What Does a Silver Refinery Do that Is Different?

Recycle Refine SilverRecycle Precious Metals

May 21

Because we are a very efficient, active and productive silver refinery, we can answer the following question for you . . .

Why is recycling silver different from recycling gold, platinum, palladium and the other precious metals?

To tell you the truth, certain processes for extracting silver from scrap aren’t much different from the processes for extracting gold, platinum and palladium. One example? If any of those precious metals, or silver, is present as small flakes or powder that is mixed with sand, dirt or base metals, that scrap can be processed by heating. (That causes any metals present to gather into clumps, or sometimes to bond to other metals.)

But in the majority of cases, extracting and recycling silver is a different process from recycling gold or platinum. Here are some of the reasons why.

In Most Cases, a Silver Refinery Needs to Process Large Quantities of Scrap

When extracting gold from electronic scrap, for example, a refinery might only need to deal with a few pounds of old printed circuit boards or other electronic components. When extracting silver from soil that was collected, in contrast, a refinery needs to process hundreds, or even thousands, of pounds of material.

That requires a specialized precious metals refinery that has the right expertise and equipment to do the job.

Minute Quantities of Silver Can Be Dispersed in Very Large Quantities of Scrap

Those tiny silver bits and flakes can be mixed in with very large quantities of dirt, floor sweepings and other silver-bearing scrap. Processing it requires specialized equipment.

Expertise in Dealing with Plated Materials Is Needed

A large percentage of the silver that any silver refinery processes is found in items that were silver-plated, including tableware, serving dishes, candelabras and similar decorative items. It requires specialized expertise to perform those processes.

A Silver Refinery Must Deal with Liquids Too

Silver can be found in paint, stains, inks and also in chemicals that were once commonly used to process photographs and xrays. Extracting quantities of silver from liquids is a process that requires knowledge, equipment and chemicals. That’s another reason why reclaiming silver is a specialized expertise.