Rio Grande Metals

Yes. Please put each metal type (silver/gold-filled/10K/14K/18K/platinum etc.) in a separate zipper-style bag.

Please Note: Do not use tape or any other adhesive to seal the bag—scrap can get caught or stuck and may be overlooked.

Yes, we can transfer your refund into your checking account, post it as a credit to your Rio Account or send you a refund check. Unfortunately we cannot apply credit to your credit card.

Yes, provided that the check is made out to someone known to us (i.e.: someone who has a Rio Grande customer number).

We do accept silver filings and swarf. We do not accept sweeps for payment, but we are happy to forward these sweeps to CERF as a donation, if you wish. Learn more about our CERF program.

Please Note: There is a distinct difference between sweeps and filings/swarf.
Filings/swarf results from work processes such as drilling, sawing, filing, grinding, etc. and are captured in trays, filters, tools, or on benchtops. Filings/swarf will be the same color as the metal it came from and is acceptable as scrap.
Sweeps tend to be darker in color than the metal they came from as they are mixed with polishing compounds, abrasive cast-off, dirt and other non-metal debris. Sweeps may be sent to Rio Grande as a contribution to our Sweeps for CERF efforts but are not acceptable as scrap.

Please package each metal type in a separate, sealable plastic bag so none of the scrap can fall out. Do not use tape or adhesive on the bag to seal it—this may capture some of your scrap and cause it to be overlooked. When placing your scrap in a shipping box, make sure all the ends of the box are taped so that if some scrap does happen to spill out of the bags, it will not fall out of the box.

Send your shipment to:
Attn: Returns
7500 Bluewater Road NW
Albuquerque, NM 87121

We weigh our metal in troy ounces. Standard postal scales weigh in avoirdupois ounces. We calibrate our scales monthly.

Yes, you may send in your scrap and we will create an account for you upon receipt in order to send you a refund. To create an account for US customers, we require a W-9; for international customers, we require either a W-88EN or a W-88EN-E.

No, we cannot split the payout for individual lots of scrap. Each lot of scrap we receive must reflect a selection of just one of the options shown on your Scrap Packing List. It you want to split your scrap payment, you must send the scrap in separate lots each with a separate packing list marked with the desired option for that particular lot.

Please remove any gemstones from your scrap, even if this may result in damaging the stone or item. Rio Grande does not buy gemstones and we are unable to return any gemstones present in scrap to you. Removing these items from your scrap significantly speeds processing time.

Yes, Rio Grande accepts vermeil (gold-plated silver) scrap. However, we only pay for the silver content of vermeil scrap. The amount of gold present is not economical to recover.