WHAT HAPPENS TO GOLD AFTER
YOU SELL IT?

Why People Sell Gold

Before we follow its pathway, let’s consider why gold gets sold in the first place:

• It’s unwanted, broken, or out of style.
• To free up cash quickly
• To liquidate part of a collection or simplify assets.
• Because of depreciation in associated jewellery craftsmanship
• For estate purposes or inheritance settlement

Once you hand over your gold whether in store, by post, or via an online buyer, you begin a chain of processes aimed at converting it from “jewellery metal” or “scrap” back into refined, usable gold.

Step 1: Assessment, Sorting & Testing

The first stage after purchase is rigorous inspection and separation. The buyer or refining partner will:

• Remove non-gold parts: gemstones, clasps, non-metal pieces.
• Test for purity (carat/fineness): using XRF (X-ray fluorescence), acid tests, or fire-assay sampling.
• Classify by quality: 9ct, 14ct, 18ct, 22ct, 24ct, plus gold-plated or lower grade material.
• Weigh accurately: the gross and net weights.

This helps establish how much pure gold is present, and how much is alloy.

Step 2: Melting & Smelting

Once sorted, the gold (and gold alloy mix) is melted in a furnace. Temperatures exceed gold’s melting point (~1,064 °C). The molten mass allows:

• Alloying elements and contaminants to separate.
• Use of flux agents to bind impurities into slag, which floats off.
• Homogenising the molten metal into a more uniform composition

This smelting stage prepares the metal for chemical refining.

Step 3: Refining & Purification

Smelting alone doesn’t produce fully pure gold. Refining is needed to reach high fineness (e.g. 99.99 %). Key techniques include:

• Miller (chlorination) process: Chlorine gas is bubbled through molten gold, converting many impurities into metal chlorides, which separate out. This yields ~99.5 % purity.
• Wohlwill electrolytic process: A high-purity gold anode is dissolved and plated to a cathode. This can push purity to 99.99 %.

At the end of refining, you have fine gold (often labelled 999.) essentially pure gold, ready for reuse.

Step 4: Casting, Fabrication & Redistribution

Once refined, the gold enters one of several possible routes:

1. Bullion bars / ingots
   The refined gold may be cast into bars or ingots of various sizes (kilobars, 100g bars, etc.) for storage, investment or resale.
2. Alloying for jewellery manufacture
   Some of the pure gold is mixed with other metals to create jewellery alloys (e.g. mixing with silver, copper, platinum) and then used to manufacture new pieces.
3. Industrial, electronics or dental uses
   Gold is indispensable in certain industries – electronics (contacts, plating), medical devices, dentistry, aerospace, etc. Some recycled gold filters into these streams.
4. Minting new coins
   Refined gold may supply national mints or private mints making bullion coins and commemorative pieces.

The Bigger Picture: Recycling, Supply & Sustainability

Gold has a unique property, it does not degrade. It can be reused indefinitely with no loss of its chemical qualities. That makes recycling gold highly attractive.

Recycling & Supply Contribution

Scrap gold is key to the global gold supply.

According to Royal Mint, substantial portion of annual gold demand is met from recycled sources, mostly from jewellery and electronics.

Environmental Benefits

Recycling gold cuts down the environmental impact of mining – less digging, less energy use, fewer toxic byproducts, and lower carbon emissions.
In the UK, innovation is driving this shift. The Royal Mint, for example, has opened a recovery facility in Wales that extracts gold and other precious metals from discarded circuit boards. Each year, it processes about 4,000 tonnes of boards, recovering gold, silver, copper, and palladium, while also recycling the plastics.

What You Should Know (Risks, Delays & Transparency)

While the journey of your gold is quite structured, there are important practicalities to be aware of:

• Losses in processing
  No process is 100 % efficient. Some gold is lost in slag, residuals, or in mixed alloys that are uneconomical to extract.
• Time delays
  The refining and redistribution pipeline may take weeks to months before your sold gold reappears on the market.
• Refiner reputation matters
  A reputable buyer partners with clean, certified refiners. Always ask about traceability, ethical sourcing, and how they handle impurities.
• Pricing transparency
  The price offered to you is typically below “spot” since the buyer needs margin to cover processing losses, refining, logistics.
• Traceability and “ethical gold”
  Some customers care about gold’s provenance recycled or mined. A clear chain of custody helps support responsible sourcing.

Summary: Gold’s Ongoing Life After You Sell It

When you click “Sell” on a gold item, the story doesn’t end, it just begins a new chapter. Your gold enters a rigorous path of sorting, smelting, refinement, and redistribution. Depending on market demand, it may become new jewellery, bullion bars, electronic components, or even parts of a minting operation.

Because gold doesn’t degrade, the same atoms may be in use for centuries and could have passed through many hands – including yours.

By selling responsibly, you contribute to a circular gold economy, one that reduces mining pressure, lowers environmental impact, supports transparency, and keeps precious metal alive and in circulation.