Cost to refine silver braze (50% Ag) - Advice appreciated

[snoman701]

Do you expect to bring this up to a purity of .999 fine or are you going to be happy to cement out the silver and sell it as is? Everything you do to increase the purity comes at a cost. If you need to earn $100 an hour you need to estimate the time you will put into this.

Just cement & hoard/sell.

$100 an hour was just what I charge for my business. I consider this a hobby. If it turns in to a job, then I'd start disliking it. I try to have as many money making hobbies as possible...then you don't have to go to work.

Or maybe it's just that the working part is the cleanup. Or in my case right now, sanding drywall.

 

[4metals]

Well if that is your plan just make sure of 2 things. 1, You can get rid of the waste and 2, you can handle the fumes by scrubbing. You will use a serious amount of acid but then again if you work at the $50 an hour range you will be working at the 20% rate if the time estimates are close.

25 pounds in a poly lined cement mixer like this one with a drip feed, set it and let it roll for a few unattended hours, after you work out the acid consumption it will be pretty simple.

These poly lined cement mixers are workhorses and the hose drops down from the scrubber manifold. This is the business end inside the tub.

You can digest in these, nitric dissolves, aqua regia dissolves, and even use it to convert silver chlorides with the caustic and karo syrup. You know after thinking about it, you could even cement the silver out in there.