Gold refining is a cooperative service for the gold mining industry whose main function is to receive gold and silver bullion and other precious metal bearing materials and to refine these into a marketable from. The refinery can buy these materials or processes them on their behalf. Small amounts of similar material are treated for different customers under different terms and agreements. Depositors are initially credited with fixed percentages of the gold and silver contents of their deposit. For example, they can be credited with 99.9% and 90% of the gold and silver, respectively, on bullion products. About by-products, they are credited with 94.5% and 75% of the gold and silver, respectively.
A vital feature of the refinery’s working is that of metallurgical control. Each metallurgical center is required to compile a monthly balance of its treatment for gold and silver and to make explanations for any small gain or loss that may arise. It is a unique feature of the plant as a whole that the annual throughput of gold and silver is accounted for in this way to the last 0.0001 kg. The operations of the refinery can be divided into five sections: gold refining, silver refining, fume collection, by-products treatment, assaying and chemical analysis.
Gold and silver bullion and other precious metal bearing materials
Gold Refining | Melting | Refining | Chlorination | Chlorination Product | De-Golding | Electrolytic Process | Anodes and Cathodes| Alloying | Silver Refining Process | Silver Chloride Leaching | Reduction of Silver Chloride | Silver Electrolytic Recovery | Moebius and Thum Cells to Recover Silver | Fume Collection | By-Products Plant | By-Products Materials Sampling | By-Products Blending | Arc Furnace Operation | Assays and Materials | Fire Assay | By-Products Section Assay