MinSand

MinSand is a perfectly spherical refractory bead produced by fusing and supercooling Bauxite in an electric arc furnace.

Excellent surface quality of casted items

high dimensional accuracy

Low refinishing on final product needed

Low surface area

Low thermal expansion rate

Perfectly spherical

Product information

MinSand standard grades

MinSand is available in the following grades:

P GradeG Grade
AFS 30AFS 30
AFS 40AFS 40
AFS 44AFS 50
AFS 50AFS 55
AFS 55AFS 65
AFS 65AFS 75
AFS 75AFS 80
AFS 80AFS 90
AFS 90
AFS 110

Please get in touch with your local sales representative for further information.

Packaging

Regular packaging modes for our product are 1,000 kg big bags and 25 kg paper bags.

MinSand has several properties that make the product quite unique on the market:

Flow Characteristics

The spherical particle shape significantly improves the flowability of the sand/binder mixture allowing cores of complex shapes to be blown when compared to alternative angular sands.

Thermal Expansion

MinSand has a very low thermal expansion rate, which enables castings to be produced with a high degree of dimensional accuracy compared to mould and cores produced from alternative sands. This is eminently suitable for automotive cylinder blocks and heads.

MinSand binder quantities/strength

The spherical nature results in a reduced surface area, enabling cores and moulds to be produced using lower resin additions. The mixed sand costs are reduced accordingly because of the lower resin demand.

Resin Systems

LKAB Minerals’product is compatible with resin systems, including pre-coated shell moulding sands. The sand grains have a very smooth surface that is easily resin coated.

Mineral information

Physical properties of MinSand

Bulk density [g/cm³]1.9
pH7.5
Particle shapeSpherical
ColourBrown-black

Chemical properties of MinSand

Al2O3 [%]75.9
Fe2O3 [%]1.59

Industry use

Our customers use industrial minerals to improve constructions, increase safety and reduce costs.

Learn more about how LKAB Minerals works with GDPR.