# Best Method for removing melted gold from Crucible



## IntelGold (Sep 6, 2013)

As the title states I have just done a big melt (for me anyway). I have ended up with a very lucky 31.1g and a smaller 3.8g lot. My question regards the removing of the melted gold just before you drop it in water. I used a pair off tweezers and as I picked up the large piece the smaller one fell out the bottom as I lifted it. I am planning on just melting them back together. Also my tongs leave marks on either side of the gold (leaves a small amount of the metal on either side), is there a certain metal tongs that I should use? Picture added for pleasure. Very happy, this was refined 3 times so should be very pure, its sure nice and shiney.


Thanks


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## cnbarr (Sep 6, 2013)

Let me say nice work it looks quite pure!

I always use clean stainless steel tweezers, and don't use them for anything other then picking up clean gold, that would take care of the marks on the sides.

To keep the button from separating you need to let it solidify a bit longer, I wait till it stops glowing and the surface glazes over count to 5 then pluck it out and quench it.

Hope that helps,

Chris


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## butcher (Sep 6, 2013)

Nice chunks of metal you have there :lol:


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## IntelGold (Sep 12, 2013)

Had my gold assayed, and am very pleased with the results. Its 99.92%. Is this classed as 24k and could I sell as 24k?
Thanks for the nice comments.


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## AndyWilliams (Sep 12, 2013)

IntelGold said:


> Had my gold assayed, and am very pleased with the results. Its 99.92%. Is this classed as 24k and could I sell as 24k?
> Thanks for the nice comments.



Didn't your buttons total 34.9g? Am I missing something here?


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## Harold_V (Sep 13, 2013)

IntelGold said:


> Had my gold assayed, and am very pleased with the results. Its 99.92%. Is this classed as 24k and could I sell as 24k?


Technically, yes, that can be considered 24K, but that's not how pure gold is addressed. K markings are related to the jewelry industry. 

Gold is addressed according to its fineness, with an industry standard of pure gold considered to be 9995, so your gold is slightly lower than industry standard. 

Harold


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## IntelGold (Sep 13, 2013)

Hi Andy, No your not missing anything and are totally correct. I must have got it wrong on the smaller piece when weighing them. When I melted them back together they came to a total of 34.4 gram. I sent the button off to be assayed and they told me I would lose a bit of that weight when they drilled it to get a sample. So, looks as if they have drilled 0.8 Gram from my button. I totally trust them as it was the Birmingham assay office. I was told I would get the sample back so will melt it with the next lot of gold.
Again sorry for the confusion, I was weighing in a hurry through pure excitement. Never had my own gold assayed before. I think I may hold on to it as a keepsake.
Thanks, IntelGold.


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## IntelGold (Sep 13, 2013)

Hi Harold, Ok, thanks for letting me know. I am still very pleased with the results. Do you think a jeweller would try to knock the price down because of this? Its not far off.
Cheers Guys.


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## Lou (Sep 13, 2013)

I don't think most jewelers can tell the difference between 99.9 and 99.95.


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## bswartzwelder (Sep 13, 2013)

Dang, that is beautiful. Good work.


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## IntelGold (Sep 13, 2013)

Thanks for all the really nice responses guys.  I think I should be getting it back tomorrow so will post a pic of the stamped gold. Should have a assay mark with serial number. Again thanks for the kind words.


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## rickbb (Sep 13, 2013)

Shouldn't have any trouble selling it as triple 9 fine gold.


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## Harold_V (Sep 14, 2013)

Lou said:


> I don't think most jewelers can tell the difference between 99.9 and 99.95.


Beyond that, what contaminates the gold can make a difference. If it was lead, that's not acceptable, as it destroys gold's ductility. If it's silver or copper, it shouldn't make any difference to a jeweler, especially if his objective was yellow, rose or green gold. he will alloy the gold to the karat fineness he desires, using both of those elements. It could limit him if his objective is white gold, but I suspect it wouldn't. There's very little contamination to speak of. 

Harold


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## Alentia (Oct 26, 2013)

Harold_V said:


> IntelGold said:
> 
> 
> > Had my gold assayed, and am very pleased with the results. Its 99.92%. Is this classed as 24k and could I sell as 24k?
> ...



Harold, I may have to correct you unless you meant something else.

LBMA "good delivery" acceptable percentage of gold in a 400 troy ounce bar for trade must be at least 99.5% or better. Most retail gold bars are in fact 999 or 9999, which is above quality threshold set by LBMA good delivery standards.

It is astonishing 2 ounce of copper or other non PM priced into 400 troy ounce bar being held by central banks. On 10,000 ton gold holdings there is 500kg of copper.

http://www.lbma.org.uk/pages/index.cfm?page_id=27


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## Harold_V (Oct 27, 2013)

Alentia said:


> Harold_V said:
> 
> 
> > IntelGold said:
> ...


To my knowledge, When an individual (or business) purchases gold, the standard by which it is sold (for use) is typically 9995. There's a reason for that. If a 99 bar could be used, and the contamination was not acceptable, the gold could prove to be useless for the intended purpose. For example, if the 1% was lead, that would certainly be true. That you make mention that it may be copper is interesting, but that doesn't reflect reality. 

I have no doubt that there are bars of lesser quality. Fact is, the US government possesses a large supply of 300 ounce ingots of 900 fine gold bars. What I don't know is if these bars are sold for those who use gold--or are they just held by the governments of the people? 

I might suggest that if you have questions about the purity that is sold, that you make an inquiry to see what is offered. I fully expect you'll find it to be either 9995, or higher, for a premium. 

Harold


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## Geo (Oct 29, 2013)

Wouldn't the fact that it was cupelled sort of rule out lead as a contaminant? I may be wrong about that but lead (litharge) is used in cupellation and should have been removed in the assay.

I will not remove this but after thinking about it, the contamination could be just about anything. The cupellation only measures starting weight and ending weight,right?


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## Harold_V (Oct 30, 2013)

I'd agree that if a button has been through the cupellation process that it shouldn't contain any lead, but that may or may not be true. I can see how some lead could still be present, although I expect that would be highly unusual. 

Because one often has no clue why gold isn't dead pure, and that the contaminant present could have the potential to be harmful, I strived for the purest I could achieve within my capabilities. That was a lesson I learned early on, when a friend was also refining and delivered some lead contaminated gold to a customer. His then customer turned to me for help, and never again did business with my friend. Can't blame him---he had cast a half dozen hand carved rings with the gold, all of which were no good. 

Harold


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