# Question on gold plated pins



## Micwopp (Dec 16, 2018)

Hello,
I’m from the USA, I’m trying to figure out if it is a profitable venture to strip the gold from the gold plated pins. I’ve been able to source the material. The problem is I haven’t found any concrete information on how much gold is on the pins per pound. I found a couple YouTube videos, that produced .06 grams from 1lb of pins, I found an article that said 2-6grams per lb. I wanted to use the reverse electroplating process to strip the gold. Please any insight would be helpful


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## anachronism (Dec 16, 2018)

Hi and welcome to the forum.

The short answer is that every pin is different, It depends on what they were made for. Pins range from very little gold per pound up to many grammes per pound and it's the devil's own job looking at a package of pins and knowing which category they fall into. 

There's only one way to find out- sampling. 

Jon


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## Micwopp (Dec 16, 2018)

Is there a specific place or vendor I can get the high quality ones from, basically I’m looking into buying from overseas and there samples are 100 kilograms


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## g_axelsson (Dec 16, 2018)

Never pay before you have verified the goods. There are a lot of scams out there and usually, anyone with hundreds of kilos of pins could usually find a refinery that would handle lots like that easily. And when it comes to gold, there are the golden rule that never let anyone else do the sampling. To me it sounds like a scam.

Göran


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## anachronism (Dec 16, 2018)

Micwopp said:


> Is there a specific place or vendor I can get the high quality ones from, basically I’m looking into buying from overseas and there samples are 100 kilograms



Also bear in mind the simple adage. Why would someone sell you product at less than its gold value?


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## Micwopp (Dec 16, 2018)

So this is not something you can do to make money with? I was hoping I could make a go out of becoming a small recycler


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## jimdoc (Dec 16, 2018)

Micwopp said:


> So this is not something you can do to make money with? I was hoping I could make a go out of becoming a small recycler




You have to study this forum, and look for local sources.
And don't rush into anything, except for reading and learning.
You will have to determine if you can make money or not.


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## Micwopp (Dec 16, 2018)

It doesn’t sound like I’d be able to make money, I haven’t found any local sources, most are overseas I’d have to buy the source material, the chemicals, and spend time doing it, not to mention selling it to a refinery you only get 90-95%


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## silversaddle1 (Dec 16, 2018)

Could you make money at it? Sure you could, but you'd have to direct source your material yourself. What that means is you will have to find the electronics and recycle them yourself to obtain your source materials.


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## kernels (Dec 16, 2018)

It is 100% possible to make a living from Gold recovery, we have a few users here that do it. But the vast majority of us are hobbyists and relatively happy to make a small profit and enjoy the process.

The biggest problem you will encounter is what you value your own time at, it is all quite profitable if your time has no alternative value.


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## Micwopp (Dec 16, 2018)

The biggest problem I can see is sourcing quality material, if I can’t keep production going and if the material is low yield I’ll actually lose money.


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## silversaddle1 (Dec 16, 2018)

Then you've answered your own question.


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## anachronism (Dec 17, 2018)

Micwopp said:


> The biggest problem I can see is sourcing quality material, if I can’t keep production going and if the material is low yield I’ll actually lose money.



Absolutely bang on my friend. That's the key to the whole thing. 8) 8) 

Jon


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## Micwopp (Dec 17, 2018)

Can anyone offer any suggestions on how to make this a profitable venture? Should I stick with cpus? I really wanted to use the reverse electroplating process, only because that process is quicker and seems more interesting to me. I know I can’t use that process with the cpus but what can I do to guarantee a profit? Are there any USA sources for material?


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## jimdoc (Dec 17, 2018)

Micwopp said:


> Can anyone offer any suggestions on how to make this a profitable venture? Should I stick with cpus? I really wanted to use the reverse electroplating process, only because that process is quicker and seems more interesting to me. I know I can’t use that process with the cpus but what can I do to guarantee a profit? Are there any USA sources for material?



You are asking an impossible question. If people here had an answer to your question, don't you think they would be getting that guaranteed profit? You have already been given tips.

If you want to get into this hobby, or business, you need to study.
That includes the how to process, and what to process, and how to do it safely. 
This may save you time and money invested.


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## Shark (Dec 17, 2018)

Another point, what is your experience level in refining? Your saying that you want to work with a sulfuric cell, how much do you know about that process, it's dangers and advantages, disadvantages? 

As for sticking to one material, it all depends on how much you understand the processing required to do the job. Working with a 100 kilogram batch is way different than doing a pound or two. 

Two ways I know to jump that far ahead is to read and study all you can on the processes and materials your working with or pay someone to teach you and/or do it for you. The second most likely will want you to have some knowledge, as well as money, up front as well since you talking about a pretty large setup. 

How much do you want to make from this? Would you be happy with a $100 return on a $10,000 investment. I class myself as a hobby refiner and after a few years of doing this I seldom loose money on it. Then again, as a hobbyist I can live with spending $100 and making $25 profit, some day's more some day's less.


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## kurtak (Dec 18, 2018)

Micwopp said:


> I wanted to use the reverse electroplating process to strip the gold.





> samples are 100 kilograms



First off - yes you can set up to refine at a profit on a large scale - BUT - its going to take a far sized "up front" investment AND you are going to need to know just what you are getting into --- its not something you can just jump into - on a large scale (or you can start out on a hobby level & work up)


concerning "large" batch processing of "pins" --- the sulfuric cell (or ANY other acid based method) is NOT the way to go (not saying it can't be done - it just NOT the way to go)

For "large batch pins - you want to set up for cyanide leaching

Kurt


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## Micwopp (Dec 18, 2018)

Kurt thanks for the info


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## g_axelsson (Dec 18, 2018)

Gold is a product that's been on the market for a long time so there isn't a lot of empty space for a refiner to come into and just start working. You will compete with anyone else already established in the market. That said, it can be done and with a good eye for opportunities it might work. But to compete you need knowledge, skill, access to chemicals, access to raw material, a place to sell the product or to make it into a saleable product, various permits depending on where you live, a place to work and store material... and so on.

We can help with knowledge, just study the forum. Skill you have to earn. I spent a year before I dissolved any gold, first time refining worked perfectly but the second time I ran into problem. Every time you refine something you get better on refining, failures as well as successes.

If you are serious about learning the trade then making a loss now and then isn't a big problem if you learn something in the process, so buying at loss might be a good deal in the end.

Toll refining is a way to start small, but if you don't know what you are doing then you could easily find yourself in a bad place. That's something we have seen a number of times here at the forum over the years. It starts well, but too much work, too crappy material or a mistake and you lose the gold somehow (beaker breaks...) and you could easily find yourself in the red.

Easiest material to work with is carat gold but the margins are really low. You will compete with larger refineries that charges as little as 1/2% in larger lots.

Easiest material to find is old electronics but that contains very little gold so it takes a lot of manual labor to process. Here you will compete with companies buying boards and just sending it off for refining, getting paid on content. Batch sizes are usually 20 tons minimum. It ends up in a copper smelter so they have very little labor to pay for.

In the end, it depends on your proficiency in refining and your circumstances if you can make a living out of it.

Göran


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## FrugalRefiner (Dec 18, 2018)

Very well put! Library material. 8) 

Dave


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## g_axelsson (Dec 19, 2018)

Thanks! Feel free to copy it if you want to, you have a better handle on the library than I have. 8) 

Göran


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## Wizzlebiz (Jan 19, 2019)

Micwopp said:


> It doesn’t sound like I’d be able to make money, I haven’t found any local sources, most are overseas I’d have to buy the source material, the chemicals, and spend time doing it, not to mention selling it to a refinery you only get 90-95%



98% is the payout in NY and california for and gold over 8 karat. 

It is possible to make a profit. It is also possible to find local folks who scrap and would sell for the right price to be profitable.


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