Umcor trades in other metals as well as copper. These include high-quality lead – a metal with wide-ranging applications.
While some applications of lead are disappearing from everyday use due to environmental considerations, the importance of lead in future-oriented areas continues to grow.
Because of their high conductivity, lead alloys are in demand especially in industry for battery production. Lead-acid batteries are used primarily as starter or traction batteries in vehicles, as accumulator batteries in emergency power supplies, or as solar power storage units.
Lead is used in several important alloys. By combining it with other metals the hardness, melting point or corrosion resistance of the material changes depending on the metal. The most important alloy is lead antimony. This is used for example in apparatus engineering, where not only chemical resistance but also stability is important.
Lead’s absorption capacity for X-rays and gamma rays also makes it useful in radiation protection. Due to its density lead foil is likewise suitable for use in protection from dangerous gases and liquids. Lead coatings protect underwater cables for offshore wind farms from adverse effects from the deep sea. Furthermore the metal is used as a balance weight for rotors.