Simple Refining began as a family business in Cheshire in the United Kingdom. The founders saw a need to combine exceptional customer service with fair compensation for precious metals extracted from dental scrap. That goal required a simplified process for collecting dental scrap and a non-destructive process for identifying the metals.
People outside the dental industry are unaware of the materials used in constructing crowns, inlays, and bridges. Few realize that palladium and platinum are even used in dentistry. While these metals add durability, they also require special handling when disposing of them. Depending on the location, the metals may be regulated or unregulated and may often require separation from other materials. For most dental facilities, the disposal process requires equipment and expertise that is not available to them. They look to companies specializing in refining dental scrap to help.
You may not think there is much profit in extracting precious metals from dental scrap unless you follow the metal market. Gold and palladium can sell for over $1,800 per troy ounce. Even a quarter of an ounce can return hundreds of dollars. For those in the dental industry, receiving added revenue while reducing regulatory burdens makes dental scrap refining appealing.
Dental offices may have a “scrap guy” who shows up every month to collect dental scrap. The scrap is weighed, a price is quoted, and payment is made onsite. It seems great. The dentist gets paid and the scrap is removed, but the payment may be far less than the scrap is worth. Once the scrap is weighed, an estimate is made as to the type and amount of meal in the container. Payment is made based on that “estimate.”
Simple Refining’s process provides customers with the most accurate assessment of the scrap’s worth. We use XRF technology that allows us to analyze the metal content of each item. The technology uses the radiation emitted when the item is x-rayed to identify the metal. Because every substance emits different energy, the technology can identify the composition with 99% accuracy.
The process is non-destructive, meaning the scrap can be returned to the client if they do not accept the valuation. Using our process, the customer has a no-risk guarantee. They do not pay for the transport of the scrap or the XRF assessment. If they decline the evaluation, we return the scrap free of charge.
Simple Refining also has melt and assay capabilities. Although the most accurate, it is also destructive. The scrap is placed inside a crucible and heated to extreme temperatures to melt the metal. The molten metal is poured into a casting to form a bar. Determining the percentage of each metal and the weight of the bar, we calculate the market value of each metal. The melt and assay method takes more time — usually 72 hours.
