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Could Refining Gold At Home Be A Hobby That Pays For Itself?

6 November 2015

Micheal Wagner

If you've always been interested in gold as an investment vehicle during times of economic depression, you've likely become enthralled with both the physical and financial appeal of this precious metal. Refined gold holds an allure shared by few other earthly items, and has outlasted paper currencies issued by dozens of now-defunct countries. You may be interested in learning how to refine gold at home and sell it for a profit -- but reluctant to invest thousands of dollars that may prove a net loss. Can at-home gold refining become a hobby that pays for itself and turns a small profit? Read on to learn more about what you'll need to get started in the gold refining business. 

How is at-home gold refining performed?

There are several effective ways to refine gold without investing in heavy-duty industrial equipment that would require the construction of a garage or separate facility. In fact, most of the equipment you'll need to melt, process, and mold gold can be stored in a small corner of your existing garage or basement.

Refining gold is a universal process -- while the vessels and methods differ, at the most basic level you'll need to melt the gold, add catalysts to help separate pure gold from additives, filter out these impurities, and pour the refined gold into a mold to harden. You'll need a source of ultra-high heat, personal protective equipment, and some fireproof containers and shields that will help protect your working area (and your own body) from the potential damage that can be caused by molten metal and corrosive acid.

You may be able to glean this equipment at a low cost from industrial auctions or by shopping estate sales in rural communities. In other cases, you'll likely be able to make do with garage sale acquisitions until your hobby begins yielding enough of a profit to invest in more state-of-the-art equipment. 

Can you make money by refining raw or recycled gold? 

Once your initial setup is completed and you've successfully refined scrap gold you gleaned from around your home, you may be hungry for a larger and more profitable project. Whether you're planning to refine gold to keep for yourself and sell when the market is right, or wish to sell refined gold bullion to metal dealers for an instant profit as quickly as you can make it, you'll likely be able to earn money nearly immediately after beginning this hobby. However, the profit margin you'll achieve largely depends on the price you'll need to pay for raw gold.

The best sources for inexpensive unrefined gold include garage sales, jewelry auctions, and pawn shops. In many cases, you'll be able to get junk jewelry with a relatively high gold content for pennies on the dollar. You may also want to investigate the cash prices for scrap gold in your area and determine whether your lower refining cost would allow you to undercut this price by a wide enough margin to attract customers to an unknown entity over a shiny storefront. These "cash for gold" shops generally ship off this scrap gold for refining at a much larger facility, adding additional cost and time to the process you'll be able to skip as a hobbyist gold refiner. 

Depending upon the geography in your area, you may also be able to pan for gold on your own property (or in public parks where this activity is legal as long as it doesn't disturb wildlife). While most homeowners won't strike it rich while gold panning on their own residential property, for some this can be a viable source of pure gold at no cost.

Click here for more information on scrap gold buyers and gold refining.

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