The efficient recovery of karat gold scraps and wastes is a vital component of a profitable jewelry manufacturing business. Much of the scrap can be recycled, but contaminated scraps and wastes need to be refined to pure gold, as their direct recycling in production will lead to quality problems. The easy option is to send all such scraps and wastes to a specialist refiner. This is not always a realistic or cost-effective option and so an in-house refining capability may be desirable. The collection and pre-treatment of scraps and wastes are briefly reviewed but the emphasis is on potential gold refining techniques and their relevance to in-house refining. There are essentially two methods suitable for a jewelry producer, but which is preferable depends partly on the average karatage of material being refined. Equipment for both refining techniques is commercially available at a range of throughputs that meets environmental pollution requirements.

Author: Dr. Christopher W. Corti