How it's made
Ultra-pure 5N copper is meticulously refined, packaged and stored using up to 30 process operations plus 8 analytics methods, taking approximately 6 months to produce.
How high-purity copper is produced
Purity is won on a single path. Form is a downstream choice — and the choice of form, not the metal, decides the end market.
Smelting
Sulphide concentrate is smelted and converted; oxygen blowing strips sulphur and iron.
Electrorefining
Cast anodes dissolve in acid sulphate; copper replates onto starter sheets; impurities drop to the slimes.
4N cathode
Grade A cathode — the standard commercial product, and where most supply chains stop.
Further purification to 5N
Electrolytic deposition
High surface area, strong green strength.
Gas atomization
Free-flowing, tight size distribution.
Chemical reduction
Precipitated from solution; sinters at low temperature.
One finishing line, one verification gate
However the particle is formed, everything downstream is common. The route only decides what arrives at the start of it.
Wash and dry
Remove residual electrolyte and reaction products.
Reduction anneal
A hydrogen atmosphere strips surface oxide from the particles.
Mill and classify
Break up agglomerates; sieve or air-classify to the target particle size distribution.
Characterize
Nothing is transformed here. The lot is measured against specification before it is packed.
Trace metals
Oxygen
Particle size
Morphology
Packaged under argon
Three nested barriers, no sequence. High surface area is the liability — oxide gained in transit is purity lost, so the powder stays under argon from fill to opening.
Filling, sealing and sampling all take place under inert atmosphere.
Steel drum, polyethylene liner
Foil laminate pouch
Desiccant
Sits beside the pouch, inside the drum. Holds residual moisture in the headspace — it contains nothing and seals nothing.
