Buy Recycled Gold
Because of the nature of the metal trade, most precious metals have already been recycled to some degree. However, you can choose to source 100% post-consumer recycled metals which are made of second generation recycled content and may also be tracked to show this.
buy recycled gold
For over a decade, businesses in the jewellery industry have promoted recycling gold methods for more sustainable production. Now, more than ever, gold is being recycled and consumers are becoming increasingly aware of what they are purchasing. But what is recycled gold exactly? And how is gold recycled? We cover all in our guide.
Many of my customers use gold which I purchase at 93% of its spot value to pay for their job. I end up selling some of it to buy Fairtrade gold, but often I refine it into pure 24K gold and use for new jobs.
At Cooksongold, we're making a precious commitment to all our customers.Our full stocked range of gold and silver bullion products including sheet, wire, tube and grain will now be made using 100% recycled precious metals. As well as our range of gold and silver wedding rings blanks, signet ring blanks, selected findings and silver loose and finished chain
Precious metals have been a way to accumulate wealth for thousands of years. While some people may be able to accumulate large quantities in gold bullion bars, even small amounts can have value to the new or budget collector. Gold coins from a mint may be a traditional collector's route, but scrap and old jewelry can also hold their values.
Bullion is a term that applies to any bulk precious metal. Gold bullion is melted or consolidated gold that is appraised in bulk. It is assessed by weight and purity. Bullion can be newly mined gold that is first being appraised or gold that is accumulated from recovered scrap sources. In both cases, the value is based on a bulk market price instead of on the value of the item crafted from the metal.
Gold is priced based on a commodities exchange. It will vary, like stock prices, daily or even several times within the same day. Spot price is a typical indicator for the price. This is the median between buy price and sell price on these exchanges. Spot price is listed for the different purities, or karats, of an ounce of gold.
Gold's purity is indicated by the number of karats it has. Pure gold is 24K, or 24 karat. This rating means that the gold has no other metals mixed in, which makes it valuable but also malleable. Lower purities make the gold stronger, but it also will have a different spot value that is indexed to its karat number. Gold coins, like the Krugerrand, are often 22K or 90% gold, which makes them strong enough to hold their minted shape but also high in value. Jewelry, which requires more strength, is often 14 to 18 karats.
In recent years, due largely in part to the push for environmental sustainability, the demand for recycled gold has been increasing among jewelry designers, manufacturers and retailers. With growing interest in 100% recycled gold, metals companies have changed their practices to now supply customers with gold from recycled sources such as jewelry manufacturing by-products such as sweeps and polishing dust, as well as from jewelry scrap. However, due to the recent gold rush of 2020 among other factors, the supply of recycled material seems to be diminishing as less and less scrap gold is being purchased by local retail shops.
The jewelry industry has never been eager to accept change or adapt to market influences. Driven more by trends and the need for expediency when it comes to manufacturing, the current drive for recycled gold is getting more traction than previous industry changes. So why the push for 100% recycled gold?
One of the biggest concerns when it comes to mines is directly tied to financial crimes. Money laundering has been a major issue with the trafficking of gold from mines in certain regions of Latin America as well as East and Central Africa. Illegally obtained gold is mixed in with legally mined gold by melting it together to mask its origin. Criminal networks such as drug cartels, terrorists and armed groups utilize this method of laundering to fund their illegal operations.
Identifying suppliers that can ensure 100% recycled gold is paramount for companies that seek to claim their jewelry collections are made with responsibly sourced gold. But how can you know for sure the gold you are buying is in fact from recycled sources? Many refiners and metals companies continue to purchase and process mined gold. Though they are separating their production lines to help isolate the recycled gold from any mined gold, the risk of cross-contamination is always a real possibility.
The team at United consisting of executive management, customer account management professionals and compliance personnel work with customers on an ongoing basis to ensure they are conformant with the policies set forth by UPMR. Customers who send in melted materials from regions of the world identified as high risk or CAHRAs (Conflict Affected and High-Risk Areas) are required to document and photograph the jewelry scrap on a scale before melt as well as the bar on the scale after being melted. Video of the melting process is often requested to ensure compliance and to verify that the gold received does in fact come from jewelry sources and is not mixed with mining material.
Gold jewellery is a timeless gift, but gold itself is a limited resource. Rather than purchasing jewellery made of newly mined gold, consider buying pieces made from recycled gold. Mining gold is financially costly as well as environmentally costly.
Recycled gold comes from several sources. Jewellery and coins are easy sources. Recycled gold can also come from electronics sources like televisions, mobile phones, and other household electronic devices. Dentists can also recycle gold from fillings and other procedures. Older vehicles with catalytic converters and electronics with circuit boards also have recyclable gold.
Gold from industrial and electronic applications needs to be processed before it can be used to make jewellery. Usually, recyclers have to remove gold from housings and pass it through a chemical-stripping procedure. Some gold is melted down, cooled, and grinded. Fortunately, the chemicals used to recycle gold become inert through the process.
When recycling gold from jewellery or coins, the process involves evaluating the quality with an acid kit or spectrometer. Recyclers sort it by quality, then melt it in a crucible at an extremely high temperature. Then, the gold is poured into a bar shape and smelted again to burn off more impurities.
Mining gold requires moving a significant amount of earth. For example, to get 3 grams of gold for a ring, miners need to excavate six tonnes of soil. That soil is exposed to cyanide to get the gold. Plenty of unused and perfectly usable gold also exists in city dumps.
Miners use cyanide to remove gold from the ore. They use heap leaching or vat leaching. Heap leaching involves spraying cyanide over crushed ore. In vat leaching, the cyanide is mixed with ore in a tank. The cyanide is more controlled in vat leaching, but the process still creates waste which can become problematic if not handled properly.
Along with putting harmful chemicals into the ground, gold mining also involves digging large pits or shafts with heavy machinery that consumes fossil fuels. To get enough gold for a wedding band, miners need to produce around 20 tons of toxic waste. They also need to move large amounts of earth, disrupting ecosystems and animal homes. Using recycled gold slows these harmful practices.
Rather than continuing to harm the environment, those with unused gold sitting around in jewellery boxes, safes, and electronics could turn in their gold and slow the need for harmful mining to continue.
Much of the unused gold is in big cities. Rather than mining in the earth for new precious metals, urban miners can source metals - like gold - from offices, apartments, and basements. Urban mining does not involve using chemicals to extract gold from buildings and dumps. Instead, the process involves looking for it in old electronics, vehicles, jewellery boxes, and safe deposit boxes.
As personal electronics like smartphones are only used for a year or two, those devices are literal gold mines. Any smartphones or computers that end ups in landfills are treasure troves for those who want to go digging for them. People in big cities need incentives to bring the old electronics and unused gold jewellery to recycling centers so harmful mining practices become unnecessary and eventually obsolete.
According to the United States Geological Survey, approximately 244,000 metric tons of gold is circulating around the globe. Of those tons, only 3% would meet the needs of the jewellery industry. Fortunately, gold can be recycled over and over and still be just as good as it was the day it was mined. So, recycled gold is a sustainable commodity, as it never decreases in value.
By reusing gold, the environment can be protected from additional harm. Not all gold in circulation is recyclable, because it is being used or worn. But, there is plenty of unused gold that should be recycled, as it would help the environment. Because gold is valuable, families tend to keep heirlooms. So at this time, new gold is still needed because recycled gold is only filling about 30% of demand for new jewellery. Therefore, miners still need to dig for new gold.
When you buy recycled gold, you can trust that you are helping the environment. Of course, the gold had to be removed at some point in history, but new gold did not have to be mined to make your jewellery. Much like conflict-free diamonds, recycled gold protects the planet and it helps workers who might be mistreated in unsafe working conditions.
Repurposing and recycling gold benefits the artisans who make new jewellery. The ethics of recycled gold benefits communities both big and small. When you support artisans who work with recycled gold, you show your support for sustainability and you reduce the need for new mining to happen. 041b061a72