Refiners who deal with the public?

[Waven]

First time poster, been lurking here to learn a bit about things. I'm located in Chicago and even though I'll more than likely have to ship my metals a local refiner would be great.

I gathered up scrap gold from family and have something like 5oz or so of 14k-18k jewelry. Some of the refiners recommended on this board don't deal with the public, like NTR which sucks because they have a location just 20 minutes away. I emailed ARA a month or so ago with questions and now that I just revisited their site it says they don't deal with the public either. Dillon Gage was on my radar until a woman on the phone say they raised their minimum which I think was higher than what I had but that may have changed (more on this below).

A friend of mine contacted me the other day saying he has some .999 silver bars weighing 100oz each and wants to sell one for now with the potential for selling more in the future. This can help me clear the minimum refiners require but I still need one that will deal with me.

So, what are your suggestions?

Very cool site by the way. Initially I just wanted to sell gold without the middle man but after reading a lot of your posts its becoming a growing interest. I bookmarked a stickied thread on calculating gold that I have to study more, not to mention all the other helpful material on here.

 

[maltfoudy]

http://sipimetals.com/

in chicago, not sure if they have a set amount needed to refine,but they are close to you.

 

[Waven]

Thanks for the tip. Are you familiar with them at all?

 

[Waven]

Sipi Metals doesn't deal with the public, nor do the other 4 refiners I called in the Chicago area. I have one more to call but I'm not optimistic.

Anyone know where I can ship to that would be willing to buy the amounts listed in my OP?

 

[niteliteone]

From what I understand the Dept. Homeland Security has stopped all refineries from buying or dealing with the general public. You must be a registered business for them to work with you.
You should be able to work with that information to find a way to get them to work with you.
Tom C.

 

[Smack]

...

 

[4metals]

They pay on Platinum, Paladium, Gold, Silver and Copper.

The .90 per pound isn't their only charge, they charge a refining fee for each metal and each metal has an accountability and a minimum payable.

The fees you didn't state add up more quickly than the incoming weight. It is important for those members shipping to refiners to be able to read and understand the refining rates so they can compare apples to apples and ship to the refiner with the best payout for their specific content.

Refiners make a living off of rates that are confusing.

 

[niteliteone]

From Sipi

This document is for escrap,

The post from waven is asking for a refiner for jewellery. This is handled differently than escrap.

All refiners and/or purchasers in the USA are required to follow DHS regulations in reguards to jewellery from the public.

Tom C.

 

[Palladium]

Retailer exemption: Retailers that purchase only from other dealers who follow a U.S. anti-money laundering program are exempt from compliance. Additionally, retailers who purchase less than $50,000 of covered goods from non-U.S. dealers and members of the general public are exempt from compliance.

Pawnbroker exemption: Businesses properly licensed and registered as pawnbrokers under state or municipal law are specifically exempted from the Interim Final Rule’s definition of “dealer”, and are not required to comply.

 

[butcher]

I do not understand all this, but it seems to me history repeating itself, those who pull the strings, pulling them in their favor? we do need to control criminal activity, but not allowing the honest man to do bussiness seems to me to be trying to control people, or control what the people have, or what people do with what they have.

or am I reding all this wrong?

 

[stevescottau1]

From what I understand the Dept. Homeland Security has stopped all refineries from buying or dealing with the general public. You must be a registered business for them to work with you.
You should be able to work with that information to find a way to get them to work with you.
Tom C.

thats what happend the refiners cant get the bonds to work for public just a way to screw the little guys you just haft to find 4 or 5 guys togather and learn to do this your self for about 5000 you can get started its really not that hard just start out with 30 g intell you get the hang of it wonce you get it in to a bar you can sell it at any pawn store for cash ive been doing this for 20 years and can talk you throuh if on the phone any time steve 9282792590 steve

 

[Palladium]

Welcome to the forum Steve!

 

[Geo]

From what I understand the Dept. Homeland Security has stopped all refineries from buying or dealing with the general public. You must be a registered business for them to work with you.
You should be able to work with that information to find a way to get them to work with you.
Tom C.

thats what happend the refiners cant get the bonds to work for public just a way to screw the little guys you just haft to find 4 or 5 guys togather and learn to do this your self for about 5000 you can get started its really not that hard just start out with 30 g intell you get the hang of it wonce you get it in to a bar you can sell it at any pawn store for cash ive been doing this for 20 years and can talk you throuh if on the phone any time steve 9282792590 steve

steve, thats a very unselfish proposal. are you still selling your refined gold to pawn shops? theres several different ways to sell your refined and unrefined gold, theres really no need to sell at a really low rate like a pawn shop pays.if you would like to learn more ways to sell your gold at a better price, just respond to this post again and someone will help you out.

 

[MMFJ]

http://sipimetals.com/

in chicago, not sure if they have a set amount needed to refine,but they are close to you.

We have about 2300 lbs of cards (around 1/3rd are from 'industry' - mostly casino type games, etc., the rest are PC cards...) and approached Sipi with the possibility of them processing it for us.

Here's their response...

MATERIAL: Misc. Circuit Board Scrap.
ESTIMATED ASSAY: To Be Determined.
QUANTITY: To Be Determined.
REFINING TERMS:
CREDIT:
Gold 97.0% of recoverable content at London 2nd Fix less $5.00/t.o.
Silver 95.0% of recoverable content at N.Y. Comex Spot Close less $0.40/t.o.
Palladium 85.0% of recoverable content at N.Y. Mercantile Exchange second
position closing price for refined Palladium less $20.00/t.o.
Copper 97.5% of recoverable content at N.Y. Comex Spot Close less $0.40/lb.
TREATMENT CHARGE: $1.00/lb. net weight received. Minimum charge $750.00/lot.
SAMPLING: In case of sampling by melting with the addition of copper, in order to
achieve a homogenous melt, the added quantity of copper shall be
assessed the treatment charge as noted above.
PRICING: Fourth Wednesday following date of receipt of material or sampling
completion should representation be utilized.
SETTLEMENT: 45 days following receipt of material or sampling should representation be
utilized.
BERYLLIUM: Environmental, health and safety regulations require that we limit the
beryllium content to 200 parts per million (0.02%) in incoming materials.
If you know or suspect that your material has beryllium in excess of 200
parts per million, please advise us prior to shipment so that we can work
with you to properly handle the material.
1720 ELSTON AVENUE · CHICAGO, IL 60642 · TELEPHONE: 773/276-0070 · FAX: 773/276-5168 · EMAIL: [email protected]
BATTERIES: Circuit Boards should be substantially free of all batteries. If batteries are
present, the lot will be processed at SiPi Metals Corp. to remove them and
package them in accordance with DOT regulations, and will be subject to
a handling charge.
MERCURY: Materials bearing mercury should be shipped to SiPi Metals Corp. after
pre-treatment for mercury removal. All materials are checked for mercury
upon receipt. If mercury is detected, the shipper may elect to have the lot
returned, or to have it treated for mercury removal at shipper’s expense.
FREIGHT: F.O.B. SiPi Metals, Chicago, IL. Please request the carrier (in writing on
the Bill of Lading) to “notify SiPi Metals North Dock at 773/276-0070
forty-eight (48) hours prior to delivery”. Our Customer Service
Department can assist with freight arrangements.

They don't seem to have any minimum other than the treatment charge (which I bet gets applied to nearly every load.....

They have locations in other states (we spoke about taking this load to Hayward, CA), but I think they do all the refining in OH??? Not specified in the proposal.....

Other than them being a bit difficult to contact and get the proposal (I called and sent emails two times, then got the proposal after the third phone call...), then having it not really meet my request, they seem to be nice folks. I really believe they are just used to dealing with larger lots and we barely fit into the 'we will deal with you' band - which is totally understandable.

I'm taking this proposal to my partner in this to see what he wants to do (he's been putting up the money to hoard all this stuff....) and we may just take it to CA ourselves.

 

[Irons2]

"TREATMENT CHARGE: $1.00/lb. net weight received. Minimum charge $750.00/lot."

 

[Irons2]

I do not understand all this, but it seems to me history repeating itself, those who pull the strings, pulling them in their favor? we do need to control criminal activity, but not allowing the honest man to do bussiness seems to me to be trying to control people, or control what the people have, or what people do with what they have.

or am I reding all this wrong?

The "old Boy Network" doesn't like competition.

 

[cerise]

Im looking for a post that can help send a newbie in the right direction to find a refiner.I really have no clue as to where or how to find a really good refiner.I am sure there are different options .I finally found a nitch in buying scrap computers and I would like to go the pro refiner route .Does anyone have any thoughts or post on how one should approach such an endeavor? Any list of refiners anywhere ?

 

[Geo]

Im looking for a post that can help send a newbie in the right direction to find a refiner.I really have no clue as to where or how to find a really good refiner.I am sure there are different options .I finally found a nitch in buying scrap computers and I would like to go the pro refiner route .Does anyone have any thoughts or post on how one should approach such an endeavor? Any list of refiners anywhere ?

keep in mind, it takes on average depending on vintage and condition, 150-200 desktop computers to make a troy ounce and 2,000 cell phone boards to make a OZT. a few other numbers : 15 pounds of clean, close cut fingers, 30 pounds of PCI slot connector pins, 65 pentium pro processors. im just saying it takes a lot of material. a refiner only accepts lots big enough to gross a certain amount. i would suggest you find a member here on the forum to process your material and send you back refined gold. it would be much easier for you to sell your gold that way. depending on the quality of your return, you may be able to sell it to one of our members at a better price than you would get anywhere else.

 

[MMFJ]

Im looking for a post that can help send a newbie in the right direction to find a refiner.I really have no clue as to where or how to find a really good refiner.I am sure there are different options .I finally found a nitch in buying scrap computers and I would like to go the pro refiner route .Does anyone have any thoughts or post on how one should approach such an endeavor? Any list of refiners anywhere ?

keep in mind, it takes on average depending on vintage and condition, 150-200 desktop computers to make a troy ounce and 2,000 cell phone boards to make a OZT. a few other numbers : 15 pounds of clean, close cut fingers, 30 pounds of PCI slot connector pins, 65 pentium pro processors. im just saying it takes a lot of material. a refiner only accepts lots big enough to gross a certain amount. i would suggest you find a member here on the forum to process your material and send you back refined gold. it would be much easier for you to sell your gold that way. depending on the quality of your return, you may be able to sell it to one of our members at a better price than you would get anywhere else.

And, to add to that, one point of confusion that I see a lot from new folks is their use of the word "REFINER" is often different than the 'learned' people that do this every day.

To me, "REFINER" means someone that has the knowledge and talent to process e-scrap (which I consider different than e-waste, btw...) into refined ('fine' - i.e., .99 or better) gold. Even the 'backyard refiner' folks that are abundant on this forum are, to me, refiners, though each one would also have their own minimum limits before taking on a job. The time, effort and chemical (direct, out of pocket) costs prohibit doing small loads for others as they only get a small percent of the final product.

What I've found on this forum are several people qualified to do this, even for a small-ish load, though something with an expectation of approx. 1/2 toz (16 g or so), which is then about 1/2 of what Geo has explained above (and thanks for that - I hadn't seen these types of numbers before - but I'm popping out that bit for reference later!)

So, cerise, please help us help you by giving us an idea of the total amount of material you have to process - it makes it much simpler to refer you to someone that could do the job.

 

[cerise]

I would really like to start buying from the public and possibly start a website for buying e scrap. As of right now i have no definite number that I get in any given time. if If work aggressively I can get 100 computers in a 1 week period.