# gold filled jewelry



## sail4too2003 (Dec 27, 2010)

I'm sure I'll find it later than sooner. Just wondering what the big guys know or have we don't. I know small induction furnace's sell for under a thousand. I have a friend driving to dallas to melt his. So how do they get from a blob of molten metal to a recovered state?


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## goldenchild (Dec 27, 2010)

The "big boys" would most likely use a cyanide leach and precipitate the gold from the solution.


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## sail4too2003 (Dec 27, 2010)

Got ya. I've got right at 10 pounds and called these BIG GUYS they wanted 20% and thats if they are being honest! Never tried a cell yet sounds like its back to the books. I bought steve's dvd on jewelry. It works fine just very slow and messy. Anyway thanks for the info.


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## goldenchild (Dec 27, 2010)

Well. If you really wanted to do it yourself using acids, you could probably get it done with 4 gallons of nitric. Less if you use an HCL/nitric combo of some sort. Assuming you have good quality gold filled scrap that averages out to 1/20 10k you would have close to $4200 in pure gold if processed correctly. Some would recommend the cell but I personally wouldnt. I guess it comes down to how inexpensively you could purchase/make your chemicals. I know I could certainly process that 10lbs for under $840. Its up to you.


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## sail4too2003 (Dec 27, 2010)

Thanks again I've been using 67% nitric $11.00 gal. I have to buy by the 15gl keg. I've always processed about a half pound at a time. Guess I can feed nitric slower and step up the amount. I just want to be safe, I live in the city. Don't want to start dropping birds out of the sky, lol.


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## Platdigger (Dec 27, 2010)

Add H2O2 to your dilute (35 percent or so) nitric.
More birds will live... 8)


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## goldenchild (Dec 28, 2010)

Platdigger said:


> Add H2O2 to your dilute (35 percent or so) nitric.
> More birds will live... 8)



I think this is adding another layer of complexity for someone who is just starting out but yes... adding H202 to the nitric will supress some of the N0x fumes and will give a little more bang for your buck


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## qst42know (Dec 28, 2010)

sail4too2003 said:


> I know small induction furnace's sell for under a thousand. I have a friend driving to dallas to melt his. So how do they get from a blob of molten metal to a recovered state?



Gold filled jewelry doesn't need to be melted first, the nitric will find it's way under leaving the gold content as foils. It is easier to work with as foils than it is as dust on the bottom.

Be sure to check the used nitric for silver. I have found many items that are silver under the gold.


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## 4metals (Dec 28, 2010)

If you use the peroxide don't forget the ethylene glycol, without it the copper eats up the peroxide quickly. 

With the price of gold today, most acid refiners are just melting the gold filled and going at it with 50% nitric. The silver if any is dropped with copper after the undissolved is filtered out and the undissolved material is put into AR. 

I know of one refiner who melts gold filled and pays on assay and uses the bars to cement his waste. He eventually gets the gold from the gold filled in the slimes. He doesn't solicit the stuff but he never turns it away.


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## goldenchild (Dec 28, 2010)

4metals said:


> If you use the peroxide don't forget the ethylene glycol, without it the copper eats up the peroxide quickly.
> 
> With the price of gold today, most acid refiners are just melting the gold filled and going at it with 50% nitric. The silver if any is dropped with copper after the undissolved is filtered out and the undissolved material is put into AR.
> 
> I know of one refiner who melts gold filled and pays on assay and uses the bars to cement his waste. He eventually gets the gold from the gold filled in the slimes. He doesn't solicit the stuff but he never turns it away.



Just curious as to why they would melt it instead of just going straight to the acid. It seems like it would be much quicker because of the thin walls of most GF jewelry.


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## 4metals (Dec 28, 2010)

An unfortunate side of this business (PM Refining) is that often employee theft is a major issue. Everything that can be quantified has to be quantified. Sure it's an extra step, but one worth taking.


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## infinatesorrow (Apr 28, 2011)

and here i ask the question,

in the refining book it speaks of melting your gold filled and dropping it in a water bath to cool so that instead of having to ar the gold

you end up diluting it enough to get the 6k nitric reaction which means all youre left doing is neutralizing your acid and melting it into 

whatever form youre looking for 

oversimplified but what can you do ? anyway the well known quadrillion method,

which sounds way easier to me other than i live in an apartment so the manufacture and use of nitric is a little problematical 

that and the fact that some may mistake cleaning gold and silver for meth manufacture ha ha 

but thats how i was going to go about it,

melt my gold filled items into nuggets, break them down and throw them in nitric let it break everything down 

and then filter and neutralize again oversimplified but gets the point across 

from there melt and pour 

that would work wouldnt it?


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## goldenchild (Apr 28, 2011)

infinatesorrow said:


> and here i ask the question,
> 
> in the refining book it speaks of melting your gold filled and dropping it in a water bath to cool so that instead of having to ar the gold
> 
> ...




Ha ha. Melting it down for some reason again.

Your method of melting it down into nuggets and putting them in acid will work but creates more work than necessary. Gold filled items are usually thin and expose a great amount of surface area to begin with. Melting it all down will reduce this surface area therfore making your digestion in nitric less efficient. You will also not be able to "keep your eyes on your gold" at all times. Digesting non melted gf scrap will leave you with nice big foils that are much easier to wash and filter than a very fine powdery moss that will get caught up in your filters.

Edit:You know... I just read over these post to refresh my memory and... the same exact question was already asked and answered pretty much the same exact way by the same exact people. Pretty annoying. I guess I only have myself to blame for getting sucked into this one :|


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