GreenTin+

This term has hold on until nowadays but is at best inaccurate.

Commercialized as a slogan, metals from primary raw materials should be advertised. As a matter of fact, both, primary and secondary raw materials do not have a "real" first smelting which can immediately be used in industry. This would not cope with required norms. Thus secondary elements of the smelted concentrate (primary) as well as process remains (secondary) from raw material have to be removed by refinement processes. The spectrum of secondary elements include e.g. copper, iron, antimony, arsenic, lead, indium and tungsten. These cleaning processes are neccessary with both material types.

The origin of materials does not inevitably tell about purity and quality of metals. More important are the scope and the kind of processing steps, the know-how and the capability of the aggregates. On the contrary to this legend, metals can be recycled several times without a loss of quality. With other kinds of raw material like paper or plastic this is unfortunately not easily possible. Especially in the electronics industry it was tried to discredit recycling materials in the last decades. But these things you can definately put into categories like myth, inexperience or marketing.

Neither its source nor its geographical origin is decisive for the use of a material. It is more the underlying specification of metals or alloys which is important for the process. Therefor the used metallurgic process technology is of great importance. Our expertise for centuries as well as modern plants and optimized production processes empower us to provide metals and alloys obtained from manifold recycling processes in a quality that does not at all inferior the qualifications of primary raw materials. - Exactly the contrary is the case.

As a matter of fact people have always been interested in dealing consciously with resources of a limited availability and keeping them in an ecological circle. Covering the worldwide rising demand of raw materials requires an environmentally friendly mining of ores as well as the best possible valuation of products and production remains. Concerning environmetal recycling scores directly compared to primary materials with a clearly better balance in terms of air- and water pollution, water consumption as well as a more efficient power consumption with less CO₂ emission at the same time. Hence estimating recycling rates as high as possible and expanding them permanently must be in the interest of mankind.