How to Convert Placer Gold to Ingot
Since the beginning of recorded history, gold has been a highly valued precious metal. To produce gold ingot, solid gold is heated to its molten state and poured into a mold and left to cool. With the right preparation, and a few tools, you can take placer gold in the form of gold nuggets, gold flakes and gold dust and transform it into ingot. Ingot molds come in specific weights, measured in troy ounces, the official measure for gold weight.
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Things You'll Need
- Heat resistant gloves
- Placer gold
- Ceramic crucible
- Propane torch
- Ingot mold
- Bucket filled with water (optional)
- Soft cloth
Instructions
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1
Make sure gold is clean of surface dirt. Put on gloves, and place gold in the crucible. Verify that the crucible has enough volume to hold the melted gold.
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2
Heat the ceramic crucible with a propane torch. Be patient: Gold's melting point is 1,063 degrees Celsius, or 1,945.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
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3
While tightly holding onto the crucible's handle, pour molten gold through the spout of the crucible into the ingot mold.
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4
Allow it to cool. To expedite cooling, you can drop the mold into a bucket of water. Use extreme caution if you complete this optional step; dropping the mold into the water will result in a great deal of steam.
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5
Remove the gold from the ingot mold. Wipe it off with a soft cloth. Proceed with caution during this step just in case the bar has yet to completely solidify.
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Tips & Warnings
There are two main methods used to produce gold ingot. Casting, the method discussed here, is the most efficient and popular method. The other method, minting, involves hand-cutting gold into ingot bars.
A number of fine tool shops sell ingot molds.
Scrap gold (from old jewelry) can also be used to make ingot. The method we discussed here, using placer gold, has a few caveats. Placer gold in its natural form is almost always in an alloy. Most commonly, that alloy is silver. Silver is less valuable than gold, and the amount of silver in a sample reduces its value. There is a rating scale that determines the amount of silver in a sample, called a "fineness scale." The scale ranges between 0-1,000. For example, a gold sample with a fineness of 750 would be approximately three-quarters gold and one-quarter silver. Commercially produced gold's fineness is enhanced through a purification process. Purification is far too complicated, and risky, to undertake at home.
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