Application

Foundry sands and binders

LKAB Minerals’ product portfolio for the foundry industry ranges from core and mould sands to binders and core additives.

The range of foundry sands and binders that LKAB Minerals offers are:

Additionally, we offer testing services as well.

Bentonite

LKAB Minerals supplies a range of both naturally occurring Sodium and activated Calcium Bentonite raw materials from both USA and Greek origins. Our raw materials are sourced from recognised deposits that ensure supplies of the highest levels of quality and consistency. Our foundry grade materials are categorised by the development of excellent physical properties and high levels of thermal stability. Additionally, all of our available Bentonite raw materials can be supplied pre-blended with carefully selected and pre-graded Coal and Lustrous Carbon producing materials in order to meet the needs of individual customer requirements.

Magnetite

Sourced from our mines and processed in our plant, we offer the foundry market a fine milled and dried magnetite for use as a sand additive. Magnetite will prevent surface defect in the casted metals made in foundries. Depending your production process our magnetite might be a competitive product for your currently used magnetite including synthetic magnetite. To provide our customers with the most appropriate product particle size, we offer different magnetite grades for foundry applications. Besides the existing portfolio of magnetite product, we keep developing new grades to provide new opportunities.

Iron Oxide

Iron Oxides are used as core sand additives to suppress the incidence of several sand/binder related defects such as nitrogen carbon pick up, finning/veining, pinholing, and orange peel defect in shell moulding sands. Iron Oxide is available in a range of grades and is customised to individual requirements.

MinSand

MinSand is a synthetic sand produced from Alumina. Because of its almost perfectly spherical particle shape, MinSand is widely used in the foundry industry as a mould and core sand. In core production, binder savings can be achieved when compared to other sands. This is attained without any loss in the core’s strength. At the same time, MinSand’s excellent flowability during the core making process enables intricate cores to be blown achieving a denser more defined finish. Combining that with its high thermal stability, use of a MinSand core ensures excellent internal casting finishes.

Chromite Sand

Chromite Sand is a naturally occurring mineral consisting primarily of the oxides of chrome and iron. Its properties enable the material to be used in high duty grey iron and steel foundries as a core and mould making sand. Its high thermal conductivity gives it good chilling properties whilst its low thermal expansion gives rise to good dimensional stability. Its basicity being close to neutral allows the use of a wide range of resin bonding systems and inorganic binders.

Olivine

Olivine is a naturally occurring mineral sourced from Norway. Olivine Sand is suitable for use in alkaline resin bonded systems and produces a clean surface finish, making it suitable for foundry castings, especially for manganese steel and
non-ferrous metals casting.

Zircon sand & flours

Zirconium silicate or Zircon is a naturally occurring sand. Zircon’s low thermal expansion rate, its high thermal conductivity and its non-wettability by molten metal make it an ideal mould and chill sand. Zircon Flour is also used in core and mould coatings to improve surface finish.

Cenospheres

The good thermal stability, high insulation, and low thermal expansion mean Cenospheres products are ideal for foundry applications including cast moulds.