Copper cathodes & alloys

[Montanwerke Brixlegg AG - Kupferkathoden & Kupferbolzen - 27.04.2020] A copper cathode is a sheet of copper which dimensions, thickness and weight depend on the manufacturer and the requirements for further processing. Copper cathodes are the basic building blocks in the copper processing industry. From there on it gets processed to copper rod (for cables and wires), copper tubes and copper sheet products. Copper cathodes are made of raw material with a high level of purity. The copper purity of these cathodes is normally above 99%. The cathodes get rated by the London Metal Exchange (LME) and get grades depending on their quality. Furthermore there are different standards like EN 1978, which was created by the IWCC and ASTM B115. Copper cathodes are also used to produce copper alloys like bronze and brass.


Copper alloys: processed copper for specific purposes

Pure Copper is soft and sometimes too ductile for specific applications. For this reason copper gets processed to copper alloys. The most famous copper alloy is bronze, which is made of copper and tin. Besides that there is brass, a copper-zinc alloy, copper-nickel alloy, nickel-silver alloy and a lot more.

Every copper alloy has it's own strength and field of application.

Bronze
Bronze is the oldest known copper alloy. The bronze age is dated between 3200 and 600 BC in Europe. Bronze is made from about 88% copper and 12% tin, but there are many different bronze alloys which vary in the composition.

Brass
Copper-zinc alloys, also known as Brass, are more harder than pure copper and corrosion-resistant while conducting electricity and thermals. Many wind instruments are made of brass because of it's characteristics.


Copper Alloys for almost every Purpose: www.montanwerke-brixlegg.com/en/products/copper-alloys

Iron Silicate under the brand name of Granos: www.montanwerke-brixlegg.com/en/products/iron-silicate

Cathodes made of copper: www.montanwerke-brixlegg.com/en/products/copper-cathodes