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How to identify rare metals

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    miyamuto started this thread.
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    How to identify rare metals

    How do you identify magnesium, nickel and other rare metals and How do you sell it? I mean How do the scrapyard tell wich is wich?



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    Snowman18's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by miyamuto View Post
    How do you identify magnesium, nickel and other rare metals and How do you sell it? I mean How do the scrapyard tell wich is wich?
    Go to https://www.scribd.com/ and grab yourself a copy of "Hokes Testing Precious Metals"

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    If the scrapyard buys them it's because they have a test there, or perhaps an XRF gun. When you find a buyer for them they can tell you how to test and best prepare your loads.

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    ScrapmanIndustries's Avatar
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    apparently I found out today silver looks like zinc sorta but is really soft and heavy. if you file it the file tears into the metal pretty deep compared to zinc. wish i woulda known that when i was running the metals room. I used to just chuck that stuff in with the zinc or lead.

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    eesakiwi's Avatar
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    I think Magnesium is worth less than Aluminium, I just put it in with my Aluminium since it's a metal that's Alloyed into most grades of Aluminium anyway.
    ( Now I will probably get told I can get better $ for it, & Mg is not a good alloy for Aluminium. Lol)

    Silver often has a sort of rainbow look to it's tarnish, a touch of blue to it.
    The only place I have seen Silver is in electrical contacts, they also contain Cadnium, so don't breath in its fumes if you heat it.
    Older Tantinum capactors have Silver casings, look for the [ + ] sign on Tanti capactors, other capactors only have the [ - ] sign on them. The Silver ones have a phenomenal value. Only in older electrical stuff.

    Zinc ? I have only seen it in the sacrificial anodes on boats.
    Tin ? Car wheel weights, labeled [ Sn ] for Tin.
    Nickel. Not by itself, it's in nonmagnetic Stainless Steel though. That makes it worth more than Steel.

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    RLS0812's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by eesakiwi View Post
    I think Magnesium is worth less than Aluminium
    Tin ? Car wheel weights, labeled [ Sn ] for Tin.
    Real tin is over $8 /lb
    Magnesium scrap was $0.01/lb last I looked ... ~$260 /ton wholesale
    Let me look to see current wholesale prices ...

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    RLS0812's Avatar
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    Wholesale postings in the last week ...
    Magnesium scrap [sell] 1000 tons $280 ton
    Dirty aluminum scrap [sell] 40 tons $360 ton
    Aluminum UBC scrap [sell] 1600 tons $180 ton
    Aluminum 6063 scrap [sell] 700 tons $220 ton
    Some other listings for retail aluminum
    Irony aluminum retail scrap is $0.07/lb
    Aluminum rims with tire retail scrap is $0.10 /lb

    You could probably get better wholesale prices ... i do not have the time to dig through 1,000's of websites for current information

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    Quote Originally Posted by eesakiwi View Post
    I think Magnesium is worth less than Aluminium, I just put it in with my Aluminium since it's a metal that's Alloyed into most grades of Aluminium anyway.
    Zinc ? I have only seen it in the sacrificial anodes on boats.
    There are quite a few things zinc is used for. I get most of mine from sink faucets from homes (I have a plumbing client I pick up regularly from). I use an angle grinder with a thin metal cutoff blade to test the faucet pieces after I take them apart. If the cut is yellow, naturally brass. If the cut is white, it is die cast (zinc).


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