Dummies Guide to EASY silver bullion refining at home as a long term precious metal investment

Originally posted by RightWingAvenger
I must be the lone dissenter here...

You can't simply go to your lab store and purchase nitric acid. The restrictions have increased. You must apply for a permit and state that the purpose is for metal extraction.

You can make nitric from sulfuric acid and potassium nitrate by vacuum distillation of the mix.
You heat the mix to 80º and 90º C so using the vacuum distillation gives you more nitric acid and temperatures above 90ºc will break down the nitric acid so by using the vacuum you can keep the temperatures from ever going above 90º C

And you can use the spent nitric acid mixed with potassium nitrate and vacuum distilled to reuse the spent acid.

In most cases lower 70% grades of nitric are easier to get as its the 90% grade that is required to make explosives.

reply to post by tauristercus


WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH !!! I hope you freshen up on the status of those coins, as far as I've ever known NO ONE ! is allowed to destroy minted coins, but the mint that produced them. It's one thing to collect and sell intact coins it's another thing all together to destroy and collect the metals present in Stamped Mint property. I may not be in the same location as you, but it's always been my knowledge that no body but the mint has any legal ownership over those coins. Coins, and bills do not belong to you, they belong to the mint and the mint simply allows you to possess them to represent the value intended. I thought it was rather common that destroying or defacing currency of any kind is a federal offense, so please be careful. I'd rather hate to pick up the paper and hear you were caught stealing precious metals from the government, as well as for destroying Currency. It's sad, but many years ago the mint caught on to this idea and I'm pretty sure these laws exist in many places around the world.

AS WELL, Do some research about the compounds you are handling Copper Nitrate, and silver nitrate are both EXTREMELY TOXIC, and you should not be diluting and pouring these chemicals down the drain. There are also several environmental laws in place condemning just what you claim to be doing in this thread. Copper, and silver nitrates can be absorbed through your skin and cause serious long term damage, as well metals like copper and silver can build up in your body and cause harm many years later. My grandfather worked for a company that did pretty much what you're promoting on a much larger scale for a company in the 60's, he later went on to work for a chemical supply company and believe me, that beautiful blue has been and is responsible for more accidents by those who are unaware of the dangers than you may realize. Please be careful, I'm not trying to be a dick I'm seriously concerned. I sincerely hope you practice what you preach EVERY time you do this, and you may want to do a quick search on proper disposal as well as the legal status on the coins you've purchased JUST IN CASE. Some times things are too good to be true and I would rather Opt out of this one, Nitric Acid is HIGHLY toxic as are the vapours it releases under normal conditions, spills should be cleaned up with great care with a solution of baking soda and water. This will help neutralize the acid, as well as soak up any of the toxic residues, then the solution should be washed away with fresh, or even better distilled water. Please please please be careful.

I'm not a professional chemist but I've obviously taken enough to feel compelled to warn you, and if I came off as a prick or anything it was not my intention. Just be careful, and like I said maybe check out the laws just to be sure you aren't setting yourself up for a long stay in the clink.

-Ilyich.

Not to demean the OP's post, and I am sure that he/she have been doing this ad hock for a while before being able to produce any profit....

This stuff is best done after some real education, experience and then some seed money to purchase the proper equipment to ensure you do not kill yourself. It also has to be done on a much larger scale than what is shown to make it any where near profitable. The methods and equipment have been on Ebay for a few years, and there are some good systems there, and others that are just scams to get you to buy stuff you really need an education in metallurgy to use effectively.

I collect scrap metals and sell to this industry, as the other end is really like making $1.00 an hour unless you really know what you are doing and are equipped to make it worth your valuable time.

reply to post by The Cusp


DO NOT USE THIS SILVER FOR MEDICAL PURPOSES IT IS FAR FROM 100%pure. It's going to have trace amounts of copper, as well as nitric acid, Copper nitrate, and silver nitrate, other words you will die from consuming it.

reply to post by tauristercus


This is alchemy dude. Your on the right track. The question is do you know how to turn lead into gold? Or silver into gold? I do and it is awesome.

Thanks for the info and good luck with your financial situation.

Nice post. It is very cool seeing this process. And as a hobby / DIY investing, looks interesting.

Originally posted by FreedomCommander
reply to post by tauristercus

 

This is alchemy dude. Your on the right track. The question is do you know how to turn lead into gold? Or silver into gold? I do and it is awesome.

Thanks for the info and good luck with your financial situation.

It's not really alchemy; it's refining. That won't stop me from pretending I'm at a Skyrim alchemy table when I start doing this in my backyard, though! Wooooo!

To the OP: Thanks so much for this. It obviously took you a long time to put together and it's not always easy to share personal methods you took time to devise. Way to share, man.

Thanks a ton for this, I've been collecting Silver for a couple months now and have been wondering what the easiest way of melting it down would be.

Still, I've got a couple questions.

Would this method work for sterling silver items? For example, does it matter what other metals are found in the silver item or will this method melt down everything and get you pure silver no matter what?

Have you tested the consistency of this method? Do you lose any silver, however small it may be, due to this process? For example, you got a coin weighing 2grams, 50% silver 50% whatever, you put it through this method, you should get back 1gram of 99% silver, how accurate is this method in producing that kind of result?

And, last question, most important one for me: Is there any way of extracting the silver by just melting down the coins and isolating the silver itself somehow? That seems so much easier to do than going through this entire process, although I've never done anything like this, so I just wonder how hard is it to separate the silver from whatever else is mixed in with it by just melting it.

You get Stars for this topic Sir.
I will have to do some homework on my chemical reactions and the price of coins, but your presentation was clear and conscious.

Has anyone else on this thread tried this yet?

This is an excellent thread!! Stars and Flags to you, tauristercus.

I've been doing a good bit or research on extracting the gold, silver, and other precious metals from all of the computer and other electronic waste I've been accumulating over the years. The process you detail here is one of the simplest procedures I've seen yet. The use of a potato as a crucible is truly prize-worthy!

I look forward to your tutorial on gold reclamation!

For those who may be concerned with upsetting you neighbors by releasing toxic gases into their backyards, you can find plans for building relatively simple fume hoods and scrubbers.

For those posters who indicate that doing DIY silver reclamation isn't worth the time and money, I would say that your objections are noted. But that calculation is something that everyone interested in this "hobby" will have to determine for themselves. As far as my time is concerned, I think using a potato as a crucible to smelt silver is infinitely more entertaining than American Idol.

For those posters who want to reiterate all of the downsides of using Nitric Acid, and the toxicities of the various intermediate solutions, I concur. I think the OP did an excellent job of stating the potential hazards involved with performing this process. If someone has enough interest to go to all of the trouble of acquiring the equipment and supplies necessary to perform this procedure, I would hope they would do enough additional research to make sure they don't permanently damage themselves. Otherwise, there is no limit on the number of Darwin Awards that are issued each year...

With respect to destroying coins in the US, Title 18 United States Code, Section 331, addresses this issue. It appears to be illegal only when coinage is destroyed or mutilated in order to propagate fraud. Here's an interesting link: Is it illegal to destroy American Currency?.

Unfortunately Nitric Acid is rather expensive. The cost and availability of that product is the one thing that might make this process cost prohibitive. But, if you are particularly industrious, and fearless, you can make your own Nitric Acid from Sulfuric Acid, Hydrochloric Acid and Potassium Nitrate. I recall seeing a YouTube video detailing the procedure. As I write this I can almost hear the gasps of some of the more knowledgeable readers... Just remember: You too can be a member of the exclusive club of Darwin Award winners.

One last comment. If you live in the Imperial USA, your purchase of any of the above listed chemicals may get you on the DEA/ICE/FBI/Homeland Security radar. And any strange chemical smells emanating from the vicinity of your residence may elicit a visit from your local SWAT team. Such are the benefits of living in the land of freedom...

Thanks again for such a wonderfully detailed tutorial. Bravo!

Dex

Originally posted by MBUK3D
I cannot reiterate this enough. DO NO TRY THIS.

I do silversmithing.

Firstly, Silver is fine, but gold requires a licence to do anything with, technically you are breaking the law.
Nitric acid is very dangerous, when handling we use gloves, masks, aprons and a fume cupboard.
If you do it wrong the silver will be lost in the liquid and never recovered, it also will be slightly contaminated with any impurities i your method or the silver.

The easiest way to purify silver is to understand its melting point and the melting point of impurities added to the silver.

Buy yourself a crucible for £3 and use an acetylene torch.


Silver is around £22-24 on the ounce for 999/1000 quality, buy yourself a sand casting kit or an ingot casting jig and have some fun making your own bars.

Don't play with nitric acid, it burns and will continue to burn.

On Friday I saw it eat through 3mm mild steel within 2 hours and that was a 1:3 ratio to water.

edit on 19-2-2012 by MBUK3D because: (no reason given)

Oh please stop with the fear mongering Gold does not require a license and neither does nitric acid. Maybe in a few states for the acid but not in most. The instructions are concise and clear its not rocket science and he has emphasized the proper precautions.

Cool thread. I almost made 1 about this a while back.

I had a massvie amount of old phones, CPUs and other old crap full of old plated gold. I was going to use the aqua regia method with magnesium but it was quite messy and there is a large amount of e-waste involved. There is also very little gold so you need to have alot of these things.

I was never a fan of the whole silver thing but since reading this post you have given me a few ideas which I intend to follow up on.

I agree with what a few people have said on here though:

People need to find out about the coins first. It would probably be illegal to destroy old coins. Also, a lot of old coins here in the UK did not contain silver. There was only a very short period when they did.

The nitric acid is nasty #. cover your face properly as well.

I wanted to write more on this but its fairly early here and I have my son running cirlces round me!

I for one would love to read the "gold" thread.

reply to post by tauristercus


Hey what acid Do I need to dissolve gold?? I have bucket loads of old computer partts and various electronic boards/sticks with the gold connectors and have been looking for a way to process it. I have hear of something called aqua regia, is that some fancy marketing name for a simple acid?

Please make that thread. I need to pay off my probation.

this is by far the coolest most informative thread i've seen on here in a long time, awesome job! and from a fellow aussie as well!

a question though, being an aussie as well, what coins are the best to use for silver content?

also any other tips etc on what to look out for in terms of melting down for sliver?

Originally posted by jordanfutchy
I for one would love to read the "gold" thread.

Looks like there's been sufficient positive feedback to this thread to warrant me taking the time to do a similar thread on gold refining at home.
With a bit of luck (and depending on time), might even have the gold thread up and running by sometime next week.

Processing silver at home is very easy ... processing gold at home is almost as easy.

Originally posted by DYepes
reply to post by tauristercus

 

Hey what acid Do I need to dissolve gold?? I have bucket loads of old computer partts and various electronic boards/sticks with the gold connectors and have been looking for a way to process it. I have hear of something called aqua regia, is that some fancy marketing name for a simple acid?

Yep, aqua regia or "royal water" as it was once called in long ago times will be part of the process.
In my upcoming gold thread, I'll explain how to make some "royal water" and all the other bits and pieces involved in making some 24k gold of your own.

Please make that thread. I need to pay off my probation.

Now that gave me a great chuckle !

Excellent thread, one of the most informative I've read in a while

But where did you learn to do this? Are you self taught?

I laughed at you buying coins containing silver on au ebay! I do too, (You're prob the one who keeps outbidding me )

Originally posted by jewells
Excellent thread, one of the most informative I've read in a while

But where did you learn to do this? Are you self taught?

It all started off as just a bit of fun and a hobby more or less a few years back.
I must have also watched every Youtube vid on the process to get a working background on the process involved. So initially it was a bit of hit and miss, trial and error but it didn't take long to come up with that very simple, yet extremely effective routine using nothing more than common and easily found items that I used in my tutorial.

I laughed at you buying coins containing silver on au ebay! I do too, (You're prob the one who keeps outbidding me

)

Darn .... you could be right, we've probably been unintentionally bidding against each other and forcing the price up ... sheeesh
May have to come up with some kind of "secret signal" that we can use in future bids

reply to post by tauristercus


Team up and work together..
If either of you see an ebay listing that's good, then let the other know so you both don't bid on it

Great thread, have been reading from the start...

Have begun looking on ebay for such items and even went to town today to check out some possible other sources.
Has given me several interesting routes to go down especially once you've put the thread up for the gold.

Combining both of these metals in a hobby could be ok over time seeing as silver is over 650 GB pounds a kilo and gold is over 1000 GB pounds an ounce right now..

Great work..
hats off to you..