Garnet or Copper Slag? Matching the Abrasive to the Job

Abrasive selection is an engineering decision, not a purchasing afterthought. Hardness, grain shape, chloride content and grading govern anchor profile, cutting speed, media consumption and safety compliance. Meritus supplies two complementary lines: RUMMANA natural almandine garnet and copper slag.

Where garnet fits

• Blasting: 20/40 for heavy blasting and deep anchor profiles on structural steel, hulls and tank internals; 30/60 for general blasting. Garnet is the choice where low dust, low chloride and recyclability matter, such as oil and gas sites, offshore work and surfaces going under high-performance coatings.
• Waterjet cutting: tightly graded 30/60 for general cutting, with 80 and 80/120 on request for finer work. Consistent grading keeps the flow stable and protects orifices and focusing tubes.
• Water filtration: garnet's specific gravity keeps it at the bottom of multimedia beds, and coarse 4–8 mesh grades serve as the support layer. See four checks before buying 4–8 mesh garnet.
• Polishing: fine, narrowly graded grains for glass, stone and metal finishing.

RUMMANA garnet is specified to ISO 11126-10, with Mohs hardness 7.5 to 8.0, specific gravity 3.8 to 4.1, chloride at or below 25 ppm and free silica under 1 percent.

Where copper slag fits

Copper slag is a smelting by-product with angular grains, Mohs hardness of 7 or more, true density around 3.9 g/cm³ and free silica of 1 percent or less, supplied in 5/20, 20/40, 40/80 and 80/120 mesh. It cuts fast and is the economical choice for large-area, single-use heavy stripping on ship hulls, tanks and structural steel.

Five questions to ask any abrasive supplier

1. Is there a test certificate for the batch being shipped, rather than a generic datasheet?
2. What is the sieve analysis for the delivered grade, including oversize and undersize?
3. What are the chloride and conductivity values, if the surface is going under a coating?
4. How is it packed: 25 kg bags on pallets, or 1 t and 2 t bulk bags?
5. Which documents travel with the shipment: certificate of origin, technical data sheet, safety data sheet and batch certificates?

RUMMANA is supplied from an integrated operation, from the mine face to shipment, and from a single container to 20,000 MT a month across the abrasive range. Full technical data sheets are on www.rummanagrit.com.

Related: garnet blasting abrasive, garnet waterjet abrasive, garnet filtration media, garnet polishing grades and copper slag abrasive.

Meritus Technology Shanghai
Email: sales@meritustech.com
Phone / WhatsApp: +86 134 8206 1802
www.meritustech.com