Gold Testing Is Big Business And Niton Is The Gold Standard

With the high price and volatility of gold today, more efficient gold-testing methods are being used to establish the value of items like jewellery or coins being purchased, sold, or recycled.

Testing gold and precious metals demands accurate and reliable results to eliminate variability and subjectivity, and ensure fair transactions. 

That’s why businesses turn to our portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) analysers for fast, accurate, and non-destructive analysis of precious metals entering their shops. 

In as little as 3-10 seconds, our XRF analysers provide exact karat weight and percentages of all elements within an item they test, enabling them to detect non-standard and counterfeit gold with the accuracy of a fire assay.

The electronic testing approach also appeals to people who don’t want to deal with acids in the testing process. 

The most advanced portable electronic gold tester is an XRF. 

These battery-operated testers contain an X-ray tube and shoot a small X-ray beam at the piece being tested. 

The beam interacts with the elements in the piece and the machine reads the results. 

The PAS range of analysers for gold buyers

PAS’ XRF analysers supply concentrations for 21 elements and karat values in seconds.

Our Thermo Fisher Scientific Niton DXL and Niton XL2 precious metal and gold purity analysers are equipped with proprietary, patented AuDIT gold-plating detection technology. 

Several independent, complementary methods in the AuDIT (Au/gold Detection & Identification Technology) software work in tandem to alert you to the probability that an item is plated, regardless of the gold concentration of the plated surface layer. 

AuDIT technology works for vermeil (gold-plated silver), as well as gold-plated copper, steel, tungsten and any other non-gold substrate.

• Precious metals and gold testing machines simultaneously measure the content of all gold and precious metals without manually changing your calibration based on the metal you’re analysing
• Precisely determine the presence and concentration of more than 22 precious metal and trace alloying elements, including but not limited to gold (Au), Silver (Ag), Platinum (Pt), Palladium (Pd), Nickel (Ni), Tungsten (W), and Lead (Pb).
• Eliminate the toxicity associated with nitric acid test methods
• Capture images and focus in on small areas using our integrated camera and small spot feature (depends on model).

Niton™ XL2 Precious Metal AnalyserThermo Fisher Scientific – XRF	Niton™ DXL AnalyserThermo Fisher Scientific – Bench Top XRF
* Standard analytical range: >25 elements from S to U (varies by application). * Point and shoot simplicity—very easy to use even by nontechnical personnel * Ideally suited for retail environments * Non-destructive analysis with near-instantaneous results * Ergonomic design	* Innovative colour touch-screen display and touch-screen keyboard * Improved intuitive interface * CCD Camera * Large sample chamber with a back window for customer view * Optional small spot for the isolation of small components
Learn more	Learn more

The benefits of Niton Portable XRF Analysers

These tools offer instantaneous, accurate and non-destructive precious metals analysis.

When quick and informed decisions need to be made to ensure the profitability of a transaction in precious metals trading, or to make sure jewellery is free of toxic substances, the use of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy can be invaluable.

Thermo Scientific Niton portable XRF desktop and handheld analysers provide pawn shops, cash-for-gold businesses, jewellers, recyclers and refineries with fast, reliable and accurate results for:

• Determination of karat grade and fineness
• Analysis of all precious metals including gold
• Analysis of alloying elements like copper, zinc, nickel, etc.
• Analysis of toxic elements like cadmium or lead etc.
• Detection of gold plating presence with the patented AuDIT Technology

Unlike traditional test methods, all precious metals and alloys, in various sizes and shapes are tested completely non-destructively.

8 reasons not to use acid to test jewellery

Gold is traditionally tested by applying a small drop of strong acid to its surface, such as nitric acid. Metals tend to bubble and fizz while precious metals don’t. Despite the fact that results are generally considered reliable, there are several reasons to avoid acid and instead use a handheld analyser.

1. Counting karats with acid isn’t very accurate. It rounds to the nearest acid testing solution.
2. You must scratch the gold on a stone, so you are actually rubbing some of the gold off the jewellery.
3. Gold plating cannot be determined unless the gold is deeply scratched.
4. Using these solutions is dangerous and unhealthy. Since testing solutions contain corrosives, they must be handled and stored with extreme care.
5. Iron and steel items will pass the stone test for platinum, so you must additionally use a powerful magnet to identify these metals.
6. When testing for silver, the solution will dull the polishing of the piece, and leave a mark where the acid was placed.
7. Acid will not tell you what other alloying elements make up the composition of the jewellery.
8. Counterfeiters have managed to develop a stainless steel alloy that will acid test as 18kt white gold, but contains no precious metal at all. Many people have been duped by chains made from this material.

We do not recommend using portable XRF analysis on gold bars, and bullions. If it is used, we strongly suggest that a secondary analysis is done just to ensure the absence of thick plating or any adulteration.

How XRF in gold testing works

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy begins by exposing the sample in question to X-rays rays. 

The high-energy photons tend to knock electrons from their orbits around the nuclei of atoms in the sample as they strike it. When this occurs, the electron in the outer orbit of the atom will fall into the shell of the missing electron. 

Outer shell electrons possess more energy than inner shell electrons, so the relocated electron has an excess of energy that is released as an X-ray fluorescence photon. The sample’s composition produces this particular fluorescence. 

This spectrum is collected by the detector and converted into electrical impulses proportional to the energies of the X-rays in the spectrum of the sample. 

By counting the pulses in the emitted spectrum, we can identify the presence and concentration of the component(s) of interest within the sample. 

Each element has its own distinct X-ray signature, so we can determine which part of the spectrum is associated with that component.

Contact PAS for expert guidance about the Thermo Fisher Scientific Niton DXL or the Niton XL2, and which will best suit your gold-buying needs.

Scrap Metal Recycling – The Sorting Process Made Easy

There’s never been a more critical time to ensure accuracy and transparency when it comes to metal sorting in your scrap metal recycling process.

And, with ever-increasing competition and supplier demands, industry leaders know maintaining profitability in a volatile metal-pricing environment is crucial.

Regardless of your application, there is an industry-leading handheld XRF or LIBs analyser available to do the job, ensuring the alloy grade and composition meet your specifications.

In both cases, these methods of metal testing are more effective, accurate and efficient than a variety of other more labour intensive, time-consuming and destructive methods.

To learn more about what XRF is and how it works, read the XRF Technology ebook from Thermo Scientific.

Scrap Metal Recycling Is Big Business

Australia generates 40% of its waste from construction and demolition. Scrap metal is included in this amount.

Recycling metal is important because it reduces the amount of:

· Waste sent to landfill

· Mining needed for new metals

· Air and water pollution

· Energy needed to create new products (versus from virgin materials)

Stainless steel, copper, bronze, brass, aluminum and iron can be recycled. The metals in your old appliances, cars, planes and building materials can be recycled to make new ones. The metal in many food and drink cans is usually already 100% recycled.

Facts about Metal, Aluminium & Steel

350,000 aluminium cans are produced every minute

1 tonne of recycled steel saves 1,131kg of iron ore, 633kg of coal and 54kg of limestone

95% energy saved creating cans from recycled aluminium

Source: SUEZ

The price of scrap copper per kilo is worth the most money. This is due to the amount that’s used in our society and the cost of mining and processing copper into products such as pipes and wire. Here’s a rough guide to various scrap metal prices. Please note, this is a guide only, and prices can fluctuate quite wildly.

The Easy Way To Identify And Sort Scrap Metal

Globalised trade in scrap metal, alloy stock and finished products has resulted in increased costs of alloy mix-ups for suppliers, distributors and industrial consumers. 

So, in order to ensure quality, safety and regulatory compliance, the exact chemical composition of scrap, including the existence of contaminants or hazardous elements, must be determined.

Scrap metal recyclers use handheld PXRF to:

• Rapidly sort mixed metals
• Positively identify numerous alloys, including light alloys
• Guarantee the quality of their product to their customers

What is metal waste?

We use metals in many everyday products and applications. Vehicles, trucks, trains, train tracks, ships, aeroplanes, white goods, cutlery, pots and pans all contain metal.

Metals can be classified as “ferrous” and “non-ferrous”. Common ferrous metals include carbon steel, alloy steel, wrought iron, and cast iron. Non-ferrous metals include aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, and tin.

The Process of Metal Recycling

The process of metal recycling involves these stages:

• The metal is collected by scrapyards and sorted into bins. Non-ferrous metals that contain steel or iron are considered scrap steel.

• Stainless steel and other valuable nickel alloys are sorted into their specific alloy grade to increase value.

• Metal recycling centres sell their scrap to super collectors, which shred it and then melt it in furnaces at high temperatures to produce blocks, ingots, or sheets to make metal products.

In spite of the energy costs involved in recycling scrap metal, the energy needed is less than that needed to make it out of raw materials.

Recycling cans, for instance, can save 75% more energy than producing steel from raw materials. 

With around 90% of steel products being recycled in Australia, every tonne of recycled steel is equivalent to 1130 kilograms of iron ore, more than 630 kilograms of coal and over 54 kilograms of limestone being saved from being mined.

How PAS Products Slash Your Sorting Time

Niton XRF analysers are the ideal tool for screening incoming scrap, as well as providing quick, non-destructive chemistry and grade verification of chill castings and final product.

The Katana KT-100 LIBs analyser offers superior light element identification in metal and alloy applications to ensure profitability and product quality, without the radiation aspect of XRF. 

The Niton Apollo analyser offers carbon analysis in the field for specific material sorting

Elements such as magnesium (Mg) and aluminium (Al) can now be accurately identified in 1-2 seconds.

PAS is an accredited supplier of both the Niton XRF and the Katana LIBs ranges for positive material identification (PMI) and non-destructive testing (NDT). 

We provide expertise at every stage of the purchasing process, with training, compliance, factory guaranteed service and product support.

Although some alloys are detectable via either instrument, clear differences and expert advice will determine which instrument is best for you. Contact us today for advice.

Explore our full range.

Sorting scrap metal in the recycling industry has advanced. To boost your workplace efficiency and accuracy, contact PAS for the best product to suit your needs.

Scrap Metal Recycling And Waste Links

Australian Council Of Recycling

National Waste Recycling Industry Association (NWRIC)

Australian Metal Recycling Industry Association Victoria

Waste Contractors & Recyclers Association of NSW (WCRA)

NSW Police Force: Scrap Metal Industry 

Scrap Metal Industry Public Register

NSW Legislation: Scrap Metal Industry Act

ABLIS: Registration of a Scrap Metal Dealer – New South Wales

EPA: Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy

NSW Fair Trading: Scrap metal exemption certificate

NSW Parliament: Scrap Metal Industry Bill 2016

Portable XRFs – The Big Guns In Mining And Exploration

Any mining company or contractor should conduct a due diligence phase prior to a property acquisition or before digging into a site.

Similarly, logging drill core to determine its geochemistry at the feasibility study stage makes sense to avoid any surprises further into the project.

But these phases take up valuable time, resources and money.

Thankfully, the mining and exploration industries continue to develop, and we now have specialised hand-held X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) devices to make determining the geochemistry of rock and soil samples easier and faster.

There are a few Portable XRFs (PXRFs) on the market, but some are better than others.

Meet The Niton XL5 Plus

As a geochemistry tool, there’s something special about the Thermo Fisher Niton XL5 Plus. 

Aside from its striking colour and sleek design, it’s one of the best handheld elemental XRF analysers out there to support your field-based decision making or to offer enhancement to any multi-element geochemical data plotting.

Combined with the right sample handling and protocols, it can save time, lower your costs and add value to your mineral exploration and mining settings when it is used in a fit-for-purpose application.

Benefits of portable XRF analyser

• Quantify up to 41 elements simultaneously
• Most analysis is performed within seconds – this increases your productivity
• You have the performance of a lab-grade EDXRF spectrometer in the palm of your hand
• It’s Intuitive, easy-to-operate interface
  WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS – built-in
• Hot-swappable battery, can be charged by UPS trickle-charge or 12V DC
• Has an internal system check standard
• Accessories built for the industry
• Backed by local support, knowledge, service
• Large, installed customer database

Features of portable XRF analyser

• Easy to use
• Lightweight
• Cost-effective
• Nondestructive
• Accurate results
• Instant results
• Can be used on-site

Chemical/ Elemental analysis is achieved through Thermo Fisher Scientific’s range of Niton hand-held XRF analysers.

Why You Need This For Mining And Exploration

There are many mining companies – across nickel, iron ore, uranium, gold and base metal mines – already using portable XRF analysers in their day-to-day processes as a screening tool.

They do this because they know it saves them valuable time and money.

Broad Mining Applications Of A Portable XRF

• Mineral exploration
• Environmental and mine closure
• Mineral processing and geometallurgy
• Mining and grade control

Let’s break this down, and dig deeper into some more specific uses.

Soil Sampling

This is usually one of the first stages of any exploration project.

Grids are often set up where samples are collected on a grid spacing, so with the PXRF you can easily take samples, sieve it, analyse it and move on to the next sample, getting through these large grids much faster than with traditional methods.

You can store the data in the analyser or send it to the field camp or lab for further analysis.

Real-time analysis with handheld XRF analysers is also a good way to prequalify samples for off-site lab analysis to ensure only the best samples are evaluated, saving you money.

XRF analysers can be used for in-quarry exploration and evaluating the composition of raw materials such as phosphate, sulphides, potash, gypsum and limestone for industrial use.

Real-Time Field Mapping

When you’re at ground level with your geopick, rock sampling, you can use the PXRF to test those rock-chip samples immediately to find out if certain elements are present.

You can then use the onboard GPS with the analyser and start creating contour maps of concentrations of the particular elements you are searching for before you even start to dig in an area.

PXRF analysers quickly deliver exploration data for quantitative geochemical analysis of metal concentrations for all types of mine mapping.

Again, you can then send that data to the field camp or the laboratory for easy collaboration and informed decisions.

The PXRF can help you map dangerous or previously inaccessible sites.

Portable handheld analysers can be operated virtually anywhere onsite and easily accommodate a wide variation of samples.

In The Drilling Phase

From a reverse circulation drill rig, your sample return can get you a read on any pathfinders or heat values.

This helps you decide whether to keep drilling or to stop drilling in an area.

The beauty of these samples is they are very homogenous.

Samples can be pre-screened with XL5 and you only need to send samples that have got known mineralisation back to the lab for testing. This can save you substantially, considering the lab costs involved.

Oil And Gas Exploration

XRF analysers are valuable for upstream exploration and production, offering rapid, onsite chemical analysis of rocks, cuttings, and cores that can be used for identifying formations and determining mineral composition of the rock.

Users can infer mineralogical properties favourable to oil and gas production from data collected in real time.

This provides qualitative and quantitative analysis for process and quality control, and rapid inspection and analysis ensures product chemistry specifications are met.

Portable options are lightweight and easy to use, delivering non-destructive analysis and lab-quality results in the field.

What is geochemistry and why is it important?

Geology studies the structure of the Earth, whereas geochemistry is concerned with the chemical processes that occur in the formation of rocks and minerals.

Geochemistry is vital to our understanding of processes that produce economic concentrations of minerals whether by hydrothermal, magmatic, metamorphic, hydraulic (both surficial and subterranean) or weathering agents, or all of these.

Exploration geochemistry is a spatial sampling and analysis methodology used when searching for mineral resources and routinely for petroleum.

Geochemistry can also help us identify some of today’s most important environmental problems, such as global warming, ozone depletion, and soil and water pollution.

What Makes The Niton XL5 Plus So Special?

The Niton XL5 Plus offers the latest in technology, being the only 5 Watt system available, providing best limits of detection in the range. Plus it’s smaller, lighter, and even more ergonomic.

With it you can obtain geochemical data in seconds and in situ. It’s built for the most demanding analytical applications.

The XL5 Plus allows the x-ray source and fluorescence detector to be closer to the sample, improving limits of detection and shortening measurement time, especially for light elements.

As well as metals, the XL5 Plus measures the elemental composition of scale, sludge, oil, powders and slurries.

Other Key Features Of The XL5 Plus

• Vivid navigation; customisable user profiles
• Micro and macro cameras
• Advanced analytical performance
• Smaller, faster, lighter
• Segment leading light element performance
• Customisable for individual applications

A special mining mode lets users determine the concentration of elements from Mg to U in various types of geochemical materials.

How XRF Technology Works

XRF occurs when a fluorescent (or secondary) x-ray is emitted from a sample that is being excited by a primary x-ray source.

The detector is responsible for determining the elements present in a given sample by accurately and nondestructively “reading” the fluorescent x-rays.

When the characteristic x-rays enter the detector, their electromagnetic energies are converted to electrical pulses. These pulses are then sorted into element channels in a Digital Signal Processor (DSP).

Next, the “counts” from each element are sent to the microprocessor, which contains the algorithms for calculating the concentration of each element from the count rate data.

This makes it substantially advantageous in mining operations, because it provides immediate feedback and allows for quick decision making, including:

• Whether to stop or continue drilling
• When to make equipment relocation decisions
• Where to focus on the grid
• When to select a sample for laboratory analysis

Thinking about implementing XRF technology to your mining analysis or inspection process? Speak to our team of specialists at Portable Analytical Solutions to find out how the Niton XL5 Plus is best suited to you or your company’s needs.

Portable Analytical Solutions (PAS) offers multiple analysis options for your mining and exploration projects.

Related Resources:

Applications Of PXRF In The Field
XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) Further Explained
Eureka! Portable XRF And Gold Exploration