Umicore
 

OUR SERVICE

We offer our clients recovery of (precious) metals and energy from electronic scrap. We aim to give them the best overall value, which includes monetary return, environmental performance, accuracy, transparency and correct business ethics. By doing this, we lay the foundation of beneficial, long-term relationship.

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Overall Value

This is value in its broadest sense, as perceived by the customer, i.e. the combination of tangible features (such as accuracy and net monetary return) and intangible features (such as transparency, proximity, trust, business ethics, sustainability, strategic value, etc.).

When we and our customers settle on an assay-based formula (toll refining), this incorporates state-of-the-art weighing, sampling and assaying, competitive refining terms, reasonable time of return, and possibly other services such as early hedging, financing, metal account management and logistical assistance. When we take in low grade fractions of electronic scrap against a gate fee, we contribute to environmentally sound management, recovering the residual metals, utilising the energetic content and reducing the overall treatment costs of the entire recycling chain. Whatever we do meets the legal requirements, as is proven by a reliable documentation.

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Toll refining

The service of recovering (precious) metals against a processing cost. Including the process steps of weighing, homogenisation, sampling and assaying, allowing precise determination of the true content of precious metals and other constituents. This is followed by credit to metal account, for subsequent:
  • account-to-account transfer or
  • sale to Umicore Precious Metals or
  • physical delivery
subject to payment of contractual processing costs. Toll refining is the standard charging method for circuit boards, metallic granules containing precious metals and many other e-scrap fractions with a positive net intrinsic value. It provides maximum transparency and potentially offers the highest return to the customer.
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Weighing, Sampling and Assaying

Determining the actual (precious) metal content of a lot or shipment by statistically and analytically accurate means.

See also weighing and sampling, assaying under 'Process'.
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Refining Terms

These cover the various dimensions of the (contractual) cost for the precious metal recovery service:
  • Contractual metal credit, which means that a certain percentage of the precious metal content will be credited or paid for, e.g. a metal credit of 98%.
    The contractual metal credit finds its basis in process yields.
  • Contractual charges, such as:
    • Refining charges, expressed as a unit charge per kg or troz of precious metal credited / paid for
    • Base processing charges, expressed as a unit charge per kg or metric ton of material received and processed
    • Lot charges, also called weighing-sampling-and-assaying charges, expressed per lot
    • Possible other particular charges, such as decanning charges, shredding charges, etc...
    Contractual charges find their basis in process costs.
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Timer of Return

The precious metals are credited / paid for after a precisely determined time, called the time of return. This is typically expressed as x days or weeks after a particular trigger date - which can be the date of arrival of material at the receiving works, the date of completion of the weighing and sampling operations, the date material is released by the customer (if different from the date of completion of weighing and sampling). The time of return is based on the average time it takes to recover the precious metals from the main and side streams of the metallurgical process.
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Hedging

If a scrap collector has paid for material, the pricing is a function of estimated contained precious metal as well as precious metal prices. Hence, it is important for a collector of catalytic converters to be able to lock in precious metal prices relating to future metal transactions in order to safeguard his estimated profit. In other words, hedging refers to agreeing on a selling price for a particular quantity of metal, for a forward value date. For any more details or particular requirements, please contact us.
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Financing

Depending on contractual agreements, partial or full financing of future proceeds can be arranged.
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Metal Management

A customer may want to dispose of his metals before the contractual due date. He may want to obtain credit on a remote pool account. He may want to sell his metals on pool account to Umicore. He may want to sell his metals on pool account to a third party and hence ask for an account-to-account transaction. He may want to ask for a physical pickup and forwarding to destination x by secure armoured transport. He may want to turn lead into silver.
Our metal management people can help our customers with all of these services.
We provide market updates as well as daily pricing.
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Logistical services

  • All necessary certificates and permits available on request, e.g. certificate of environmentally sound recycling of a specific customer material.
  • Detailed declaration of weights and composition of materials received. Input-/output balances as a basis for calculation of recycling rates. Clear documentation of recovery processes and output streams.
  • Annual environmental report. Continuous measurement and documentation of environmental compliance with strict emission levels.
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Settlement against a gate fee

Taking in a defined material against payment of processing costs per tonne. In contrast to toll refining, no metal credit can be given the customer, since the metal value is already incorporated in the gate fee.
This method can be an option for certain (very) low-grade materials, if the net intrinsic metal value is negative and the material exhibits a certain uniformity of quality. Typical examples are metal-contaminated plastic fractions. Here a gate fee does not mean that processing such a material at our facility is not beneficial for the customer. It is often cheaper overall than, usually complex, mechanical separation of such materials with a subsequent feed of the mixed plastics into a municipal incinerator (again, at a gate-fee there).
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Documentation

Logistical support with pick-up at your site. All types of logistics-related administrative and legal support (VAT-clearance, cross-border movement of waste under the Basel convention, OECD control etc.).

Even more importantly, all these services are backed by a company with tradition, financial strength, business integrity and environmental stewardship.

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Tradition

Umicore's Hoboken operations started in 1887. Degussa's precious metal operations go back to 1873.
Services / technologies / best-practices such as sampling, assaying, smelting, refining, and the like require a level of expertise built on a long tradition and solid foundations.
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Financial Strength

Precious... and therefore also valuable. The value of the material entrusted by the customer to the precious metal refiner can reach the equivalent of millions of US$ or Euros.
Umicore has a strong and healthy balance sheet. It is a publicly traded company, with shares listed on the Brussels stock market. Its international exposure, diversified shareholder base in addition to regular legal obligations require frequent financial reporting, updates, communications and, as such, transparency.
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Business Ethics

The high value of precious metals (or precious metal containing scrap) has unfortunately also attracted despicable practices in the industry. Umicore has set the highest standards for itself in dealing with its customers. Weighing and sampling operations can be witnessed, sampling and assaying procedures are openly discussed, internal procedures are audited, and a formal code of conduct is strictly adhered to. Trust is a must for a fruitful long-term business relationship and, naturally, has to be earned.
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Environmental Compliance

Complying with all local environmental regulations, applying best-available technologies, certification along ISO-14000 and other international standards, providing customer support on all obligations relating to transfrontier shipment of waste, medium term and long term environmental objectives, environmental reporting, continuous efforts towards sustainable development, etc.: Umicore takes environment seriously.
See also Umicore's website on EH&S: Environment & Community