SCORE!!!

Someone moved out and the owner let anyone take what they could get. I got me over a LB of silver, 20 lbs copper, 20 lbs aluminum, and many other things.

I also got about 5 lbs of X-Ray film.

Question? How much silver does the film contain...the xrays were taken 2 years ago.

Five dollars worth at the most, and thats being generous. It takes thousands of pounds of film to make it worthwhile.
Unexposed film will yield the most silver per pound, while exposed film is less. Generally between twenty cents and a dollar and of course this depends on the spot price.

I have a guy who pays 2.50 per pound Canadian Dollars for Xray films.

Either you are mistaken or he's an idiot .There is no way someone would pay that much for x-ray film and make any money.
The most per pound I have ever seen was around 1.25 and that was for green film and back last summer when silver spiked up to around eighteen dollars a troy ounce.
Unless you're talking about lithographs , then that would be more feasible.

I am talking about the black xray films...I have a quote at 2.50 CAD last week on it.

Standard, modern, rare earth, black (developed) x-ray film contains an average of 0.1 troy oz of silver per pound. At today's market, that's $1.37/pound. Undeveloped (green) rare earth film runs about 0.2 tr.oz./pound. If the film is DryView, it will run between 0.04 and 0.1 tr.oz/pound, whether developed or undeveloped. DryView uses heat for development and, therefore, no silver is washes off. Developed DryView looks the same as black rare earth. Undeveloped Dryview looks like a sheet of clear (usually blue) plastic. DryView can be distinguished by holding a lighter flame under a clear (non-black) area of the film for a second or two. If the spot turns black, it is DryView.

In most areas, there are small film buyers. They accumulate film and sell to larger companies. These larger companies accumulate 40,000# truckloads and ship to one of several large film refiners spread across the country. If you are lucky enough to be near a film refiner, you can sell for about 65%, or more, of the silver content. If not, you can sell to an accumulator and receive about 20% to 50% of the value, depending on the buyer's position in the daisy chain. Some buyers and refiners won't accept DryView, since it is more difficult to process.

2.50 CAD = 1.98 USD as of this posting. So that the two groups do not see such a large difference in numbers. There is still a very substantial difference from 1.98 to 1.25

The following chart gives the average amount of silver on various types of film. The chart represents about 99% of all the silver-bearing film in the world. Make no mistake about it, these numbers are very accurate - exceptions are rare and are usually lower rather than higher - for example, chest x-rays can run quite low. They represent 1000's of assays on millions of pounds of film. Here again, they are averages. If you sell, you will never receive these numbers. You will be lucky to get 65%.

The high price you were offered could only have been possible because of 4 things: (1) The buyer is an idiot - unlikely. (2) The film is older than 1985. Most X-ray shots have dates on them. (3) The film is Industrial x-ray film, which appears to be solid black with no margins. (4) The film is actually Litho film.

The names BMX, CMX, and NMX were terms given at that time but are still used today in the trade. Dark room scraps (DRS) are just that - screw ups, test runs, inadvertently exposed green film, etc. DRS contains regular developed black film, clear sheets with no black on them, and green undeveloped sheets. If there are no green sheets in DRS, somebody probably removed them. Undeveloped and developed DryView have the same amount of silver on them. Undeveloped DryView looks like a clear sheet of plastic - usually blue.

EDIT: As per the helpful suggestions from a couple of members, I have decided to remove the chart from this thread and give it out on a PM basis only. If you want a copy, PM me. I will give it out to anyone that has made at least 10 forum posts. I might change my mind later but, for now, that's the way it is.

Great info GSP. XXXXXXX :wink:

Post in forum book by link only :wink:

I just made some edits, Ralph. Please keep this info for forum users only. Don't spread it all over the world.

:idea:

GSP,my Dear Friend:

I can not belive what I am reading....Must anybody have 10 posts,at least,to have the right to get an information?...Forum users only?...Come on,Chris...we are all users with rights and obligations.

You have provided more than 1631 wise advices,you are one of the giants of this Forum...you are worldwide famous and finally this is what the Forum is for.... GOLD REFINERS HELPING ONE ANOTHER!.

I will love to read that nice information you have about silver contents in films,,come on,GSP,change your mind and post it here.

Have a nice day

Manuel

Everybody is world famous - in some circles!

That's right. If you want the free info that cost me 4 years of my life, that cost 10 posts. That's what the ticket costs. Cheap! You have no rights, just aspirations. Anyone who thinks they have rights is deluded.

Perhaps a way of looking at this is that as Juan pointed out GSP has given free advice over 1,631 times in an industry that is typically extremely secretive. My hat is off to him for that! His words have helped me greatly. Imagine if someone who has silver recovery as his main refining income had a neighbor that did a Google search and get data like that, then decide to compete with him causing him to lose his income, because it was now common knowledge causing profit margins to go near zero.

What kind of value can one put on the data collected on film yields that may cover as much as 40 years of experience is GSP’s case. Harold is another person with many years experience in refining that shares much knowledge here, but has no further financial interest in refining. Having sold his refining business he has so far resisted requests to write a book, he shares his knowledge for the love of the process. GSP may still have a financial interest either in doing refining or as a consultant. If you were a producer or buyer of precious metal scrap what would his experience be worth to you in determining you were not being had and received or paid fair value for wastes?

A chart like that is the kind of thing that would sell a book in and of itself. I would love to see some of our members with a lifetime of experience write books sharing their knowledge and yet receiving just monetary compensation for it. It has been some time since a good book for the layman or apprentice in refining has come out with current data, let alone on scrap available with yield data.

This forum is indeed truly amazing in the amount of information that is shared about a secretive industry and there have already been problems with people stealing and selling forum information and processes. It is an amazing thing that it is being offered to those with 10 posts or more for free. This only restricts it to active members instead of people that would lurk as a member or guest and steal it claiming it as their own work and selling it online or publishing it.

If I were in his position I don’t know that I would be so liberal in sharing such a valuable data set for free instead of selling such experience as a consultant for thousands of dollars for 1 day of his time.

Members should be grateful for the contributions that are made here. I am constantly amazed at the fact that some people feel they are somehow “owed” an answer to something by other members.

I thank those here that have contributed to my knowledge for I have certainly contributed less than I have received. It is I that “owe” a debt.

Read your PMs, Juan.

GSP,my Dear Friend:

I do appreciate that you have sent to me the chart...it is very nice....but I think you have to share this knowledge...It is very important to people who recover silver from films.What would happen if every one of us do the same about sharing knowledge?Come on,GSP,change your mind and post it here,change the format to a PDF one and sign it yourself.

Regards.

Manuel

Manuel, why is this soo important to you?
He did not have to post it in the first place.
If I sent you some imformation and said please, keep this between us, would you share it, or try to get me to share it with the world?
Randy

OZ:

This is a Forum,a place for sharing and helping...secrets are not allowed,if someone wants to make bussiness with secrets then must go to Shor International or companies like that.

I do not think that GSP has financial interest on doing refining because he is rich,he is a kind of modern King Midas,everything he touches turn to gold (or silver).

Google search is not enough to become a precious metal refiner..it needs knowledge,will and courage because a PM refiner never stops learning.

If we start with this kind of secrets the Forum is doomed to end...nobody will post information.Let us stop this policy of secrecy that only benefited a few and hurt many.

There are not coffins with saddlebags,I mean,nothing will take with us when we die but the knowledge that we provide will last for ever and ever.

Have a nice day.

Manuel

Randy:

Although it seems not,I am a discreet man so if you send me some confidential information I will not share it with anybody.Look,GSP has sent me the chart...Did I post it here?..of course I did not.I am trying to convence GSP to post it here..a hard task.

Regards.

Manuel

Juan,

This is a Forum,a place for sharing and helping...secrets are not allowed,if someone wants to make bussiness with secrets then must go to Shor International or companies like that.

If we start with this kind of secrets the Forum is doomed to end...nobody will post information.Let us stop this policy of secrecy that only benefited a few and hurt many.

Click to expand...

I think these statements are total BS. You're saying that, because I did this once, it will snowball, everybody will start doing it, and there will be no more forum. I can't remember what it's called, but that type of common faulty reasoning has a name. I remember studying it a college Logic class. I hear examples of it every day when someone uses it as a lame excuse to convince you that you're wrong..

Also, you're assuming that my knowledge belongs to everyone. I won't tell you how much that p****s me off. My knowledge is mine and mine only. Whether I give it away and how I pass it out is only my own business. Read all my 1630 posts and then tell me I don't share my knowledge.

Actually, I'm not holding the info back from anyone. If they want it, all they have to do is participate in the forum.

You're a bright guy and you've been working with silver for a long time. Have you told us everything you know about silver? Why not? Surely you know more than what little you've given us.

As far as I'm concerned, this discussion is finished. Continue it at your own peril.