Scrap Gold Recycling Process
When gold and other precious metals are brought into Manhattan Gold and Silver, they must be tested before we can pay a customer. Below is an example, with pictures of a large lot of gold being melted, sampled and made into a brick. Smaller lots would be hand tested, which is a different process altogether.
When scrap gold is received from a client, it is weighed and put into a bin for storage until it is ready to be tested or melted.
Once it is time to melt the gold and turn it into gold bricks, the operator scoops up the scrap gold jewelry and takes it over to the furnace.
The scrap gold is placed into the furnace crucible where the temperature begins to rise until it is hot enough to melt the gold into a liquid.
The scrap gold will sit in the crucible for a few moments, while the temperature rises.
Next, the scrap gold liquefies and is ready to be sampled.
Once the gold is ready, a dip sample is taken and it is tested for purity. The melting point of gold is 1947.9741 °F, but this temperature will actually fluctuate depending on how many impurities there are in the bar. The purer the gold, the closer to the exact temperature the gold will melt.
Once the gold is tested, the gold is now ready to be poured into a gold brick.
Now that the gold bar is poured into the mold, it will be set aside to cool.
The process depicted above is just one way that Manhattan Gold & Silver will melt and test gold. Other tests are available for smaller lots and other types of metals. For more information about the refining metals process, please contact us, or stop into our New York office.