Beginner gold silver smelt book

Gold Refining Forum

Help Support Gold Refining Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Appleidet

Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2021
Messages
7
Location
Texas
I’m a beginner and I need some help. What’s the simplest, best book, cheapest for smelting gold and silver? Step by step. Thanks and I’m excited to find this sight Today.
 
Melting or smelting?
For melting clean gold and silver you only need a borax glazed crucible and heat. An electric or gas furnace or just a torch with gas and oxygen will work.
Pick the bead out before the borax solidifies.
Or pour in a graphite mold.
 
I've been smelting for a few months and have been making some good stuff. I keep getting a bunch of gold that layers the outside of my cones after I flux. Like I get the clouded glass slag layer, and the metal cone that breaks free from the top of the pyramid. This is where i am running into issues....

The cones keep coming out with a gold layer the more we refine it. It's not mixing with the silver, it's not dissolving when we try a 10-14k acid test, so is it gold? Is this typical? Has anyone else seen this? Take a look at the pics and video for a look at what I'm talking about. Any clarification would be awesome.

Thanks BCM
 

Attachments

  • 20220124_112330.jpg
    20220124_112330.jpg
    846.2 KB · Views: 6
  • 20220124_112414.mp4
    34.2 MB
  • 20220124_112308.jpg
    20220124_112308.jpg
    733.8 KB · Views: 6
  • 20220124_112300.jpg
    20220124_112300.jpg
    595.5 KB · Views: 6
  • 20220124_112323.jpg
    20220124_112323.jpg
    1.3 MB · Views: 6
  • 20220124_112330.jpg
    20220124_112330.jpg
    846.2 KB · Views: 6
BCM,

I'm assuming you've already given Hoke's book a read? It's free, and it has links in my signature block. It's essentially the first source of literature that anyone here will ask you to read and understand. It covers quite a few topics and most precious metals. It is written for the refiner though to refine precious metal from scrap, shavings, sweeps, etc. and not from ore or black sands.

As an aside, if you could explain a bit what your technique is for your pictures, we'll be able to help you better. What are you melting/smelting (ore, sands, scrap, jewelry, etc.) Have you considered chemical refinement of your gold/precious metals? Tell us what you are doing, and specifically where your issue is, and then we can help you better.

Elemental
 
Last edited:
Hey there,
Me and brother have began smelting down gold and silver plated items to get that refined metals. Its been a bunch of trial and error but we have been making some good strides and upping our percentage yields. We consistently produce 75% plus pure gold and silver. We are looking for help from all you "fine" people (pun intended 😉) to get our final product to that beautiful 999. plus range. Right now this is a hobby but we would like to take it to the next level at some point. We look forward to any help we can get from more skilled metal heads.

Thanks a ton
Bryce & Chris
BC Mint

I found this after replying, so to go from 75% purity to 99.99% you will have to look at chemical refinement. Here is the best advice I can think to give.

Step 1 - Put the metals down for now.

Step 2 - Give Hoke's book a read cover to cover. You'll learn a lot and it if you really work to absorb the material, it will only take a week or two.

Step 3 - Begin looking at using the chemical refinement/electro-refinement techniques mentioned in Hoke's book OR look here for a refiner who might toll refine for you (they do the chemical refining but keep a portion, aka the toll) they will return the purified metal to you OR shop around for one of the big refiners to just sell too.

Refining as a business has pretty slim margins as best I understand it. I am a hobby refiner/chemist and do this for fun and as an investment towards my daughter's university fund. A lot of this will depend on what your end-state is. Do you want to have gold/silver on-hand in the form of bars/coins? Are you looking to just melt and sell metal?

Regardless, let us know what you want to do, ask a few questions, and welcome to the forum.

Elemental
 
Humm, you wish to involve yourself with the world's most lucrative legitimate trade.
But you want a cheep way to manage this.
I am sorry to have to tell you if it was cheap and easy, there would be very little value in the business.
 
Back
Top