Please take this again in the manner it's meant.
In honesty it easier to teach a complete newbie the right ways if they have the right attitude than try to re educate someone who has some chemical knowledge, reason is they accept that the masters here on the forum and the teachings of Hoke will get them to their desired goal in the safest and fastest manner and don't try to re invent the wheel or argue because they think they know better.
Forget what you think you know and go back to basics, read Hoke, it's a brilliant easy to understand guide to recovery and refining precious metals, it teaches testing techniques and gives some good easy steps to get you started slowly and safely, if you have a background in lab work or chemistry it's like doing a refresher course that re focuses your mind to the processes and methods commonly used, it also covers PGMs and that is far from easy to master but with the book and help here on the forum it's possible for even a truck driver or an office worker to refine them.
We have a huge variety of people of all ages,cultures,sex and diverse occupations many of whom would honestly say they struggle to write quickly or coherently in their native tongue but who would run rings round me in actual refining and recovery and I ran my own commercial refinery for many years.
I learn something virtually everyday I come onto the forum, this is one very very big subject and I'd bet no one knows it all, even our moderators many of whom have spent a lifetime refining discover new things on here. This is a very much a hands on getting down and dirty science and while books give you a good background actual experience will beat them hands down but you need the basics first to have an understanding of what you are doing and what reaction to expect. If as you say you have a chemistry background it's a good start but don't neglect the basics or it might come back to haunt you.
