining has a production capacity of 300 tonnes per year, under various qualities and forms.
Tellurium (Te)
Tellurium is a rare element, obtained mainly as a by-product of copper and lead metallurgy and is recovered mainly from tankhouse slimes. It is used in metallurgical and thermo-electrical applications, as well as in cadmium telluride solar cells. It is also used in rubber vulcanization and catalyst applications.
Umicore Precious Metals Refining has an annual production capacity of 150 tonnes, under various qualities and forms.
Antimony (Sb)
Antimony can be found in nature, either in the form of oxides and sulfides, or in association with other metals. It is employed in alloys or in the form of oxides. It is mainly used as a flame retardant in textiles and plastics, or as a fining and decolouring agent in glass.
Umicore Precious Metals Refining has an annual production capacity of about 6,000 tonnes of sodium antimonate. It is produced as a dried or non-dried powder.
For more information, please contact preciousmetals@umicore.com.