Gold Refining

Gold is usually found in mining and excavation projects that turn up the precious metal in nuggets or forms of rock ore with gold mineral (and silver for substance). Gold in its natural form however is unable to be used in production for modern day products. Investments, jewelry, hardware, and electronics, all of which gold is used for, require gold to be in a “refined” form for proper use. There are two main forms of gold refining, the Wohlwill process, and the Miller process.

Wohlwill Process- the Wohlwill process of refining results in high quality gold, but is complex to produce and is usually only involved in small scale operations. This process was invented in 1874 by Emil Wohlwill. The Wohlwill process works by dissolving gold and other metals using a cast-electric process and plating the pure gold alone on a gold cathode. When the metals are dissolved and the gold separated, the cathode is removed and melted to be made ready for use. This process results in 99.999% pure gold melting, and is used for refining in materials such as jewelry, which set standards for the purity of their gold use.

Miller Process- the Miller Process is a chemical procedure involving chlorine gas that produces gold to a 99.95% high degree of quality. Though slightly less pure than the Wohlwill process, the Miller process still produces a extremely high quality of gold and is used in situations where the exact 99.999% purity level of gold is not required or mandated. The process is especially popular for gold use in electronics, where the Miller process benefits by producing gold at high quality and more relative ease then the Wohlwill, as well as quicker turnaround times.

Southwestern sells troubled Boka gold project

Southwestern Resources Corp. will be selling it's Boka Gold project to Hong Kong. On Friday after reporting that there could possibly be considerably less gold than was reported the scandal-ridden Boka Project will be transferred to Hong Kong East China Non-Ferrous International Mineral Development Co for $9.4 million. Last July Southwestern withdrew assay results that had previously been reported siting errors in the complies gold data. It was all very reminiscent of the Bre-X gold mining fraud so nototrious in the late 1990s. Although the gold samples did not seem to have been tampered with nonetheless Southwestern stated that the gold sample data had indeed been changed. The sale of Boka to Hong Kong East China Non-Ferrous International Mineral Development Co is a most important step in Southwestern's rebuilding efforts.

Southwestern chief executive Timo Jauristo said in a statement. "As a result of these challenges, pending litigation and its current capital resources, the company did not believe that it could adequately explore and develop both Boka and its Peruvian properties."

Southwestern shares have seen a drastic decrease in value. Worth more than C$20 in early 2004 as excitement over Boka peaked, were trading at 55 Canadian cents as the Toronto Stock Exchange opened on Friday. Under the sale of Southwestern's 90-percent stake in Boka, it will also receive a 2.7 percent net smelter return royalty on gold production in excess of 6.5 tonnes. Southwestern has several projects in Peru, including the Liam gold-silver joint venture with Newmont Mining Corp.

Our refiners want you to know all about the company you choose to sell your unwanted gold and gold scrap to. Learn all about our company and see why we always are able to pay you more for your gold!