APM adheres to the highest industry standards of accurate evaluation methods of all precious metal recovery from our valued customers. We guarantee that all precious metals are tested using the highest evaluation methods. Recovery gold, silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium are assayed in various methods to accurately and precisely evaluate each metal’s percentage of purity.

Gold Assay
Gold Extraction, also known as Gold Assaying is accomplished using a process known as “Fire Assay” which is the oldest known method of gold and silver assay and continues to be one of the most accurate. Once the gold scrap is melted, a sample is taken in a molten state and precisely weighed and recorded. The sample is wrapped in assay lead foil along with a quantity of pure silver and placed in the furnace.  All non-precious metals are absorbed by the hot cupel and the precious metals form a button within the cupel. The cupel is removed from the furnace, hammered flat, rolled thin and then heated in a porcelain crucible containing a weak nitric acid solution that removes the silver. The gold is then rinsed in distilled water to remove any residual acid and then dried. The sample of gold is now at least 99.999% pure! The sample is then weighed again. The original weight of the impure sample is divided into the weight of the now pure sample. That’s gold assay.