andrew.ferneau,
Welcome aboard, this is a complicated field of work, it may not look that way to those who do not do it, it can be simple if you understand how and have a fairly good understanding what is going on with the chemistry or with the processes and know-how to correct a problem when it rises...
These skills take time to learn and you can spend several lifetimes and not learn-- but only a small portion of it, the field of work is just so vast and complicated.
Gold is worthless when it comes to it or your health, what good is gold if you destroy everything around you to get it?
A very important part of this work is gaining and maintaining an understanding of the dangers, protecting our selves and others around us from those dangers, and keeping form polluting or poisoning everything around us.
It is not simple but you can learn if you are willing to spend your time and energy, it will not be easy, but it can be very educational,
The forum is a great place to learn, with great people to learn from, if you do decide to spend your life learning these skills, I say you have found the best place to learn.
I look forward to watching you gain these skills over the coming years.
Begin your study in the safety section if you are serious about it.
Even if you do not refine, the forum is the best place I know of to learn about these metals and their value, how to recognize and test for these metals around us... An education that itself is worth its weight in gold.