Base Metals
A metal which oxidises when heated in air, e.g. aluminium, lead, copper, tin, zinc, as opposed to noble metals such as gold and platinum. Gold and silver are prohibited to be traded under Islamic principles since for Centuries they have been the basis for money. Metals differ widely in hardness, ductility (the potential of being drawn into wire), malleability, tensile strength, density, and melting point. Below are descriptions of some of the base metals currently trade on the London Metal Exchange which is the world reference price and provides unequivocal , physical delivery, clearing and transfer of title for such commodities.
Aluminium
Aluminium is one of the most abundant metals on earth and is, in its primary metal state, a silver-white metal which is ductile, malleable, and exhibits excellent conductance of heat and electricity. Commercially, aluminium is produced by the electrolysis of alumina. The pure metal is soft, but its alloys have revolutionised the construction and aerospace industry due to their superior cost and strength/weight ratio over other metal alloys. For the same reasons it is rapidly gaining use in the automotive industry. Aluminium foil is used as a wrapping material. Aluminium powder is used in paints. The development of methods for colouring aluminium led to its use in jewellery, on wall surfaces, and in coloured kitchenware.
Copper
Copper as its main alloy, Bronze has been used by mankind for two millennia. In its pure from, Copper is a reddish metal both malleable and ductile, and an extremely good conductor of both heat and electricity. It is relatively soft and moderately reactive. Copper is produced in a two stage process, pyro-reduction of an ore and then refining to a high purity by electrolysis. About half the total annual output of copper is employed in the manufacture of electrical apparatus and wire. Copper tubing is used in plumbing and heat-exchangers utilised in refrigerators and air-conditioner coils. Copper and its alloys are also used in roofing, copper utensils, coins and metalwork.
Lead
Lead is a dense, relatively soft, malleable metal with low tensile strength. It is a poor conductor of electricity and heat. Although lead has a lustrous silver-blue appearance when freshly cut, it darkens upon exposure to moist air because of the rapid formation of an oxide film; the film protects the metal from further oxidation or corrosion. The single most important commercial use of lead is in the manufacture of lead-acid storage batteries for automotive and other uses. It is also used in solder alloys as fusible metals, antifriction metals and type metal. Lead is used for covering cables and as a lining for laboratory sinks, tanks, and in the process of manufacturing of sulphuric acid. It is used extensively in plumbing and as a protective shielding against X-rays and radiation from nuclear reactors.
Nickel
Nickel is a hard, malleable, ductile, lustrous, silver-white metal which exhibits magnetic properties and is a fairly good conductor of heat and electricity. The major use of nickel is in its alloys, the most important being 18/8 stainless steel used in applications where corrosion resistance is a major factor. Its other complex alloys are used extensively for the 'hot end' of aerospace and land based turbines and in the Oil Country Tubular Goods industry drilling equipment where hot corrosive environments prevail. Nickel-copper alloys are used extensively in coinage.
Zinc
Zinc is brittle and crystalline at ordinary temperatures, but when heated to between 110°C and 150°C it becomes ductile and malleable; it can then be rolled into sheets. It is used principally for galvanizing steel consumer goods preventing rusting and extending service life of the actual product it protects. Its alloys are used in electric battery technology and for roofing and gutters in building construction. Zinc is essential to the growth of many kinds of organisms, both plant and animal. It is a constituent of insulin, which is used in the treatment of diabetes. Zinc chemical are therefore important in medical supplements.
Tin
Tin is very soft (only slightly harder than lead) and malleable; it can be rolled, pressed, or hammered into extremely thin sheets (tin foil). Its main commercial uses are in tinplating steel products for the food packaging industry. Its other alloys are used in bearing alloys and low melting point solders. Industrially useful chemical compounds of tin are used in dyeing and weighting silk, perfume and colour in soap and in the preparation of white porcelain enamelware.
Platinum Group Metals (PGMs)
The Platinum Group comprises six metals; Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium, Iridium, Ruthenium, and Osmium. Apart from the well-known applications in jewellery, platinum group metals are used primarily as catalysts and electronic components. All are 'noble' metals in that they do not combine with Oxygen even at high temperatures.
Platinum
Platinum has many uses, especially in alloys with iridium used in surgical tools, laboratory utensils, electrical resistance wires, contact points, and standard weights. It is used extensively in jewellery with gold and in dentistry.
Palladium
Because of its corrosion resistance, a major use of palladium is in alloys used in low voltage electrical contacts. Palladium is used extensively in jewellery-making in certain alloys called "white gold". It may be alloyed with platinum or substituted for it. It is used in watch bearings, springs, and balance wheels and also for mirrors in scientific instruments. For use in dentistry it is alloyed with silver, gold, and copper.
Rhodium
The major use of Rhodium is in alloys with platinum and iridium; it gives improved high-temperature strength and oxidation resistance. These alloys are used in pen nibs, high-temperature thermocouple and resistance wires, bearings, and electrical contacts and as a catalyst. The metal itself, because of its brilliance and resistance to tarnish, is used to plate jewellery and the reflectors of searchlights.
Iridium
Iridium is used in pivot bearings and in scientific and other special equipment, such as surgical tools. It is also used in making chemical crucibles. Iridium is used principally in alloys with osmium, to make fountain-pen nibs. Alloys with platinum are used in heavy-duty electrical contacts. Iridium is chemically very unreactive. Pure iridium metal is not attacked by acids or acid mixtures, not even by aqua regia, which dissolves gold.
Ruthenium
Ruthenium is a hard, lustrous, silver-grey metal with a close-packed hexagonal crystalline structure. Ruthenium is found in nature with other metals of the platinum group in river sands, in minerals such as laurite (the sulphide) and osmiridium, and in association with certain ores containing platinum, copper, and nickel. The metal is used as a hardener in electrical contact alloys and filaments, in jewellery, in pen nibs, and in instrument pivots. Ruthenium compounds are used to colour ceramics and glass.
Osmium
Osmium is the most dense of all metals and has few uses, the main being its alloy with Iridium to make fountain-pen nibs. It has also has a limited use in the nuclear industry.
Rhenium
Whilst not strictly a Platinum group metal, rhenium is associated with the group as it exhibits similar properties. It is considerably rare existing with ores of Copper or Zinc mainly in Chile, Kazakhstan, Iran and China. Its unique quality is its creep resistance when alloyed with nickel turbine alloys giving aircraft engines longer life. It is often associated with Platinum in reforming catalysts used in the oil industry.
Softs
As well as base metals and PGMs, Ashton Commodities Limited also deal in Coffee and Cocoa, both of which are traded in London on Euronext.Liffe and in New York on the New York Board of Trade. Cocoa is the dried and partially fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree, with its main use being the production of chocolate. Approximately 3,000,000 tonnes of cocoa is grown every year. The London market is based on West African cocoa and New York on cocoa predominantly from South East Asia. Cocoa is the world's smallest soft commodity market. Cocoa has a very concentrated production sources and seasonal demand cycles.
Coffee is one of the world's most important primary commodities due to being one of its most popular beverages. In total, 6.7 million tonnes of coffee were produced annually in 1998–2000, and the forecast is a rise to 7 million tonnes annually by 2010. Brazil is the largest coffee exporting nation, but in recent years the coffee market has been flooded by large quantities of Robusta beans from Vietnam.