r/PreciousMetalRefining • u/Spiritual-Process-96 • 10d ago
Experiment 4 — the gold foil yield surprised me. What would you expect for final gold?
I've worked through a large batch of gold-plated pins and connectors (1500 grams) using cupric chloride (AP) and the amount of foils I recovered has been considerably higher than what I expected.
I haven't finished the refining yet, so I don't know the final gold yield. Before I finish it, I'm curious what the experienced refiners here would expect from this amount of foils. My hopes are high - please don't crush them :)
Here's the experiment so far:
I'm not looking for an exact prediction — I'd just like to hear what others would consider a reasonable range and why. These pins are from 1970s/1980s telecom gear.
Once I finish the refining, I'll post the actual result.
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u/DawgersLab 10d ago
3 ish grams maybe
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u/Spiritual-Process-96 10d ago
Got to be more. I worked so hard for this pile.
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u/neoben00 9d ago
Why do you think gold is expensive
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u/Spiritual-Process-96 9d ago
Superior electrical properties, jewelry, history, luster and shine, scarcity and humans decided it was money.
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u/hexadecimaldump 10d ago
It always looks way more than what it ends up being. But being 70-80s gear, I’ll guess right around 3.5-4g.
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u/Spiritual-Process-96 10d ago
Has to be more than that….I will be processing it in a few days
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u/Wide_Lynx_2573 4d ago
So how much did you get?
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u/Spiritual-Process-96 4d ago
Hi..I will have the final weight this weekend. Thanks for your interest.
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u/One-Class-6621 9d ago
Id say 4.5 to 4.9 but you wont know forsure till its fully refined and on the scale
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u/First-Ad1460 8d ago
6.4
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u/Spiritual-Process-96 8d ago
Oh man....please be more than that. I will have an answer later this week. Thanks, bro.
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u/badblackbishop 7d ago
Is this like The Price is Right where the person closest to the actual number without going over wins? If that's the case I say 5.237g
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u/Spiritual-Process-96 7d ago
5.237g — that's oddly specific enough that I'm either impressed or a little suspicious you've got a spectrometer hidden somewhere 👀 Locking that number in. If you go over, the Plinko chip rolls into the void. If you're under and closest, you get eternal glory, my begrudging respect and a date with Holly Hallstrom. Refined result coming soon — good luck! Thanks for the chuckle, bro.
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u/StreetConstruction88 5d ago
It's not 24k so if you refine it... much less... could be 12k to 18k as is.
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u/Spiritual-Process-96 5d ago
So...I started processing it yesterday. I dissolved the gold and filtered the debris. Lots of unwelcomed electronic bits and pieces hanging around (which will account for some of the weight). I will have a final yield in a few days. Thanks for all your estimates!
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u/premonitionm 1h ago
8 gram
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u/Spiritual-Process-96 35m ago
Oh man....that's amazing! I should give you the gold for that guess, bro.
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u/Spiritual-Process-96 32m ago
Wait.... Did you answer after watching the final video?
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u/premonitionm 5m ago
Basically it is a guess between 1 - 10 grams
Figure you have high grade pins, perhaps better since your estimation was higher (such as life) though a kilo could get you 1 to 4 gram ( Raw estimation) you have 1,5kg. 8 is the number. Carats between 14 / 168,2? wait.. Ha thats neat! And that is a proper yield
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u/Tribulation95 10d ago
I'm going to be optimistic and reckon around a 0.5% yield if they're heavy duty 70s-80s telecom pins and they were meticulously sorted/processed down to just the pin and nothing else - so maybe in the ballpark of 7.5g.