What is it like going to Smelter for first time?


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I inherited about 15 oz of gold i think my father extracted from black sand. It has the look and feel of pure gold. THis would be 18k gold from yukon.

Anyway, I want to have it refined and sold. I was just curious what prevents the smelter from cheating you.

I have a feeling a novice is guaranteed to be cheated on many levels. I guess i could pay to get an assay from an independent company.

I have 100 oz of gold nuggets and gold grain and the jewellery stores were very eager to talk to me which made me wonder why they would be so keen to buy from me.

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What did you want to have refined the 100oz of nuggets or the 15oz or both? I wouldn't bother trying to have it refined. You can sale it on ebay and you should get almost spot and the nuggets will net spot +. It sounds like you have about $70,000+.

Kim

thanks:) I want the 15 oz refined. The other stuff is jewellery grade. I was looking at some old records and it appeared that the refiner kept the silver and other precious metals in the gold as a commission for doing the refining.

Ebay is interesting. I only see people selling one nugget at a time, but it looks like sellers are getting good price for their nuggets.

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Vancouver, if you have amalgam (mercury w/fine gold) you're better off to spend the time to find a reliable refiner and get it done. There are good one's out there and I'm sure someone on the forums, like maybe Reno Chris, can recommend one...

As for the nuggets, there's two ways to go. First, sell them on the auction sites as nuggets. Or, to maximize your income, find a qualified gold nugget jewelry maker and have pendants, posts, etc., made and you'll more than double your nugget value...For some special pieces, you could more than triple...Sure, it's a good bit more effort and takes more time, but it sounds like you have a "golden" opportunity to make some good money...Good luck...Let the forum know how you do...Cheers, Uncle Ron

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unlce ron's post is pretty accurate.

look on the back of a icmj mag and look at some reputable refiners, one of which has been in the business for a century, so it's not like you're going to get ripped off. there are costs, but the check will be coming. besides you don't really want to mess with mercury on gold.

You could also look up some metallurgists in the area where you live that may offer guidance.

Jewellers look at natural gold as a unique natural product that is popular with their clients. though many will pay face value (25% below spot), some will offer a multiplier in their prices, though it won't be so much they cannot make a profit in resales.

If you go on Ebay, you can list the product with a reserve price, that way, any bids under the reserve won't obligate you to sell the goods, and will protect your interests. some pieces will bring in values severral times above the face value, as collectors and jewellers regularly buy online gold. For some, its their only means to obtain specific regional gold.

If you sell vials of flakes, make it known from where the gold originated, if you know that part, as that can add value. Even flakes bring in higher than face value, depending on the auction and browsers.

UR stated that you can make jewelry with some of the gold, provided you have an experienced freind in the business. you'd pay them a flat rate for the work, then hit out to marinas or tourist traps and sell the good to merchandisers. this really works well on smaller gold chips, and pays off.

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You can retort it your self, via many methods. Just be aware of the hazards of heavy metal poisoning from the mercury. That way you don't have to pay someone else to do it for you, or lose a share of your profit. A retort can be made or purchased, which allows you to recycle the mercury, or you can use Nitric Acid to burn off the mercury, the red smoke looks cool, but it's very poisonous & hazardous to the environment, stay far away - upwind. The old timers used a potato as a very rudimentary retorting method, disposal of the used potato was difficult as they didn't want to introduce the mercury saturated potato back into the food chain.....

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