Refined Aluminum Ingots

Description

1. Product Overview

Refined Aluminum Ingots are high-purity, primary aluminum castings produced through electrolytic reduction of alumina, achieving a minimum purity of 99.7% aluminum content. They serve as the foundational feedstock for downstream semi-fabrication including extrusion, rolling, and remelting for the automotive, aerospace, construction, and packaging sectors. The key value proposition is consistent chemical composition combined with superior fluidity and conductivity, enabling manufacturers to reduce dross formation, lower energy consumption per ton of finished goods, and achieve tighter tolerances in final alloys. Strategically, securing a reliable supply of refined aluminum ingots mitigates price volatility from secondary scrap markets and ensures compliance with international quality standards such as ASTM B179, EN 576, and JIS H2102.

2. Key Specifications & Technical Characteristics

• Chemical Composition (Typical, per ASTM B179 P1020):

  • Aluminum (Al): 99.70% min

  • Silicon (Si): ≤ 0.10%

  • Iron (Fe): ≤ 0.20%

  • Copper (Cu): ≤ 0.01%

  • Other trace elements (each): ≤ 0.03%

  • Total others: ≤ 0.10%

• Purity Level: Grade A7 (99.7% min) or Grade A8 (99.8% min) available upon request

• Physical Characteristics:

  • Form: 22–25 kg trapezoidal / T-ingot (Standard 25kg / 55lb sows also available)

  • Color: Silver-white metallic luster (unoxidized)

  • Density: 2.70 g/cm³ at 20°C

  • Melting range: 643–660°C (1189–1220°F)

  • Surface condition: Clean, oil-free, oxide film controlled

• Packaging Options:

  • Standard: Steel-strapped pallets (approx. 1-1.5 MT per pallet)

  • Bulk shipment: Loose stacked in 20-ft or 40-ft containers, or break-bulk vessel

  • Weather protection: Shrink-wrapped with desiccant for moisture-sensitive routes

• Shelf Life: Unlimited if stored in dry, non-corrosive environment (re-oxidation layer negligible)

3. Core Industrial Applications

• Primary Industries: Aluminum rolling & extrusion mills, automotive Tier-1 suppliers, aerospace foundries, electrical conductor manufacturers, and packaging sheet producers.

• Operational Use Cases:

  • Sheet & Plate (Can stock, automotive body panels): The ingots’ low iron content (≤0.20%) prevents streaking and ensures anodizing uniformity.

  • Extrusions (window frames, structural profiles): High fluidity reduces die wear and improves surface finish, minimizing post-extrusion finishing costs by 8-12%.

  • Electrical conductors (bus bars, overhead cables): 99.7% purity yields electrical conductivity of ~62% IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard), outperforming secondary alloys by 5-7%.

  • Rotocasting & die casting (engine blocks, transmission housings): Predictable shrinkage rates allow for tighter mold design, reducing scrap rates by up to 15%.

• Why this product performs better: Compared to secondary (recycled) aluminum, refined ingots offer superior control over tramp elements (e.g., Mg, Zn, Pb), eliminating hot cracking and hydrogen porosity. Versus lower-purity grades (99.5%), the 0.2% purity delta translates to 20% higher corrosion resistance in marine applications and 30% longer die life in high-pressure casting.

4. Competitive Advantages

• Quality consistency: Atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) and optical emission spectrometer (OES) certification accompanies each batch. Full traceability from reduction line to dispatch.

• Supply reliability: Multiple smelter sources under long-term contracts (redundancy capacity of 300,000 MT/year). No single point of failure.

• Logistics capability: Pre-allocated container slots on 3 major shipping lines (Maersk, MSC, CMA-CGM) with inland warehousing in Rotterdam, Houston, Shanghai, and Dubai.

• Price competitiveness: Direct smelter off-take agreement removes 2 intermediary layers — pricing at LME + fixed premium, no hidden additives. Volume hedges available.

• Sustainability & environmental benefits: 100% primary aluminum produced with hydroelectric power (≤4.0 t CO2 / t Al — one-third of global average). Available with IAI-certified low-carbon passport.

• Technical support: Dedicated metallurgical engineer support for melt shop optimization, plus certificate of analysis (CoA) and material safety data sheet (MSDS) in 6 languages.

5. Commercial & Supply Information

• Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ): BULK 20 MT (one standard palletized 20-ft container equivalent)

• Loading Capacity per Container:

  • 20-ft standard container: 20 MT (22 MT max tightly stacked)

  • 40-ft high-cube container: 25 MT

  • Break-bulk (vessel): From 200 MT to 5,000 MT per shipment

• Lead time: 14 days from order confirmation for regular grades (A7); 21 days for A8

• Incoterms supported: FOB, CIF, CFR, EXW (smelter gate)

• Payment terms: LC at sight or BG (for qualified buyers after 3+ shipments)