I am hoping that someone(s) on Orchid can recommend a refiner that accepts small amounts (no minimum) of scrap and sweepings. Reasonable fees and fair payment?
You have to send them enough so that they can do an assay. They will likely charge you for this. I suppose that you could send them just enough to do the assay, pay for it and you get nothing in return. I usually send Hoover and Strong a package once every couple years. It includes: scrap finished pieces that I don’t want, sweeps, bits and pieces of metal, swarf from my wet grinders and whatever duff I collect from my polishing hood. I always have a small amount of gold and include that in a separate package. Others on Ganoksin have commented that, if they work a lot in gold or platinum, they send in small rugs and chair cushions as there is enough scrap metal in them to justify the shipping expense. I scrap a lot less now that I have the ability to recycle scrap into useful shapes. I do like to clean the shop once in a while and start over. I can only suggest Hoover and Strong and Rio because I have not worked with any other refiners…Rob
1 Like
I use Hoover and Strong as well. Turn around is quick and you can get either a check or credit. I haven’t used Rio but I would bet they are just as efficient and fair as is H&S. I use most of the clean scrap in the shop but bits with solder, sweeps, and polisher dust gets sent in. At a certain point it is all just useless junk you are storing and only you can determine what is a reasonable return. I have scraped maybe twice in 6 years.
Give either business a call and tell them what you want to do. They will give you the process on how they want it packaged.
Don Meixner
You will have to complete Chain of Custody and Anti Money Laundering forms with any reputable refiner. Be prepared to do this…Rob
Elemetal - all over the us. At one time they had some problems but my experience in the past several years is that they return what I expect, are prompt and don’t charge for assay unless your precious metal is a very small part of the shipment - for example if you send plated metal. They provide boxes, insurance and shipping if you ask. They are in so many areas that you can usually take the lot to them directly if you are in any sort of metro area.
2 Likes
Judy…Never heard of them. Thanks…Rob
I use Elemetal. Great payout. Very helpful and nice staff (at my location in MA). If you have jewelry with lots of stones for removal that would take up an inordinate amount of your time, they can send it to one of their facilities that sieves/catches the stones when refining the metal and have the stones sent back to you.
1 Like
Hoover & Strong has an estimator feature on their website which I have found to be quite accurate in anticipating my refining returns. Also, I appreciate their documentation of the recovery processing. They send a picture of the materials they recieved before melting and assaying, along with their recovery report. As far as costs go, personally, I like their system because I prefer to pay a percentage of recovered fine gold as a fee, rather than a set refining charge. I have been using them as my precious metal refiner and supplier for well over three decades.
2 Likes