A system comprising: at least one furnace comprising a melt containing vessel; an intermediate casting product station coupled to the at least one furnace and operable to receive a molten metal from the at least one furnace, the intermediate casting product station comprising: a casting pit, a casting mold comprising a body having a cavity therethrough defining a reservoir, a coolant feed associated with the casting mold and in fluid communication with the reservoir, at least one moveable platen disposed in the casting pit, an array of exhaust ports (20A, 20A') about at least a top periphery of the casting pit, and an array of gas introduction ports (26A, 26A') about at least the top periphery of the casting pit; a valve system; an inert gas source operable to supply an inert gas to the array of gas introduction ports (26A, 26A'); and a mechanism for collecting inert gas exiting the casting pit, removing water vapor from the collected inert gas and re-circulating the inert gas to the casting pit, further comprising a molten metal detector operable to detect a bleed-out or a run-out associated with a direct chill cast; and a controller containing machine-readable instructions; characterized in that the valve system is coupled to a coolant source and to an inert fluid source configured to allow for a selective admission of a coolant from the coolant source to the coolant feed or an inert fluid from the inert fluid source to the coolant feed, and the controller is connected to the valve system, wherein the machine-readable instructions upon detection of a bleed-out or run-out by the molten metal detector, are operable to stop the flow of the liquid coolant from the coolant source into the casting mold and allow admission of the inert gas from the inert gas source into the casting pit. at least one furnace comprising a melt containing vessel; an intermediate casting product station coupled to the at least one furnace and operable to receive a molten metal from the at least one furnace, the intermediate casting product station comprising: a casting pit, a casting mold comprising a body having a cavity therethrough defining a reservoir, a coolant feed associated with the casting mold and in fluid communication with the reservoir, at least one moveable platen disposed in the casting pit, an array of exhaust ports (20A, 20A') about at least a top periphery of the casting pit, and an array of gas introduction ports (26A, 26A') about at least the top periphery of the casting pit; a casting pit, a casting mold comprising a body having a cavity therethrough defining a reservoir, a coolant feed associated with the casting mold and in fluid communication with the reservoir, at least one moveable platen disposed in the casting pit, an array of exhaust ports (20A, 20A') about at least a top periphery of the casting pit, and an array of gas introduction ports (26A, 26A') about at least the top periphery of the casting pit; a valve system; an inert gas source operable to supply an inert gas to the array of gas introduction ports (26A, 26A'); and a mechanism for collecting inert gas exiting the casting pit, removing water vapor from the collected inert gas and re-circulating the inert gas to the casting pit, further comprising a molten metal detector operable to detect a bleed-out or a run-out associated with a direct chill cast; and a controller containing machine-readable instructions; characterized in that the valve system is coupled to a coolant source and to an inert fluid source configured to allow for a selective admission of a coolant from the coolant source to the coolant feed or an inert fluid from the inert fluid source to the coolant feed, and the controller is connected to the valve system, wherein the machine-readable instructions upon detection of a bleed-out or run-out by the molten metal detector, are operable to stop the flow of the liquid coolant from the coolant source into the casting mold and allow admission of the inert gas from the inert gas source into the casting pit.