Nonferrous metals: Indispensable business materials

A nonferrous metal is an alloy or metal that does not contain an appreciable amount of iron in its chemical composition. There are many metals that fall into this definition, but only a few of these metals are traded on exchanges. We can split these traded nonferrous metals into two categories.

The first category is called precious metals and comprises the more valuable metals such as gold and silver.

The second category is called nonferrous – or base metals – and comprises all those nonferrous metals excluded from the precious metals category.

It is these nonferrous metals that we are focusing on here.

Relative to ferrous metals such as iron and steel, nonferrous metals have some favorable characteristics that generally makes them more expensive:

• While strong, they are more malleable making them ideal for applications such as electrical wiring.
• They are also lighter, which makes them ideal in situations where strength is important but weight even more so, for instance in the manufacture of airplanes.
• They contain no iron, so they are highly resistant to rust and corrosion which makes them ideal in the canning industry.
• They are usually not magnetic which makes them ideal for electrical circuits in small electronics that carry an electrical current.
• They can be alloyed together or alloyed with ferrous metals to improve the material characteristics, for example nickel alloyed with steel to make stainless steel.

Nonferrous metals have become increasingly important commodities in recent years and the growth of renewable energy and rechargeable battery systems in electric vehicles has led to increased demand for many of these metals.

This new demand is likely to affect the prices of these metals over the coming decades and has focused more attention on these commodities and how they are traded.

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Key nonferrous metals

While nonferrous metals are a large group, only a few of them are actively traded on metals exchanges such as the London Metal Exchange (LME).

The group includes:

• Aluminum
• Copper
• Nickel
• Lead
• Tin
• Zinc

Aluminum

Aluminum is light, malleable, ductile, and easily machined and cast. Aluminum also has excellent corrosion resistance and durability.

Aluminum is almost always alloyed (combined with other elements), which markedly improves its mechanical properties. For example, the common aluminum foils and beverage cans are alloys of 92% to 99% aluminum.

Aluminum has more uses than any other metal except iron. Some of the many uses for aluminum are in transportation, packaging, construction (for example, windows, doors, and panels), consumer durables (such as appliances and cooking utensils), electrical transmission lines, machinery, and many other applications.

Copper

Copper is a soft, malleable metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity.

Copper is used in many industries, including electricity, construction, and telecommunications. For example, it is commonly found in electrical/electronic products, power transmission and generation, and wiring.

Various copper compounds and chemicals are also used to preserve wood and protect plants and crops. It is also used in a number of alloys such as brass (with zinc) or bronze (with tin).

Lead

Lead is a highly corrosion-resistant, dense, ductile, and malleable metal. It has been used for at least 5,000 years. Its low melting point and relative inertness, combined with its relative abundance and low cost, have resulted in its extensive use in construction, plumbing, batteries, bullets and shot, weights, solders, white paints, leaded gasoline, and radiation shielding.

Tin

Tin is one of the earliest metals known to man, being used in bronze (alloyed with copper) as early as 3,500 BCE. Today, the majority of tin is used as a protective coating or as an alloy with other metals, for example, lead or zinc.

Tin can be used in coatings for steel containers, in solders for joining pipes or electrical/electronic circuits, and in glass-making. It is used in the foodstuff industry (in competition with aluminum foil), where it is often coated on the inside of steel containers to help preserve foods and beverages. For example, in ”tin” cans, only 5% of the weight is tin which is used to plate a stainless steel can. It is, however, used as electric circuit solder which tends to drive supply and demand. Slowdowns in broader consumer goods demand, such as those that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic, tend to have a negative effect on tin prices.

Zinc

Zinc is a bluish-white, lustrous metal that is hard and brittle at room temperatures. It is used mainly in galvanizing iron and steel, and as an alloy with copper to produce brass. Coating steel in zinc provides longer-lasting protection against corrosion, thus increasing its durability. Zinc is also used in compounds, mainly by the rubber, chemical, paint, and agricultural industries.

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