Summary for gold plating powder recovery Discussion
gold plating powder recovery after a shop fire is possible in principle, but the thread does not give a definitive yes-or-no answer. Sharad Shah asks whether 2 kg of gold plating powder stored in a plating shop would have evaporated or could still be salvaged after a fire that destroyed the line, estimating temperatures around 400 °C. The practical issue is whether the gold-bearing material survived the heat and contamination from the fire. No detailed recovery method is given in the excerpt, and no one in the visible text confirms that the gold was lost or recoverable. The safest takeaway is that the material may still be worth evaluating for salvage, but the actual recoverability would depend on the form of the powder, the fire conditions, and the extent of damage.
Q. There was a fire in a gold plating shop and the plating line was destroyed during the fire. The cause of fire was a short circuit. The plating shop was off-duty early morning but the previous night the plating shop was kept ready to operate the next shift. Entire line was destroyed as fire turned out to be a little fierce. There was a stock of gold plating powder containing 2kg of gold kept there for the processing. Is there a possibility that gold plating powder may have evaporated during the fire or would it have still remained for any salvage recovery? The temperature which might have reached during fire seemed to be around 400 °C. Can someone advise if it would be worth putting effort to salvage the same.
Sharad Shah
MOEF reg’d recycler – Bangalore, India
October 15, 2017
 | A. It should be possible to recover the gold. 400 degrees C may decompose the gold salts, but the gold should still be there, Lyle Kirman A. Hi Sharad Cyanides are destroyed by high temperatures but the gold content should have largely survived.
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Thank you so much. Your guidance has been really helpful for my client to regain some confidence.
Shah Sharad [returning]
– Bangalore, India
October 17, 2017