Our

Process

 

As an EPA-permitted operation, Mid-States Recycling & Refining provides proper handling and recycling for all of your post-cremation metal. Whether it's precious metal dental prosthetics, pacemakers or non-precious implant prosthetics, we are ISO 14001 compliant.

We provide complimentary large and small collection containers to gather and store your metals. When you’re ready to ship them back, MSRR covers the shipping and insurance costs.

When your container arrives at our plant in Des Plaines, IL we start the actual process of recycling your metal. Our system accurately tracks your metal from collection through the complete refining and recycling process. The end result is a homogenous metal bar that will be analysed to determine its exact composition in order to calculate its true value. 

Scroll Down to See Each Step

 

1-Receive, Log and Track

  1. When the containers arrive at our facility, we log in the customer’s shipment, which includes creating a customer profile and noting exact weights.
 

2-Sort

The customer's lot goes into the sorting room where metals are sorted according to their type. (e.g. Implants, dental, medical)

 

3-Mix

Copper and flux are added to precious metals prior to smelting. Copper is instrumental in helping all metals to alloy with each other, which assures the best-possible homogenization. 

 

4-Smelt

The appropriate sized furnace is selected based on weight and metal type. The mixture is smelted (liquified by heat) into a homogenous bar.

 

5-Sample

During the smelting we take a “pin” sample of the liquid metal.  We take the sample material and create four specimens that are respresentative of the whole bar. One each for the lab, an umpire (if ever needed), a reserve and one for the customer.   The assay is necessary to to determine the exact composition of the bar. 

 

6-Pour

The molten metal is poured into an appropriate sized mold for cooling and hardening. 

 

7-Assay

Using one of the samples, an assay is performed to determine the precise metal composition of the bar.  We have the ability to perform a quick X-ray fluorescence analysis in the presence of our customers for immediate results.  These results can be used to calculate reimbursement while the client waits. The quick assay is in close range of the final assay which is performed in our in-house lab.

 

8-Reimburse

We then take the percentages of metal determined by the assay and divide them by the weight of the bar to determine the exact amount of each metal. We reimburse customers based on the publicly published market prices for each metal.

 

9-Separate

The homogenous bars will then go through a chemical separation process in order to individualize each metal to a fineness of 99.99% purity.

 

10-Trade and Repurpose

The recovered metallics are then marketed to end-user fabricators who make value-added products for a number of industries like jewelry, dental, aerospace, nanotechnology and medical, to name a few. Whether for fine bullion or industrial applications, the metals we recycle are truly repurposed.