# Making Low-Grade Gold Bars



## benign01 (Dec 10, 2011)

I want to make low grade gold bars. What is the best way to melt low gold grade material to make such a bar. I currently melt with some borax low gold material, mainly goldplate , stir a lot and I get bar with 2% gold content approximately. I have consistently felt the bars should be closer to 3% content as per my maths Am I doing something wrong. The mix is usually brass and goldplate ?
Thanks for any help


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## jimdoc (Dec 10, 2011)

benign01 said:


> I want to make low grade gold bars. What is the best way to melt low gold grade material to make such a bar. I currently melt with some borax low gold material, mainly goldplate , stir a lot and I get bar with 2% gold content approximately. I have consistently felt the bars should be closer to 3% content as per my maths Am I doing something wrong. The mix is usually brass and goldplate ?
> Thanks for any help



I wouldn't call bars with 2% or 3% gold low grade bars. They are bars that just happen to have some gold in them. Not much different than gold filled scrap. Why bother?

Jim


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## Harold_V (Dec 11, 2011)

Unless you have a reason to be melting, you're making a big mistake. Gold can be recovered much easier from plated objects than it can from such low grade base metals that contain traces of gold. 

That being said, why you'd assume that you'd get even 1% gold is beyond me. ½% yield would be considered very high where gold plating is concerned. 

Harold


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## jimmydolittle (Dec 11, 2011)

I think I smell..............a skunk!


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## benign01 (Dec 11, 2011)

Smell what you like ...you are probably only smelling yourself!!
harold, you are quite right I meant gold-filled, not plate. Gold plate is worth even less. I'm melting gf stuff and am worried that the standard melt may not be getting the best result
eg there will be brass, nickel and possibly tin in the melt Should I be doing something different to the standard gold melt?


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## jimdoc (Dec 11, 2011)

benign01 said:


> Smell what you like ...you are probably only smelling yourself!!
> harold, you are quite right I meant gold-filled, not plate. Gold plate is worth even less. I'm melting gf stuff and am worried that the standard melt may not be getting the best result
> eg there will be brass, nickel and possibly tin in the melt Should I be doing something different to the standard gold melt?



The question is: Why are you melting this?

Jim


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## glondor (Dec 11, 2011)

What you are doing is wrong. As stated you are making it much more difficult to recover the gold. I cannot say if a refiner would look at your bars.The recovery fees would be higher than the bar value is my guess. But to give you an understanding, all you are doing is making what would be called as "contaminated" copper or brass, valued at $ 1 to 3 dollars a pound. Please stop. Contact one of us here who can refine or recover it for you, you will come out waaaaaaaay further ahead versus what you are doing.


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## goldenchild (Dec 11, 2011)

jimdoc said:


> benign01 said:
> 
> 
> > Smell what you like ...you are probably only smelling yourself!!
> ...



And so is the mystery of "melting it down".


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