Gold, the much coveted shining yellow metal, is known for its unique and attractive appearance and lustre. Although, the gold we commonly see, be it the gold ornaments or gold bars, is not the form in which gold is mined out of the Earth. The gold we see goes through an extensive refinement process, and for this, the traders rely on advanced gold refinement techniques.
The gold that is mined is usually refined at a gold refinery Toronto. This is where the gold is refined after extraction to produce highly pure and high-quality gold bars. If you are a trader, then you must already know that when it comes to getting saleable gold bars, you will definitely need the gold to be refined at a gold refinery Canada.
Why Does Gold Need To Be Refined?
Regardless of the kind of purchase it is, be it recycled gold or bullion, or even scrap gold refining, and the gold must meet international standards for which it needs to be refined appropriately as per standards. As a matter of fact, it is much easier to sell and get better returns for the gold that meets the international LBMA refining standards. In simple words, a superior gold bar improves the liquidity of your investment to a great extent.
Not just that, gold is extracted from its ores through mining, and this gold isn’t pure. It contains many impurities that need to be removed, which is done through the gold refinement process at a gold refinery Toronto.
How Gold Is Actually Refined: The Step-By-Step Process
Gold refining starts with either one of these types of gold: a dore bar or scrap. Dore bars are the gold that is extracted from the mines and is approximately 80% pure. At a gold refinery Canada, the purity is further increased by separating other precious metals and less precious metals that are usually found in a mixture with it. Let us now take a look at the key steps of gold refinement:
Step 1:
Pre-melt The dore bars are melted, and their purity is determined.
Step 2:
Chlorination Chlorine is infused into the mix of molten metal. All other metals except gold rise to the surface in the form of a slag as a molten metal chloride. Here you get what is known as 995 fine gold. This gold is then poured into an anode mould.
Step 3:
Degolding Soda ash is then added to the molten chloride slag. This causes the gold particles to precipitate in the solution.
Step 4:
Electrolysis The gold anode is then put in a bath that has a solution of gold chloride and hydrochloric acid. Electric current is passed through the anode to give you the gold of 9999 purity.
Step 5:
Final Pour This pure form of gold is then turned into granulated gold or cast into bars.
A Glimpse Into Silver Refining
Just like gold, silver refining follows a similar process as well. Mined and extracted as ore, it is first crushed into pieces. Then, lime is added to create an alkaline mixture. Then a cyanide solution is added, and the mixture is cured for a period of 24 to 48 hours. After this, zinc dust is added to precipitate the silver from the resulting solution. The silver precipitate is then filtered and melted into bars.
Ending Note
With as much as 190,040 tonnes of gold that has been mined through human history, in modern times, the techniques and refinement process are highly sophisticated.
As a trader, you may have used for both recycled gold, or you may purchase bullion, but knowing how gold is refined at a gold refinery Toronto is crucial to help you understand what you need and what actually makes a quality bar.
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