Precious Metal Recovery & Recycling

It's a gold rush, an electronic gold rush and it comes in the form of end-of-life electronic devices. 

Confused? You may be surprised to learn that many of the everyday items you use contain precious metals. Gold, silver and other precious metals are critical elements to many industries, like the aforementioned electronics, as well as automotive manufacturing.

Electronic and automotive scrap can be an especially valuable source of metals. A variety of gold, silver and PGM materials may be suitable for recovery and recycling when these goods reach their end of life. One ton of mined gold ore contains approximately six grams of gold. The proportion of precious metals used in cars and televisions around the world is higher than that. That means that scrapped electrical and electronic goods can arguably be called a modern gold mine.  

Electronics recycling is extremely important in diverting solid waste and supporting zero landfill initiatives. Also highly important, electronics recycling helps eliminate toxic scrap. While it constitutes a minority of solid waste, it represents up to 70 percent of toxic waste.

E-waste is a particularly rich source of precious metals – with concentrations 40 to 50 times richer than naturally occurring deposits. 

Since 1996, Jewelers Refining Group, Inc., has been a leader in the precious metals refining industry. To learn more about precious metal recovery and recycling visit us at JRGInc.com.

The Process Of Gold Refining

Gold refining is the mechanical process of separating valuable gold from other waste materials. The end objective of gold refining is to be left with a piece of pure gold. The process of refining gold is a detailed and highly skilled one that requires a professional service to ensure the quality is above par and completely authentic. 

The process of refining gold begins by weighing the materials. Once the weight is established it is then put through the smelting process. During smelting, the refinery adds a flux material to the gold and melts it in a furnace. The gold will sink to the bottom of the furnace, while impurities float to the top, bound to the flux in the form of slag.

Once smelting is complete, the gold refinery has a solid piece of gold bullion. At this stage the bullion may still contain some impurities like trace metals, requiring it to go through a final refining stage where the facility melts the metal again and treats it to force silver and other materials to the top. In the final stage, the refinery will weigh the gold and test it to determine the level of purity.

While there doesn’t appear to be many steps in the refining process, it is actually a very difficult process and requires the utmost professional to ensure it is done properly.  Jewelers Refining Group, Inc. has been in the refining business since 1996 and is a leader in the refining industry. To learn more about our outstanding service and our commitment to integrity and fair pricing visit us at JRGInc.com.