The first step in refining your trash is to make your lot completely homogeneous. The reason? Because we're going to sample it-and pay you on the basis of the assayed sample. Only if your lot is completely homogeneous will the sample accurately represent it.
Let us assume that the lot you've sent us is a "mixed" lot-a shipment in which the precious metals are mixed in with sweeps, base metals, organics and plastics. We begin by getting rid of the valueless nonmetallic bulk. We accomplish this rapidly and efficiently through a burning process, utilizing an incinerator appropriate in type and size to the material in your lot.

After your mixed scrap has been incinerated, what remains is an ash, plus bits of metal and plastic residues. Your lot is now ready for the next step-pulverizing.
Pulverizing is accomplished in ball mills-large closed cylinders containing steel balls. As the mills rotate, the balls pound the ash, crushing it to a fine powder. This powder is then separated from oversize metallics through a screening process.
Your scrap now consists of two forms-powder and metallics. The powder undergoes a final blending operation to complete the homogenizing process. It is then ready for sampling. Duplicate samples are carefully drawn from the powder so that assay results can be cross-checked to insure accuracy.

  We homogenize the metallic portion of your lot very simply-by melting it in an electric induction or gas-fired furnace of appropriate size.
(If your lot had been all metal-base bars, for example -rather than mixed scrap, it would have gone from Receiving directly to the melting furnace, with no intermediate homogenizing operations.)
When the metallics are molten, an operator draws a "dip" sample from the melt. The molten metal sample is poured into a container of water, where it instantly hardens into small spheres-representative samples of the metallic portion of your lot. Several spheres are selected for assaying, and the rest returned to the furnace.
The two sets of samples-powder and metal-are now ready for assaying.