Im going to have a small parcel of gold plated jewellery scrap to sort out approx 10 kilos. My initial thoughts were to cyanide strip it ,a process i know and one i,ve used many times. Chances are it will all be plated over differing base metals, so any other suggestions would be welcome..
plated jewellery scrap
- Thread starter nickvc
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If you can cyanide strip, that would be the best way to do it. What equipment are you using, with how much of what chemicals? Details, please. Depending on how you're doing it, you may have problems with anything that doesn't have nickel plating (or, very thin nickel) between the gold and the base metal.
Don't expect too much gold. It can run from $.07 to $1.00 per square inch of surface area, but most is on the low end.
Don't expect too much gold. It can run from $.07 to $1.00 per square inch of surface area, but most is on the low end.
Thanks GSP. I didnt think there was a better way but now i,ve found this forum i think i,d be a fool not to ask. I know the value will be low but this is to prove a point to a noobie who was going to try to melt it....god knows whats in the mix but voluminous smoke is to be expected if he tries and a load of steel and iron stuck in the bar...been there done that!! Trying to educate the trade that melting doesnt always pay and that a little thought might get a better result..Took a gold coin out and gave it back to him when i looked through the parcel who knows what the rest is???
Sorry GSP i forgot to tell you what im using . Its a stripper powder which i get pre mixed off an old contact ,just put some in a large platic bucket add water then heat it with a heater element then put the jewellery in either a stainless basket or large sieve and use this to agitate the solution as needed untill the visible gold has stripped.Rinse off in a seperate bucket which then gets added to the solution,precipitate with zinc powder filter wash and rinse with dilute hcl. Its not gong to be fine au but it will be meltable and can be added to other melts to trade.
