What Sam said.
As far as the appearance of the gold you melted----traces of impurities as has been noted won't make a significant difference in how the gold melts, but adequate heat will. In fact, contaminated gold should melt at a lower temperature, if anything. It should be noted that only when the puddle is hot enough will it flow out----and that includes getting the dish hot enough.
I've commented that those that are serious about melting gold should use a torch that has oxygen in addition to fuel. Otherwise you are borderline hot enough, and that's when all conditions are right. If you attempt melting without oxygen and achieve success, it will be by spending tens of minutes on something that should take but one. The money you save on oxygen will be spent on additional fuel----so where's the savings?
When you use the proper heat, you can melt a couple ounces of gold in less than a minute. Simple as that. If it does take longer, it's only because you have to use extra care initially, while the gold is still in powder form, so it isn't blown from the dish. Once it crusts over, you can pour the heat to it rapidly.
If you use your "cutting torch", as you suggest, before you do, clean it well. Tips that have been used are terribly dirty, and have the potential to shed the crud, which ends up in your gold. If you have access to a bead blast cabinet, blast the tip until it's down to clean copper. Otherwise, go over it with some 120 grit polishing paper/cloth until it's clean. Rinse in hot water and blow dry, or allow it to dry well before using.
Think clean at all times when you are working with pure gold. It takes very little to undo your hard work.
Harold