Scrap gold and gold nuggets are close to pure metals, but need to be refined further to get the best price. This flux is economical to use. Just mix equal weights of flux and metals, then fire in your furnace.  No need to process various Karats separately. Mix 10K, 22K, 18K or anything else and it all refines the same.

This flux will refine your gold and leave base metals in the slag. Silver is also left in the slag, and can be recovered by grinding the slag, panning the metals from the grindings, and smelting with Silver Refining Flux. There is no lead or lead oxide (litharge) in this formula.

Now includes a free guide to smelting with hints and tips, where to get spot prices on precious metals, and a list of refiners that will give you top dollar.

Set the furnace at 2,000 degrees F. and run for 30 minutes after reaching temperature.

After smelting, the melt can be poured into an ingot mold, or it can be poured into at least a foot of water. The slag will freeze instantly and separate from the gold. The gold will freeze into random shaped nuggets which can be made into jewelry. Always wear safety glasses.

Common Mistakes: Do not attempt to smelt with a propane torch or an oxy/acetylene torch. To work properly, the entire mix of gold, flux and crucible must be heated evenly. A propane torch only heats one area at a time, and will not work. An oxy/acetylene torch produces temperatures above the vaporization point of gold, and can result in a total loss of your gold.

Always smelt in an electric furnace or gas fired furnace capable of 2,000 degrees F. A kiln designed for firing ceramics may not get hot enough. Of the two types of furnace, the gas type is preferred. Refining fluxes are aggressively corrosive at high temperatures, and can destroy the heating elements in electric furnaces.

Inadequate Ventilation: Although Scrap Gold & Nugget Refining Flux is lead-free, and thus safer to use, remember that gold often contains other elements that are harmful. Zinc is the most common impurity, and the vapors are toxic. Gold refining fluxes, including this one, are aggressively corrosive, and the fumes will cause lung damage.

If you smelt indoors, powerful ventilation is mandatory. Do not rely on the fan above the stove top. The most dangerous stove top fans are the ones often seen in apartments, which are just a filter and a fan. That type only spreads the fumes. This is not a wise area to save money. A fireproof fume hood is a smart investment. Remember that no amount of gold is worth being injured for.

If you smelt outdoors with a gas furnace, do not be tempted to watch the melt through the hole in the lid of the furnace. If you get that close you are in the path of the exhaust fumes, and could be hurt. Pick a safe place upwind and away from the furnace to monitor it. Once the process starts, there is nothing you can do to help it, including stirring the melt or adding flux.

Ingredients: There is a school of thought among those who manufacture fluxes that the ingredients should be kept secret. I strongly disagree. If I am going to heat something to 2,000 degrees in my lab, I want to know exactly what is in it and what the dangers are. If I have a spill, I want to look up the ingredients on msds dot com to know how to safely deal with it. In the interest of safety, here are the ingredients of the Gold Refining Flux:

Anhydrous Borax      Sodium Carbonate      Silicon Dioxide

Manganese Dioxide       Calcium Fluoride               Calcium Oxide

There is no lead or lead oxide (litharge) in Scrap Gold & Nugget Refining Flux. If you add lead or lead oxide to act as a collector metal, it will only add another step. That step is cupelling the button to remove the lead. Using silver as a collector metal will produce more silver in the slag, and none in the button.