Ferrous metals

Ferrous metals include iron, cobalt and nickel. Due to its magnetic properties, gadolinium is sometimes also considered a ferrous metal. We consider all other metals to be non-ferrous metals. Ferrous metals play an important economic role. This stems not from their scarcity, rather from their abundance. This has led to the development of innumerable technical applications. The economic value of ferrous metals is determined by their quantity. In contrast, the value of non-ferrous metals, which are much less abundant, is determined by their quality: there is little available and demand is high.

The distinction between ferrous and non-ferrous metals is also economically important in the waste processing industry. That is why it is interesting to separate the two groups at an early stage of the recycling process.

Goudsmit Magnetics supplies various magnetic separators for the recycling and sorting of metals and non-ferrous metals.