Solving the Needle in The Haystack Problem with Smart Recycling
Reclaiming Precious Platinum and Gold . . .
If you make money finding and recycling precious metals, you are familiar with The Needle in the Haystack Problem. It happens when you find a vast quantity of sand, dust, sawdust, gravel or other “stuff” that has a valuable amount of gold, platinum or another precious metal hiding in it.
You know, for example, that all the dust and dirt you just swept up off the floor of an old dental lab probably has, say, $300 worth of gold hidden in it. But how are you going to get your hands on it? Another big question is whether the cost of separating that gold from all the crud is going to be higher than the value of the gold itself. For example, if you have to spend $500 to process all that stuff and only come away with $300 worth of gold, then why did you bother in the first place?
Other Examples of The Needle in the Haystack Problem
Chemicals - You found ten steel drums that are filled with printers ink. A quick test confirms there is silver in the ink. But how much? How can you extract it, and how much will it cost to do so? Should you even bother?
Immersion – You got your hands on 100 gallons of gold paint. Great, but what does it contain? Chances are only reflective silica crystals and maybe some silver, not gold. But how can you determine the value of any metals it contains, if any, and how much will it cost you to extract them?
Panning and prospecting – Yup, you’re out there in northern California or maybe the Yukon, panning for gold. You can confirm that the sand you are looking at contains minute quantities of gold. Yippee, you think. But how much of that silt and sand will you have to process to get your hands on, say an ounce of gold? And again, is the cost of hauling away and processing all kinds of gunk to get your hands on that ounce of gold worth it?
Electronics – Wow, you just hauled away 250 computers that were being tossed by a hospital that was upgrading its systems. Each of them probably contains, say 40 cents worth of gold – just a guess. But is it worth your while to sit there with a pair of snippers, cutting out all the little gold pins that are located on the edges of the printed circuit boards that those old computers contain? And then when you’re done doing that, you still have to get rid of that pile of old computers. How much will that cost?
The Answer to The Needle in the Haystack Problem Is . . .
You need to talk to an expert precious metal refinery like Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners. Is it really worth your while, for example, to send us five big plastic garbage bins filled with the stuff you swept up from an old jewelry factory’s floor? (Probably so.) If you found small flecks of gold in the bottom of a stream in the Yukon, should you collect 25 tons of sand and let us do the separating for you? (Probably not.)
But the bottom line is, our experience and expertise can answer questions like those for you, save you a lot of money, and help you profitably extract gold, silver and platinum from all kinds of materials. Call us at 800-426-2344. We are here to answer your questions.