This book is the product of 50+ years of hands-on physiochemical work with both ferrous and nonferrous metals and with the metallurgy of refining, extracting, and casting. Its purpose is to cover the various methods of recovery and refining of precious metals. Both primary sources (placer gold, black sand, and ores) and secondary sources (scrap jewelry, electronic scrap, old films, buffings, spent plating and stripping solutions, catalytic automobile converters, and old eyeglass frames) are covered. The information contained in this volume is very basic and is intended for hands-on application and use. It is for nonchemist and chemist alike. I will not discuss the mathematical formulas for the various chemical reactions that take place-I leave them to the reader who wants to increase his working knowledge and understanding of chemistry. There are many courses offered in chemistry and extractive metallurgy, as well as a number of books available for self-study. The purpose of this book is to teach you how to perform various extractive, refining, and testing operations on precious metals (in various forms and states), with a resulting end product. You will learn how to perform operations in assaying and extraction, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, testing, classifying, and concentration-some of a purely mechanical nature, some of a chemical nature.

The resources race is on. Powering our digital lives and green technologies are some of the Earth’s most precious metals — but they are running out. And what will happen when they do? The green-tech revolution has been lauded as the silver bullet to a new world. One that is at last free of oil, pollution, shortages, and cross-border tensions. Drawing on six years of research across a dozen countries, this book cuts across conventional green thinking to probe the hidden, dark side of green technology. By breaking free of fossil fuels, we are in fact setting ourselves up for a new dependence — on rare metals such as cobalt, gold, and palladium. They are essential to electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, our smartphones, computers, tablets, and other everyday connected objects. China has captured the lion’s share of the rare metals industry, but consumers know very little about how they are mined and traded, or their environmental, economic, and geopolitical costs. The Rare Metals War is a vital exposé of the ticking time-bomb that lies beneath our new technological order. It uncovers the reality of our lavish and ambitious environmental quest that involves risks as formidable as those it seeks to resolve.

Written by an experienced enamel craftsperson, the book features stunning colour photography of her own work as well as that of many other enamellists, and will appeal to both practitioners and collectors alike.

As the U.S. economy struggles to recover from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, citizens across the country are searching for alternative investment vehicles. Many are finding solace in a precious metal that has been a universal measure of wealth since early civilization: gold. Investment brokers and novices alike are reaping the benefits that come with diversifying their investments. Goldâe(tm)s value is determined by a number of factors including the volume of the metal held by prosperous countries, the rarity of the metal as it is refined, and current market trends, such as inflation and the movement of the investment market. In 1910, gold was worth $20 an ounce; a century later, in 2010, the value of gold reached nearly $1,120 an ounce. This book discusses where the value of these metals first originated and how they have evolved over the course of human history. You will learn how practical uses of precious metals have directly affected their value over time and how metals like gold and silver are direct indicators of the current state of the economy. Most importantly, you will learn to recognize market trends that pinpoint the risk of inflation and the exodus from stock to precious metals that will often occur as a result. You will learn how to use mutual funds and futures to diversify your portfolio without spreading yourself too thin. With advice from dozens of financial experts and commodities traders, you will learn how to maximize your return and minimize your risk. If you are looking to diversify your portfolio and protect your investments, The Complete Guide to Investing in Gold and Precious Metals is your handbook for making the most from your investment. Atlantic Publishing is a small, independent publishing company based in Ocala, Florida. Founded over twenty years ago in the company presidentâe(tm)s garage, Atlantic Publishing has grown to become a renowned resource for non-fiction books. Today, over 450 titles are in print covering subjects such as small business, healthy living, management, finance, careers, and real estate. Atlantic Publishing prides itself on producing award winning, high-quality manuals that give readers up-to-date, pertinent information, real-world examples, and case studies with expert advice. Every book has resources, contact information, and web sites of the products or companies discussed.