Brass

Brass is a metal with a pale yellowish-gold color. It is an alloy that consists of mostly 70% copper and 30% zinc. However, sometimes smaller amounts of other metals are added.

Brass has a variety of applications, but the fact that it is very hard and less expensive than copper makes it valuable for several functions. It is commonly used for musical instruments (such as a trumpet, tuba, trombone, and saxophone), corrosion resistant screws, fixtures, and door and window furniture. Its relative resistance to tarnishing makes it optimal for decoration and ornamental objects.

Brass is produced by melting copper together with calamine. Today, almost 90% of all brass alloys are recycled and reused.

 

Bronze

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, typically composed of 60% copper and 40% tin. Its key benefits are hardness, corrosion resistance, and its great strength. It is stronger and harder than any other common alloy except steel. The tin element is what actually makes the bronze hard and the strongest bronze alloys contain tin and a small amount of lead. Tin, silicon or aluminum is often added to bronze to improve its overall resistance.

Bronze has a low melting point which is good for brazing two metals together. Bronze is most commonly used for making statues and bearings. Bronze is also used frequently for musical instruments, becoming the most popular metal for bells, cymbals, and saxophones. Common bronze alloys often have the unusual and very desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling in the finest details of a mold.

Aluminum is commonly added to bronze and these new metals are put to use in applications where their resistance to corrosion makes them preferable to other materials. Landing gear on airplanes, engine components on ships, and underwater fastenings are examples of these applications. Also, the gold-toned color of aluminum bronzes has led to their use in jewelry.

 

Copper

Copper is a reddish colored metal that has the key feature of high electrical and thermal conductivity (only silver has a higher electrical conductivity). Copper has many alloys, including brass and bronze – brass is a copper/zinc alloy, bronze is a copper/tin alloy.

Copper is a ductile metal, is malleable, and used in a wide variety of products and industries. It is most commonly used as an electrical conductor and as building material. However, other popular uses include: copper wire and plumbing, doorknobs and other household fixtures, statuary, roofing, coins, cookware, flatware, and musical instruments. There is also an increasing use of copper in integrated circuits because of its superior conductivity compared to aluminum.

Production Process

The process for making Copper occurs in four different phases. These phases are mining, milling, smelting, and refining.  Mining also takes a few steps which starts off by drilling and blasting though the copper. It is then carried away by large trucks and shovels to a new location. At this point, it is then crushed and grinded by large machines. After this, a concentrate forms which is then sent to the smelter. It is then put into an oxygen flash furnace. It then forms two layers. The top layer is called the slag and the bottom layer is the matte. Once it is done going through the furnaces, it is then refined. The process of refining copper is called electrorefining, which comes from electrolysis and refining.