Assaying is the process of determining the purity and composition of precious metals. For international trade, independent assaying by accredited laboratories provides the quality assurance that buyers require before committing to purchase.
Fire assay remains the internationally accepted standard for gold purity determination, providing accuracy to within ±0.01%. The method involves combining the sample with lead and flux materials, heating to high temperatures, and determining the precious metal content through cupellation and parting.
ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry) provides multi-element analysis and is particularly useful for determining trace element composition. XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) analysis offers non-destructive surface composition screening.
AL AIN METALS uses independent third-party laboratories with appropriate LBMA or LPPM accreditation for all precious metal assaying. Buyers receive assay certificates documenting purity, weight and laboratory accreditation details with every shipment.