Gold? I need a reliable test kit to test for gold content. Where could I find a kit like this?

Question

I have a mysterious roll of fine wire mesh that was given to me years ago by my brother. He died in 86'. I have recently retired and am now looking into this. He said it was valueable. While it looks like it might have some gold in it the whole roll looks like brass to me. I don't have a clue(?).

Can you give me a lead on a scientific company that produces such a kit and about what I should expect to have to pay for it?

Thanks.

Answer 1

You want to do a gold assay? Assaying means the determination of the gold content of the item.

There are a number of gold assaying techniques. Some are destructive - and require part of the sample to be destroyed. These include: Fire Assay, Touchstone, Parting, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), and Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry (ICP). You probably want to use a non-destructive technique. These include:

Density – This method relays on Archimedes principal, and it may work for your wire.

Electronic Gold pen – it is possible to buy a cheap portable electronic probe or ‘pen’ that can be placed on the wires surface. This method relays on the capacitance decay principle of the metal to determine gold content.

X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF) – This would be quickest method. But, it requires specialized equipment.

Please read the paper for lost more info.

Answer 2

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