Q: Hi, I have 20 pounds of silver contacts. Please let me know if you take this material and how much my return will be. – From Dawn in Modesto, California

A: Thanks for your question! We get a range of silver contacts to refine. Your 20 pounds of material meets our volume requirements for silver contacts. Silver bearing contacts vary widely in silver content. Typically, the best and worst case scenarios are anywhere from 35 to 90 percent silver.

We can return 65% of the silver dollar value back to the customer. This percentage is due to the presence of cadmium, which emits a potentiality harmful gas when melted. If cadmium is present we must process with an oxidizing wet process. If you choose to ship your material to us for processing, we will analyze and contact you with the silver percentage before processing. Then, with customers consent, we will process and pay for the material. We work as quickly as possible for a fast turnaround for our customers. From the time that we receive your material, it will take approximately 5 business days for us to mail payment.

Thank you for your inquiry and for considering Arch!

_{* Blog estimates are given on a case by case basis and are not Arch’s final settlement price. Any prices or estimates in blog articles are based on the precious metal prices at the time of the post and can change on a daily basis as the price of precious metals change.}

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