Old, clean, dry non-die-cast zinc — sheet, roof sheeting, anodes and unalloyed castings. Refined to high-purity secondary zinc for galvanizing and chemicals.

ISRI Grade Name: Score

ISRI Description and Specification

Score is the ISRI grade for old, clean, dry zinc scrap in non-die-cast form — including zinc sheets, roof sheeting, jar lids, unalloyed zinc castings (not die-cast ZAMAK alloys), anti-corrosion anodes, and similar zinc products at end of service life. The specification requires that Score material not contain borings or turnings (which are a separate specification category), and must not be excessively corroded or oxidised — heavily weathered zinc sheet with thick white zinc oxide/carbonate surface corrosion may be rejected or heavily discounted due to poor metal recovery. The material should be clean and dry at the time of sale.

Processing and Recovery

Score material, being primarily unalloyed or low-alloy zinc, can be processed into high-purity secondary zinc (SHG — Special High Grade, 99.995% Zn, or its secondary equivalent) through distillation refining, making it more valuable per unit of zinc than alloy die-cast scrap (Saves) which contains aluminium, copper, and magnesium. Zinc distillation refineries (using horizontal or New Jersey retort processes, or electrothermic processes) can upgrade Score material to high-purity secondary zinc for re-use in galvanizing, die-casting alloy production, or zinc chemicals manufacturing.

Who Uses Score Scrap

Zinc smelters and distillation refineries producing high-purity secondary zinc are the primary consumers of Score. Zinc galvanizing operations — hot-dip galvanizing lines coating steel structures, pipes, wire, and fasteners — use high-purity zinc and can accept secondary zinc from Score processing as a partial or full replacement for primary SHG zinc. Zinc chemicals manufacturers producing zinc oxide, zinc sulfate, and zinc chloride for agricultural, pharmaceutical, rubber, and ceramic applications also use high-purity secondary zinc from Score as a feedstock. In India, the galvanizing industry serving the construction, power transmission (galvanized tower bolts and hardware), and agricultural sectors (irrigation pipes, fencing) is the largest consumer of high-purity zinc, creating sustained demand for Score and similar clean zinc scrap grades.