Shipping coal and copper is an expensive business. Shipping it back, even more so.
Having a shipment of coal rejected on the dock creates a number of logistical issues, all of which are expensive to fix! This is exactly what happened in to 2015. A shipment was rejected due fluoride levels above the limit set by the Chinese government. The high cost of holding a ship in port, transport of equipment for re-loading the ship and finding a new export destination, not to mention the cost to reputation, makes this a process to be avoided.
Detection limits for fluoride and chloride are more heavily regulated than ever before. Limits of 300 ppm for fluoride in copper concentrates are now in place for copper concentrate exports Japan. 500 ppm limits for exporting copper to China, while fluoride in coal is limited again to 300 ppm.
Stepping outside these limits can mean big losses in freight, reputation and contracts.
Metrohm Combustion Ion Chromatography provides a simplified process for the analysis of solid samples, avoiding any need for digestion or liquid handling.
