Mining and Construction Carbide

This stream comes from rock drilling, tunnelling, road milling, trenching and quarrying. The characteristic articles are drill buttons pressed into steel bit bodies, conical road-milling and trenching picks with a carbide tip brazed to a steel shank, and assorted button bits and reamers.

Two features distinguish it from tooling scrap. First, the carbide grades used are generally coarser and tougher, formulated for impact rather than for edge retention. Second, the material almost always arrives attached to, or embedded in, a substantial steel body.

The ratio between loose buttons and complete steel-bodied bits determines almost everything about the offer. A drum of buttons already pressed out is a concentrated tungsten-bearing parcel; a pallet of complete bits is mostly steel with carbide distributed through it, and it requires mechanical recovery before any tungsten is available.

Both trade. They are simply described, packed and evaluated separately, and never blended into a single undifferentiated figure. Composition varies by grade and lot, and commercial acceptance is subject to material review.

Mining scrap is collected in harsh conditions, often outdoors, and it reflects that. Rock dust and mud are routine, and material stored in an open yard for a season carries moisture and surface rust on the steel. Neither prevents trading, but both add weight that is not recoverable material, so covered storage and rough screening at the collection point are worth the effort.

Mining carbide parcels can be substantial in weight, and loading is planned around container payload rather than volume. Quotations are prepared on FOB Rotterdam or CIF terms once the button and complete-bit fractions, packing and any inspection scope are agreed for the specific lot.

Mining and construction carbide reaches the market in two presentations that trade quite differently. Pressed-out buttons and inserts are clean carbide and directly assessable. Complete bits, picks and drill heads with the carbide still set into a steel body are mostly steel by weight, and the carbide share has to be estimated from button count and size rather than from the weight of the parcel.

Both are supplied. What matters is that the parcel is described for what it is, packed as separate fractions where both are present, and photographed clearly enough that button count and size can be judged. A drum of complete rotary bits and a drum of pressed-out buttons are not comparable offers even at identical net weight.

Field condition is part of the description. This material comes out of drilling and cutting operations, so rock dust, dried mud, surface rust on the steel bodies and the occasional broken shank are normal. Rust on steel does not affect the carbide, but heavy adhering rock and cement do add weight that carries no recoverable content.