Q & A Session on X-Ray Precious Metals testing
Aaron McDermand (President Aaron Buys Gold) Interviewed by Kyle
This is a transcript of a short chat Aaron and I had about our new X-ray testing technology, enjoy!
Kyle: Just to start….why does x-ray testing matter to the customer?
Aaron: Simply put, the x-ray machine we use allows us be more accurate about precious metal content like gold and silver, things like that. This equals us being able to give the customer better information about the content of their items and ultimately give them a more accurate and higher cash payout.
Kyle: So placing, say a piece of jewelry into the machine let’s you see what’s inside it?
Aaron: Yes, pretty much, I mean it allows us to see not only the precious metal content….gold for example. But also what else is mixed in like copper, silver or zinc. One thing the XRF machine comes in handy for is dental gold (gold crowns etc) which can be alloyed with many different things like platinum, silver, palladium or less valuable metals. With so much uncertainly, most gold buyers will just low ball offer, I mean…. pay a lower flat rate and hope they make money. But having the XRF machine allows us to pay a more fair price to customer by knowing exactly how much precious metal content that the piece contains.
Kyle: So basically, the machine allows you to buy things at a higher price than others because you can be more certain of how much gold an item contains and you are more certain of your profit margin?
Aaron: Exactly! In most cases that is true. We can pay more and buy higher volumes of metal because the machine is more accurate and faster than our competitors who use acid testing, or specific gravity (water tank test).
Kyle: What XRF machine does Aaron Buys Gold use?
Aaron: We purchased the machine brand new for Olympus instruments about a year ago, it’s called a gold X-pert XRF.
Kyle: Is it expensive?
Aaron: (laughs) Yeah it was a pretty hefty investment but has paid for itself already and allowed us to give better customer service plus it looks really cool…
Kyle: Looks cool…can you explain how it works?
Aaron: I’m not a technical guy, you know that…but basically it uses energy emitted from an x-ray to interact with the test object, the return of energy is measured by the machine and sorted into different elements and display on the machine. A 10 karat gold ring for example might register back on the machine as 41.7% gold, 58.3% c0pper…I mean this is a simplified example but pretty much what happens.
Kyle: How much more accurate is XRF testing then other methods?
Aaron: It depends but….say acid testing for example can be accurate down to only about 2 Karats on gold. So that could mean a difference of up to almost 10 percent, which seems small but of gold piles worth hundreds or thousands of dollars that can add up quickly. And that is only if the person is highly trained at acid testing, a less skilled person might be off by up to 20% or more.
Kyle: Alright, so basically the XRF allows you to pay more to the customer because you get more accurate results.
Aaron: Exactly!
Kyle: So what should people do in order to sell their gold and make sure they are getting a fair value?
Aaron: Whenever possible they should take the gold to a business that uses XRF testing technology and that uses live up to date gold prices. Even if you are not from Edmonton or just choose not to come to our business, if the company you do choose is doing those two things you should be alright.
Kyle: That’s all the questions I have for now.
Aaron: No problem, I hope this helped explain a bit more about the technology. Maybe we can do a video sometime to show people how it works….
Kyle: For sure…