Products

Magnetite Sand produced at Kimony’s Richards Bay Plant

A single grade material is produced, which is particularly suitable for use as an additive to resin coated sand in shell moulding process in foundries due to the rounded particles of the material.

Kimony Magnetite Sand is mined from a beach sand deposit, ensuring that the final material is free of any dust. This is superior to magnetite taken from other sources which is usually milled, resulting in sharp, angular particles, which render the material unsuitable for even coating with resin.

See the difference in the following electron-microscope photographs reflecting the difference in particle shapes:





IMAGE 1 - Kimony Material showing rounded particles and absence of dust




IMAGE 2 - Standard Milled Material showing angular particles and presence of dust

Kimony magnetite sand is used as an additive of between 5% and 10% to resin
coated sand.

ADVANTAGES OF KIMONY MAGNETITE SAND

The advantages of using Kimony material are as follows:

- Rounded particles ensure an even coating of resin over the particles
- Reduced risk of pin-holes in castings
- Smoother surface of castings as indicated by the comparative images above
- Faster cooling time of castings due to the quicker absorption of magnetite






IMAGE 3 - Photograph showing a difference between two castings made of the same melt: Casting on the left made from mould with milled angular material and casting on the right made from mould with Kimony magnetite sand.

Analysis

A typical analysis of Kimony Magnetite Sand is as follows:

Total Iron as Fe	64.1%
Total Iron as Fe3 O4	88.5%
MnO	0.23%
Cr2 O3	1.10%
V2 O5	0.61%
TiO2	5.24%
CaO	0.10%
K2O	0.06%
P2 O5	0.03%
SiO2	1.10%
Al2 O3	1.30%
MgO	0.40%
Na2O	0.10%
Ci	0.01%
S	0.01%

Sizing Characteristics

Sizing Characteristic: Particle Size analysis

ASTM or US Std Mesh	Micron	Non- Cumulative	Cumulative
+ 50	300	0.3	0.3%
+ 70	212	6.6	6.9%
+ 100	150	34.3	41.2%
+ 140	106	49.0	99.2%
+ 200	75	9.2	99.4%
+ 270	53	0.5	99.9%
- 270	53	0.1	100.0%

AFS Grain Fineness No (by calculation) 90.5

Physical Properties:

Relative Density: 4.85mt/m3
Packing Density: 2.80mt/m3

Packing

Packing is done according to customer’s specifications and inlcudes packing in 25kg, 40kg and 50kg bags as well as 1.0 metric tonne and 1.5 metric tonne bulk bags. All exports are done in full container loads of 26mt from either Richards Bay or Durban harbours.