Dave, I’m not sure about other areas, but here in Alaska I have
bought nuggets from the refiner at anywhere from a few percent below
spot to 30 per cent over spot depending on various factors such as
size, purity and availability.Prices are graduated according to
size, fines being the lowest t hose suitable for overlay next, then
those for pendants, etc… Prices on the larger nuggets, say over
ten dwt. are often sold on an individual b asis depending on the
"character’ of the piece. Some just look better and are valued
higher by collectors and jewelers and are sold accordingly. A s I
understand it the miners usually get about 80% of spot. This is
based on the total weight of the material not on the gold content
itself. It is therefore sometimes possible to buy from the miner at
less than spot but at slightly more than they would receive from
the refiner,particularl y in Spring when they are putting together
their grubstake for the Summer mining season. I haven’t bought from
the refiner for several years howev er and don’t know the current
situation, however in the past three years or so prices rose as a
result of the closure of the Valdez Creek mine whi ch had supplied
most of the nuggets available here for quite a few years. Retail
prices here for pendants made with nuggets that have simply had a
bail soldered on are usually twice spot, based on the the weight of
the nugget itself regardless of purity. That’s probably more than
most people wanted to know about the subject so I’m going to quit and
go out and catch a couple of King Salmon. Jerry in Kodiak