Precious Metal Refinery Near Me

by John M · Published August 3, 2022 · Updated August 4, 2022

A Precious metal refinery can be an option to sell gold, silver, platinum, Rhodium, and palladium. The prices are determined by the market conditions and will also contain an additional assay fee. In this article, I will discuss, where to find a refinery, how to sell metals to one, and address frequently asked questions. I will also share my experience with the precious metal refinery near me.

Find a Precious Metal Refinery Near Me

For a “Precious Metal Refinery Near Me”, see the map below…

What is a Precious Metal Refinery

A Precious Metal Refinery is a place where precious metals are extracted from ores or scrap metal. The metals may be purified and cast into ingots, bars, or coins. Precious metal refineries typically operate in countries with large reserves of gold, silver, and platinum.

Precious metal refineries are not to be confused with smelters or scrap metal plants. A smelter melts down the ore to extract the metal, while a refinery purifies the metal to remove impurities. A scrap metal plant simply processes metals that have already been extracted and purified.

What Industries Does a Refinery Serve?

Typically refineries deal directly with:

Dentists
Jewelers
Pawn Brokers
Industrial Companies
Domestic Mining

These businesses have well-established relationships with refineries to have streamlined transactions of selling precious metals. However, you too can deal with them directly and sell your precious metals.

How to Find a Precious Metal Refinery Near Me

The first step in selling precious metals to a refinery is to find one. The United States, Canada, Australia, and South Africa all have large precious metal refineries. To find a list of precious metal refiners in your country, simply search for “precious metal refinery” + “your country”. For example, if you live in the United States, you would search for “precious metal refinery + United States”.

Here are a few of the Precious Metal Refineries in the US

Once you have found a list of precious metal refiners in your country, the next step is to contact them and inquire about their procedures for selling precious metals.

Selling Directly to a Precious Metal Refinery

Each refinery has its procedures, but they all typically require that you bring your metals to their facility for inspection. They will refer to your metals as a “lot” and they need to be tested through a process called “assay”. The assay is the process of testing the purity of the metal. The refinery will use a spectrometer to test the purity of the metal and determine the exact value.

After the assay is complete, the refinery will make you an offer for your lot. The offer will be based on the current market value of the metal, minus the refinery’s fee. The fee is typically around 10%.

If you accept the offer, the refinery will pay you in cash or wire the money to your bank account. If you choose to have the money wired to your bank account, you will need to provide the refinery with your bank account information.

Once It’s Sold It’s Gone Forever…

Once you have sold your metals to a refinery, you will not be able to get them back. This is because the refining process destroys the metal. Precious metal refineries are not like jewelers where you can take your gold jewelry in and have it melted down and made into a new piece of jewelry.

Now that you know how to sell precious metals to a refinery, I will answer some frequently asked questions about the process.

Precious Metal Refinery Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sell my precious metals directly to a refinery?

Yes, you can sell your precious metals directly to a refinery. If you sell your goods directly to a refinery, you will be able to eliminate the middleman and earn considerably more money. However, it’s only worth it if you have enough metal to sell to cover the costs of the assay. The average person doesn’t have that much metal to sell.

What types of precious metals can I sell?

You can sell gold, silver, platinum, and palladium to a precious metal refinery. The rates fluctuate daily based on market conditions.

Is there a minimum weight of metal that they accept?

There is no minimum weight of metal that a refinery will accept. However, most refineries have a minimum assay fee that they charge. This fee is typically around $50. For most folks selling in large quantities is the best way to make it worth it to deal with a refinery directly.

How are the prices of precious metals determined?

Precious metal prices are determined by the spot price. The spot price is the current market price for the metal. Precious metal refineries use the spot price to determine how much they will pay for the metal. To see the daily price of metals, you can check here.

How is a precious metal refinery different from a smelter?

A smelter melts down the ore to extract the metal, while a refinery purifies the metal to remove impurities.

How is a precious metal refinery different than a scrap metal plant?

A scrap metal plant simply processes metals that have already been extracted and purified. Precious metal refineries purify the metal to remove impurities.

How is precious metal recycled?

Precious metal refineries recycle both gold and silver.

Here are the high-level steps of the recycling process:

Extracting the metal from ore or refining it from scrap metal
Purifying the metal to remove impurities
Recycling the metal to be reused for its original purpose.

What are the benefits of recycling precious metals?

Reducing environmental pollution
Conserving natural resources
Saving energy
Creating jobs
Precious metal recycling is good for the environment and the economy.

How do Refineries make money?

Precious metal refineries make money by charging a fee to purify the metal. The fee is typically around 10%. Precious metal refineries also make money by buying the metal at a lower price and selling it at a higher price. Precious metal refineries can also speculate on the future price of metals.

What are the risks of recycling precious metals?

There are a few risks associated with recycling precious metals:

The price of the metal may fall before the refinery can sell it.
The refining process may not remove all of the impurities from the metal.
The metal may be contaminated with hazardous materials.

Precious metal recycling is not without its risks, but the rewards often outweigh the risks.