How to Recycle Precious Metals at Home

Recycle your precious metal at home with a few pieces of equipment.

Precious metals include gold, silver and platinum, and are usually recycled by having the pieces of metal turned into something else. For example, a gold necklace could be melted down to form the setting for a gold ring. There are plenty of companies that recycle precious metals and will pay you for yours, but if you wish to try recycling them at home, you will need some tools, including a melting furnace, molds and creative ideas for what to do with the metal once it has been melted.

Things You'll Need

• Melting furnace
• Protective goggles
• Oven gloves
• Metal molds
• Graphite crucibles
• Crucible tongs
• Torch
• Large flat iron pan

Instructions

1. Put on your protective goggles.

2. Light the crucibles in the bottom of your furnace by placing them in the furnace and putting some crumpled newspaper at the bottom. Set the newspaper on fire, which will light the crucibles and begin to heat up the furnace. Let the furnace heat up for at least 10 minutes.

3. Clean the jewelry you will be melting. Make sure you are melting only one kind of precious metal at a time. Make sure something is 100 percent gold before mixing it with something that is not, as mixing it would devalue the higher-value gold you have. Make sure the metal is completely dry before putting it into the furnace or it could cause small explosions.

4. Place the jewelry or other precious metal objects in one of your metal molds. Do not overfill the mold, but choose a mold that will fill up three-quarters full when the metal is melted. You can weigh the metals beforehand and the metal molds will tell you how much weight to put in to fill it to a certain height.

5. Place the mold on the flat iron tray. Place the tray in the furnace. Allow the metal to melt completely. You will see it turn different colors during the process. You can take it out using tongs when it is melted, which will vary depending on the type of metal. When it is red or orange in color, it is likely melted.

6. Keep the metal in bar form until you decide what project to make out of it, or sell it based upon weight.

Tips & Warnings

• Be very careful when using a home furnace, as they get extremely hot. Wear protective eyewear and gloves at all times when working in the area. Go to the hospital immediately if burned during the process.

References

• Art Metal: A Metal Melting Furnace
• The Metal Casting: Foundry Safety