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How the Right Refining Company Can Save You Money

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Circa 2011 — the thick of the gold-buying frenzy, when prices peaked at $1,900 an ounce — “everybody became a refiner,” says Amanda Landry of Stuller. So when choosing a refining company, longevity should be priority No. 1, say Landry and her colleague Tammy Kidder, vice president, back of store. Ask, “Who’s been around awhile?” You have to trust your partner. For low-grade materials — sweeps and junk that comes off your bench — you don’t know exactly what’s in it. Until it gets converted to dollars or ounces, you’re at risk until you come to a settlement. And if a refiner goes under, your business can lose a lot of money, fast.

Frederic Goodman

1. Fire assay is a multistep process at Hoover & Strong.
2. Hoover & Strong was first certified for using recycled metals 15 years ago and continues its commitment to green processes today.
3. At Stuller, recycled precious metals are rolled through milling machines into sheets.
4. A Pease & Curren gold melt is part of the fireassay process. Fire assay recovers 20 percent more gold than other types of processes. 5. A Stuller associate prepares for the annealing process. “Being green is a main criterion we have at Stuller,” says Tammy Kidder.


Points to Consider

The more information you get on the report, the better. Spelling everything out, including the weight receipts (melt weight, assay, payout, the market) is essential, says Torry Hoover of Hoover & Strong. If you don’t understand the return or the calculation — and some jewelers don’t — call your refiner and go over the numbers. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Is the refiner using a true fire assay process? (Fire assay is a multistep process to recover precious metal, proven to recover 20 times more gold than X-ray processes and other melt processes.) All “melts” are not fire assay. Many customers are led to believe all refining is the same, says Jill Bibby of Pease & Curren.

Does the refiner use cyanide in its stoneremoval process? Cyanide is toxic, and refiners who promise quick processing of stone lots may use cyanide in their processing. “We have had customers come to us and specifically ask if we used cyanide because they have had instances where their employees have experienced light-headedness and shortness of breath after working with stones returned from a refiner that uses cyanide in the process,” Bibby says.

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Ask about containment practices. “Our ‘sweeps’ processing, as many customers call it, utilizes a slow roast to eliminate ‘spitting’ of materials,” Bibby says. “Many refiners do not utilize this type of process, and much of your precious metals ends up going out the stacks of the refiner. Lack of proper containment is a big issue with sweeps, and many customers are not aware of this.”

How can you gauge if your refiner is green? Here are a few criteria, from Hoover: “We use 80 percent fewer chemicals, and we are zerodischarge water. We were first to become SCS certified for recycled metals, about 15 years ago; first to be certified for a green refinery (10 years ago); first in recycled diamonds (five years ago); and most recently, first to bring artisanal, fair-mined gold to the United States.”

 


 

How the Right Refining Company Can Save You Money

Retailer Take

Babs Noelle
Alara Jewelry Bozeman, MT

  • Honest, fair returns: I appreciate partnering with a refiner that has a clear definition of its rate of return, so I know what to expect monetarily, before I ship. While it can be tempting to go with the highest return, I have found that all the exceptions, additional charges and fees of such offers erode at the initial rate of return in such a way that creates confusion and fosters distrust.
  • Stone removal at minimal or no charge: Particularly when I take in several large trades in a short period, I don’t want to stop to remove the stones before shipping.
  • Stone buying, sorting, tradeups: Now that my refiner has removed the stones for me, I appreciate having options regarding the diamonds. Will they buy them at a competitive rate? Will they sort them for me for my own use? Will they allow me to swap them for a new parcel of matched melee?

This article originally appeared in the May 2016 edition of INSTORE.

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VENDORS

Advanced Chemical Co.
Warwick, RI
advchem.com

The Argen Group
San Diego, CA
argenjewelry.com

David H. Fell & Co. Inc.
Commerce, CA
dhfco.com

Doral Refining Corp.
Freeport, NY
doralrefining.com

Elemetal
elemetal.com

Advertisement

G & S Metals and Refiners Inc.
Ann Arbor, MI
gsgold.com

Gannon & Scott Inc.
Cranston, RI
gannon-scott.com

Geib Refining Corp.
Warwick, RI
geibrefining.com

Glines & Rhodes Inc.
Attleboro, MA
glinesandrhodes.com

Hauser & Miller Co.
St. Louis, MO
hauserandmiller.com

Heraeus Precious Metals North America LLC
Newark, NJ
heraeus.com

Hoover & Strong Inc.
North Chesterfield, VA
hooverandstrong.com

Horizon Metals
Chicago, IL
horizonmetals.com

Jewelers Refining Group Inc.
New York, NY
jrginc.com

Johnson Matthey
West Chester, PA
jmny.com

L & L Enterprises
Kenosha, WI
recovermetal.com

Manfra Tordella & Brookes Inc.
New York, NY
mtbcoins.com

Marco Polo Precious Metals
New York, NY
marcopolopm.com

Metallix Refining Inc.
Shrewsbury, NJ
metallixrefining.com

Mid-States Recycling & Refining
midstatesrecycling.com

The National Refining Group
Commack, NY
visitnational.com

Ohio Precious Metals
Jackson, OH
opm-llc.com

Pease & Curren
Warwick, RI
peaseandcurren.com

Precious Metals West/Fine Gold
Los Angeles, CA
pmwest.us

Profiners Inc.
Hatfield, PA
profiners.com

Rapid Precious Metals
Rapid City, SD
rapidpreciousmetals.com

Republic Metals Corp.
Miami, FL
republicmetalscorp.com

Riva Precision Mfg.
Brooklyn, NY
rivaprecision.com

Ross Metals Corp.
New York, NY
rossmetals.com

Eric Ross Ltd.
New York, NY
ericrossenterprises.com

SOAccurate Group
Long Island City, NY
soaccurate.com

Southeastern Findings
Tucker, GA
sefindings.com

Stuller
Lafayette, LA
stuller.com

Myron Toback Inc.
New York, NY
myrontoback.com

Umicore Precious Metals USA
Attleboro, MA
umicorepreciousmetals.com

United Precious Metal Refining
Alden, NY
unitedpmr.com

Advertisement

SPONSORED VIDEO

Four Decades of Excellence: How Wilkerson Transformed a Jeweler's Retirement into Celebration

After 45 years serving the Milwaukee community, Treiber & Straub Jewelers owner Michael Straub faced a significant life transition. At 75, the veteran jeweler made a personal decision many business owners understand: "I think it's time. I want to enjoy my wife with my grandchildren for the next 10, 15 years." Wilkerson's expertise transformed this major business transition into an extraordinary success. Their comprehensive approach to managing the going-out-of-business sale created unprecedented customer response—with lines forming outside the store and limits on how many shoppers could enter at once due to fire safety regulations. The results exceeded all expectations. "Wilkerson did a phenomenal job," Straub enthuses. "They were there for you through the whole thing, helped you with promoting it, helping you on day-to-day business. I can't speak enough for how well they did." The partnership didn't just facilitate a business closing; it created a celebratory finale to decades of service while allowing Straub to confidently step into his well-earned retirement.

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Tools and Services

How the Right Refining Company Can Save You Money

Published

on

Circa 2011 — the thick of the gold-buying frenzy, when prices peaked at $1,900 an ounce — “everybody became a refiner,” says Amanda Landry of Stuller. So when choosing a refining company, longevity should be priority No. 1, say Landry and her colleague Tammy Kidder, vice president, back of store. Ask, “Who’s been around awhile?” You have to trust your partner. For low-grade materials — sweeps and junk that comes off your bench — you don’t know exactly what’s in it. Until it gets converted to dollars or ounces, you’re at risk until you come to a settlement. And if a refiner goes under, your business can lose a lot of money, fast.

Frederic Goodman

1. Fire assay is a multistep process at Hoover & Strong.
2. Hoover & Strong was first certified for using recycled metals 15 years ago and continues its commitment to green processes today.
3. At Stuller, recycled precious metals are rolled through milling machines into sheets.
4. A Pease & Curren gold melt is part of the fireassay process. Fire assay recovers 20 percent more gold than other types of processes. 5. A Stuller associate prepares for the annealing process. “Being green is a main criterion we have at Stuller,” says Tammy Kidder.


Points to Consider

The more information you get on the report, the better. Spelling everything out, including the weight receipts (melt weight, assay, payout, the market) is essential, says Torry Hoover of Hoover & Strong. If you don’t understand the return or the calculation — and some jewelers don’t — call your refiner and go over the numbers. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Is the refiner using a true fire assay process? (Fire assay is a multistep process to recover precious metal, proven to recover 20 times more gold than X-ray processes and other melt processes.) All “melts” are not fire assay. Many customers are led to believe all refining is the same, says Jill Bibby of Pease & Curren.

Does the refiner use cyanide in its stoneremoval process? Cyanide is toxic, and refiners who promise quick processing of stone lots may use cyanide in their processing. “We have had customers come to us and specifically ask if we used cyanide because they have had instances where their employees have experienced light-headedness and shortness of breath after working with stones returned from a refiner that uses cyanide in the process,” Bibby says.

Advertisement

Ask about containment practices. “Our ‘sweeps’ processing, as many customers call it, utilizes a slow roast to eliminate ‘spitting’ of materials,” Bibby says. “Many refiners do not utilize this type of process, and much of your precious metals ends up going out the stacks of the refiner. Lack of proper containment is a big issue with sweeps, and many customers are not aware of this.”

How can you gauge if your refiner is green? Here are a few criteria, from Hoover: “We use 80 percent fewer chemicals, and we are zerodischarge water. We were first to become SCS certified for recycled metals, about 15 years ago; first to be certified for a green refinery (10 years ago); first in recycled diamonds (five years ago); and most recently, first to bring artisanal, fair-mined gold to the United States.”

 


 

How the Right Refining Company Can Save You Money

Retailer Take

Babs Noelle
Alara Jewelry Bozeman, MT

  • Honest, fair returns: I appreciate partnering with a refiner that has a clear definition of its rate of return, so I know what to expect monetarily, before I ship. While it can be tempting to go with the highest return, I have found that all the exceptions, additional charges and fees of such offers erode at the initial rate of return in such a way that creates confusion and fosters distrust.
  • Stone removal at minimal or no charge: Particularly when I take in several large trades in a short period, I don’t want to stop to remove the stones before shipping.
  • Stone buying, sorting, tradeups: Now that my refiner has removed the stones for me, I appreciate having options regarding the diamonds. Will they buy them at a competitive rate? Will they sort them for me for my own use? Will they allow me to swap them for a new parcel of matched melee?

This article originally appeared in the May 2016 edition of INSTORE.

Advertisement

VENDORS

Advanced Chemical Co.
Warwick, RI
advchem.com

The Argen Group
San Diego, CA
argenjewelry.com

David H. Fell & Co. Inc.
Commerce, CA
dhfco.com

Doral Refining Corp.
Freeport, NY
doralrefining.com

Elemetal
elemetal.com

Advertisement

G & S Metals and Refiners Inc.
Ann Arbor, MI
gsgold.com

Gannon & Scott Inc.
Cranston, RI
gannon-scott.com

Geib Refining Corp.
Warwick, RI
geibrefining.com

Glines & Rhodes Inc.
Attleboro, MA
glinesandrhodes.com

Hauser & Miller Co.
St. Louis, MO
hauserandmiller.com

Heraeus Precious Metals North America LLC
Newark, NJ
heraeus.com

Hoover & Strong Inc.
North Chesterfield, VA
hooverandstrong.com

Horizon Metals
Chicago, IL
horizonmetals.com

Jewelers Refining Group Inc.
New York, NY
jrginc.com

Johnson Matthey
West Chester, PA
jmny.com

L & L Enterprises
Kenosha, WI
recovermetal.com

Manfra Tordella & Brookes Inc.
New York, NY
mtbcoins.com

Marco Polo Precious Metals
New York, NY
marcopolopm.com

Metallix Refining Inc.
Shrewsbury, NJ
metallixrefining.com

Mid-States Recycling & Refining
midstatesrecycling.com

The National Refining Group
Commack, NY
visitnational.com

Ohio Precious Metals
Jackson, OH
opm-llc.com

Pease & Curren
Warwick, RI
peaseandcurren.com

Precious Metals West/Fine Gold
Los Angeles, CA
pmwest.us

Profiners Inc.
Hatfield, PA
profiners.com

Rapid Precious Metals
Rapid City, SD
rapidpreciousmetals.com

Republic Metals Corp.
Miami, FL
republicmetalscorp.com

Riva Precision Mfg.
Brooklyn, NY
rivaprecision.com

Ross Metals Corp.
New York, NY
rossmetals.com

Eric Ross Ltd.
New York, NY
ericrossenterprises.com

SOAccurate Group
Long Island City, NY
soaccurate.com

Southeastern Findings
Tucker, GA
sefindings.com

Stuller
Lafayette, LA
stuller.com

Myron Toback Inc.
New York, NY
myrontoback.com

Umicore Precious Metals USA
Attleboro, MA
umicorepreciousmetals.com

United Precious Metal Refining
Alden, NY
unitedpmr.com

Advertisement

SPONSORED VIDEO

Four Decades of Excellence: How Wilkerson Transformed a Jeweler's Retirement into Celebration

After 45 years serving the Milwaukee community, Treiber & Straub Jewelers owner Michael Straub faced a significant life transition. At 75, the veteran jeweler made a personal decision many business owners understand: "I think it's time. I want to enjoy my wife with my grandchildren for the next 10, 15 years." Wilkerson's expertise transformed this major business transition into an extraordinary success. Their comprehensive approach to managing the going-out-of-business sale created unprecedented customer response—with lines forming outside the store and limits on how many shoppers could enter at once due to fire safety regulations. The results exceeded all expectations. "Wilkerson did a phenomenal job," Straub enthuses. "They were there for you through the whole thing, helped you with promoting it, helping you on day-to-day business. I can't speak enough for how well they did." The partnership didn't just facilitate a business closing; it created a celebratory finale to decades of service while allowing Straub to confidently step into his well-earned retirement.

Promoted Headlines

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