Q: How Much Gold Do You Lose When You Melt It Down?

A: Typically, when melting gold, you can expect a loss of around 0.1 - 1%. This loss, known as "melt loss," occurs mainly due to impurities burning off during the melting process. For example, if there are small amounts of other metals alloyed with the gold or surface contaminants, they will be removed as the gold reaches its melting point. Also, a tiny amount of gold may be lost in the form of vaporization at high temperatures, though modern melting equipment is designed to minimize this. However, the exact amount of loss can vary depending on the purity of the initial gold, the melting method used, and the efficiency of the equipment. By vacuum melting, it’s treated as zero loss.