Hello Orchidians,
Anyone out there use a reliable refiner who will handle small quantities of swarf (mostly fine and sterling silver, a little 14k and 18k gold)? Thanks, in advance, for sharing the name(s) and contact information with me/us.
I send any scrap that I want to recycle to Hoover and Strong n Richmond, VA…Rob
LaLinda- if you are a business then save up the swarf and by all means send it in to a professional company- I too use Hoover and Strong in Richmond, VA. But there are many others…
If you are a hobby jeweler- then you have 3 options:
1- learn to do it yourself: This is frowned upon by many and in the totality of things it is a time grabber… and unless you can do it safely- its probably not in your best interest to attempt it.
If you are going to attempt to learn- there are several refining forums that are very user friendly the 2 big ones are Refinement of precious metals and the Gold Refining Forum. But here again- you have to have enough to make it worthwhile.
2- Find a hobby or toll refiner in your area- once again these folks can be found through one of the forums mentioned above. A “Toll” refine is a % of metals back from the total grams refined. A good return is 60% of weight. This may seem like a lot- but consider a flame assay+shipping +cost of refine for small batches and it may be the better economical choice. Your mileage may vary. These guys are as well a good “resource” for metals if you want to purchase small amounts or if they are local getting metal without shipping.
3- This is the simplest and for me- the most effective. CLEAN your bench after each metal… I keep sweeps for 999 and 925 seperate, and golds are divided as well. in the event I have a mixed tray- that is put up till I get enough to send it to Hoover… but in all honesty 5 minutes after each metal operation keeps my “mixed” swarf pretty well divided. This REALLY helps when you dont produce enough waste to send in without big fees… and its easy to cast with or recast into ingots.
Hope this adds some thoughts to the matrix… be safe and as always- at peace
Kerri
I have been using GRC for 20 years. Are any of these companies totally honest? It is difficult to tell. GRC has been consistent for me and I have met and talked to Kevin who is my rep. I just sent one years worth of floor and polishing machine sweeps to them. Here is the report.
Received 13.5 pounds
After process 6.5 pounds
AU Assay .2331 FTO/LB
AG FTO 1.52
94% return 1.42
PT ASSAY .878 FTO/LB
PT FTO 5.71
90 % return 5.36
No paladium
Gold $1763.36
Silver $88.60
Platinum $20.94
Less labor and assay -$100
check $1772.00