refine kt gold

[Anonymous]

hi i am new to the fourm and whould like to no the best way to refine kt gold i get around 500-1500grams of 10kt-22kt a week and whould like to start to refine at home and whould like to no the best way

 

[JustinNH]

Read through the forum... the question has been asked many times and answered many more times :wink:

Generally you inquart with silver, dissolve silver in nitric, then process what is left for gold, which will need to be refined a second time from what I understand to be pure. Of course, there is much more too it -but like I said, it is all in here. I know ive read it a few times (though never done it).

Happy reading

 

[Noxx]

Read Hoke's book and use the search function !

 

[goldsilverpro]

When you sell the gold as is, what percentage do you get? If you're getting about 97%, or better, I think you would lose money to refine it yourself, unless you don't count labor or getting rid of the waste.

 

[Anonymous]

yeah thanks for repy i acshally havent found a trust worthy refiner in vancouver b.c and last i checked they wanted fee around $200 plus and a fee to ship the gold to there shop and i tryed it onces and made shure all the gold waz 14kt stamped tested and i gave them 500gr in person they tested and said it waz good and they gave me a return of 272gram and charged the fee's and i dont no any private refiners so thought ide study for couple weeks built a nice fume hood and wanna get started i think with the price i pay for scrap i hope to get more doing it my self just whould like to learn from the pro's do things proper the first time do u think thats a good return on 500gr 14kt?

 

[jamthe3]

If the goal is to get cash back, try Kitco when its hallmarked...I think they have Canadian offices also though I have no idea what kind of postage arrangements are available in Canada. In US you can mail Kilos in flat rate boxes fairly inexpensively with insurance.

If its the pleasure you're after of doing it yourself, read up and enjoy!

Cheers,
John

 

[kmiles412]

Hey Goldbrad,

14k is 58.33% so 500g x .5833 would be 291.65 g in theory. some gold is slightly higher some slightly lower. 291-272= 19g lost, lesser kt., ect., taken as a bonus? You have no way to know unless you see report from trusted refiner or you do it yourself. 291g /19g = 6 1/2% loss (19g x $30 = $570) + upfront processing. You have to figure that into buying price. Or cost of doing business.
The big guys here can answer if that's the norm.


Keith

 

[goldsilverpro]

I've never seen karat gold run higher than the marking and rarely is it plumb. Gold solder will lower the karat and, before about 1980, the manufacturers in the US were allowed a 1/2 karat leeway. So, when buying or selling, it is wise to figure 14K as 13.5K, 10K as 9.5K, and 18K as 17.5K.

If you really want to refine karat gold, search the forum and look for posts on the subject by Harold_V. There are tons of them, mostly in detail. Don't pay too much attention to anyone else. Harold's method is very well suited for beginners and pros alike. It was designed to essentially recover 100%. The first thing he'll tell you is to read the Hoke book on refining. A link to a free digital copy is found everywhere, throughout the forum.

 

[Platdigger]

So then Chris, are you saying, if you knock off a half karat, and figure for any gold solder.....then the 272 grams.....could have been spot on?
Randy

 

[goldsilverpro]

Could be. It figures 13K. Maybe he was lucky to find a refiner that only takes a little bit. Also, such things as chains usually have solder on them. Were it me, I would melt it into one bar, sample it, assay it, and ship it. I think he should put his time and money into learning how to melt and assay, rather than refining.

What was your average yield from 14K, Harold.

 

[wop1969]

I've never seen karat gold run higher than the marking and rarely is it plumb. Gold solder will lower the karat and, before about 1980, the manufacturers in the US were allowed a 1/2 karat leeway. So, when buying or selling, it is wise to figure 14K as 13.5K, 10K as 9.5K, and 18K as 17.5K.

If you really want to refine karat gold, search the forum and look for posts on the subject by Harold_V. There are tons of them, mostly in detail. Don't pay too much attention to anyone else. Harold's method is very well suited for beginners and pros alike. It was designed to essentially recover 100%. The first thing he'll tell you is to read the Hoke book on refining. A link to a free digital copy is found everywhere, throughout the forum.

I cant get any links for Hoke's book that work, let alone a free copy ?

 

[wop1969]

Ok so newtons law still works , as soon as I said somthing the link worked and I can buy hokes book for 55.00.

I would love to find a free didital copy if anyone has a working link to one?

Thanks

 

[pinman]

http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=087a852d67c0a8beb51a6744ac3eab31



fixed link

 

[Harold_V]

What was your average yield from 14K, Harold.

Because I generally ran mixed lots, I can't answer that directly. I can answer on class rings, however. I ran several pounds of them, years ago, before the new marking regulations. As you alluded, there was an allowance of ± ½K for alloy variation, and another allowance of ± ½K for solder. My results from running the class rings nailed it. They were just barely legal, slightly greater than 9K. Why not? Class rings consumed literally tons of gold. If the manufacturer could substitute silver and copper for missing gold, instead of saving the theoretical 4% one would assume, they end up with more like 10% due to alloying being by weight, not volume.

I also ran a fairly large lot of filings that came from a bright-cutting machine. The filings were kept very clean, and yielded 56%. Not bad for filings. Certainly the very best I ever saw.

One of my customers allowed so much garbage to accumulate with their filings that the average yield was slightly greater than 20%. I realize we're not talking about filings, but these things are important to know for anyone that may encounter jeweler's wastes.

It is foolish to assume anything that is marked will yield as if it is plumb. A wise buyer will allow 2% for solder, other junk, and underkarating, which has been a serious problem in the past.

Harold

 

[wop1969]

http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=087a852d67c0a8beb51a6744ac3eab31



fixed link

Got it, Thanks a Ton...