How is silver refined?

Answer 1

A: Silver refining is basically the recovery or recycling of silver from items that contain this precious metal. Items that are refined for their silver content include:

• Jewelry
• Sterling silver flatware
• Silver serving sets
• Silver coins
• X-Ray films
• Photographic film & paper
• Silver from photo processing solutions
• Mirror over-spray

The refining process will vary depending on the items you are refining. Silver bars, silver coins, silver jewelry and sterling silver flatware and serving sets are tested to determine the amount of silver in items then placed in an acid base for the silver to separate from the other metal alloys. An electric charger is placed with the item and acid solution which collects pure silver flakes.

For industrial and manufacturing items such as silver flake from photo film, silver from x-ray film and scrap silver sludge are recovered. The process is more involved where the refiner first has to burn the film and then put the ashes into the acid base.

On the Web you may find methods for home silver refining, I would not recommend this without having an experienced refiner handy. Because you are working with acid, there is a risk in the home, especially if you are trying to collect ash which requires very high heat conducted in a furnace.

Individuals, industries, hospitals and other organizations look to sell these items for a cash payout. Though there are tons of middleman organizations out there, wanting to buy your gold and silver, the items usually always end up in the hands of a refiner, who actually melts and extracts the silver. If you have some of these items I would look to work directly with a refiner. I recommend Arch Enterprises precious metal refiner located in Missouri. They will give you more money than a middleman and extra information about the refining process. If you go to their website www.archenterprises.com they can give you a free quote so you have an idea of how much you can receive. Hope this helps!