People tend to think that recovering the gold from gold scrap is a straightforward process. You heat the scrap to a high temperature and then collect the gold that was in it, right?

Well, it’s not that simple. Recycling gold scrap can also be a complex process, and there are several mistakes that can reduce both the quality and the quantity of gold that is obtained during recycling.

Precious metal refining companies specialize in the extraction and purification of precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, from raw materials such as ore, electronic waste, and scrap metal.

With platinum currently trading for $940.00 on the London Fix, it is a metal you should definitely not overlook as you make your plans as a precious metal investor. 

But where can you find platinum scrap that we can recycle for you? Let’s review four of the best kinds of platinum scrap you should be focusing on. 

The last time we wrote about Pyrite (which is another name for Fool’s Gold) was in a post we published back in 2014. So we thought it would be a good time to write about the topic again and focus on this question . . . 

“I have a collection of jewelry that belonged to my grandmother,” a precious metal investor wrote us recently. “It is a mix of costume jewelry and nicer items that are made of gold and silver. I suspect that the value of the collection exceeds the dollar value of the precious metals it contains, because many of the items are interesting historical pieces.”

There is a simple reason why the demand for platinum scrap will remain strong in the future . . . 

The world’s platinum mines cannot keep up with the demand for platinum in manufacturing

According to statistics gathered by Statistica.com, 211.6 metric tons of platinum was used in manufacturing in year 2022.  

That’s a lot of platinum, and it might interest you to know where it was used.

White gold is an alloy of gold and at least one white metal – sometimes more than one. Those additional metals could be nickel, silver, palladium, and/or zinc. Sometimes a little copper is added too, to make the alloy less brittle and easier to shape. But only a little copper can be added, because if you add too much of it to gold, the resulting alloy becomes pinkish in hue. (That’s where so-called pink gold comes from.)

Why We Are More Convenient – and Offer Better Value – than Gold Buyers Near You

When you have items to sell that are made of gold, silver, platinum or maybe pieces of jewelry that contain gemstones, chances are your first thought is, “I need to find a gold buyer near me.”

That’s a logical first thought to have. If there is an honest and reputable company near you that buys precious metals, what could be easier than getting in your car and going to see them? But there are a lot of good reasons why hundreds, and maybe even thousands of people across the United States have decided that it is smarter, and even more convenient, to do business with us. 

Which gold investments performed best in 2022? And which are likely to be the most profitable in the year ahead? 

Let’s explore and find some answers to those questions. 

. . . But They Still Won’t Make You Any Money

We are going to start today’s post with a quiz. So get ready to test your knowledge about gold and gold scrap.

The value of a gold watch is determined by two factors . . .

1. The collectible value of the watch, which is determined by the prestige of the company that made it.

2. The metallic value of the watch’s case.

In today’s post, we’ll look at each of these factors.

One of the Most Amazing Metal Detector Finds in History Reminds Us of the Value to be Found in Gold Wedding Rings

There are metal detector finds . . . and then there are metal detector FINDS that go down in history.

One of those extraordinary finds happened in 2019 when a man got a new metal detector and, on his second outing with it, found a gold wedding ring by a path. What makes this ring so extraordinary? According to a story reported in CNN:

Question: When is a precious metal not a precious metal?

Answer: When it’s titanium.

Why isn’t titanium a precious metal? After all, it has come very unusual properties . . .

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you already know that we believe that gold scrap is one of the smartest investments you can make, for this reason . . .

You can invest in gold scrap at advantageous prices (in other words, you can buy it for prices that are lower than the current trading price), then you can conveniently have us process it for you, then you will promptly get paid for your gold at current trading prices.

That explains why many smart investors are actively investing in gold scrap today – and making a lot of money doing it.

Churchyards and cemeteries are good places to find coins, jewelry, and other items that people have lost over the years. But do you have permission to search for them? be sure to ask before you take your metal detector out of its carrying case and start hunting in those locations.

Canada is the fifth largest producer of mined gold in the world, following behind China, Russia, Australia, and the United States. A trip to Canada to look for gold in streams could be a good idea or, at the very least, a profitable and fun adventure.

Here’s some information that will add to your adventure and possibly your profits too.

Don’t Forget to Check Out Pawn Shops!

On this blog, we have often advised our readers to go hunting for jewelry and precious metal scrap at factories, in jewelry stores, and at estate sales. Today, we would like to discuss another source that might not be on your radar . . .

With Hispanic Heritage Month taking place now, it seems like a good time to ask how much gold has been mined in Latin America over the past centuries.

To be sure, there is a long, fabled and strong historical link between gold and Latin America. Back in the 16th Century, Spanish monarchs became obsessed with the idea that there were as many as seven cities in South America that were made of gold. They even believed that there was an emperor named El Dorado, who was clothed with golden garments and ruled these cities. So in 1540, Spain sent an explorer named Francisco Vázquez de Coronado to the New World, where he searched in vain for these golden cities.

If you’re about to fly across international borders and go through customs when you land, how much gold can you carry with you?

If you’ve been reading the Specialty Metals Blog over the last year, you know that we have been monitoring the increasing acceptance of hydrogen fuel cell cars, which promise to create greater demand for platinum. (Why? Because platinum is used to convert hydrogen to electricity that is used to power the cars.)

If you have been reading our posts, you also know that up until now, you have only been able to buy fuel cell cars in Hawaii and California, the only states where it is possible to buy hydrogen at a filling station.