Refinery

A refinery (also affinerie) is a specialised operation that extracts precious metals from impure raw materials and processes them into high-purity fine metal. The term "refine" means separating the metals from one another - for example gold from silver, copper or platinum.

What refineries process

The raw materials come from two sources:

• Primary material: dore bars and concentrates directly from mining.
• Secondary material (recycling): dental gold, jewellery and broken gold, industrial scrap, catalytic converters and electronic residues.

From this mixture, fine gold (999.9), fine silver and the platinum group metals in commercial purity are ultimately produced - as bars, granules or casting material.

How refining works

Classic processes are affination via chemistry and electrolysis. In the Miller process, chlorine gas is passed through molten gold to bind foreign metals; the Wohlwill process uses electrolysis for the highest purities above 999.9. Silver is usually refined electrolytically. Only this purity makes the metal a marketable commodity whose value is measured exactly against the spot price.

Significance for sellers of scrap gold

Anyone who sells scrap gold sells indirectly into the material cycle of the refineries. Reputable buyers determine the fineness by analysis and pay out a fair share of the material value. Some refineries also buy directly from private individuals - often on better terms than intermediaries, because one trading stage is eliminated. What is realistic is shown by the purchase price calculator; the pure material value is provided by the melt value calculator.

LBMA Good Delivery

The most renowned refineries are listed on the Good Delivery List of the London Bullion Market Association. Bars from these houses are considered flawless worldwide and do not need to be re-tested on resale - a quality seal that also increases the resaleability of investment bars.

In brief

Refineries stand at the beginning and the end of the precious metal cycle: they turn ore and scrap gold back into tradable fine metal. For sellers of broken and dental gold they are - directly or via buyers - the decisive source of value.