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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;NorthKorea, post: 2485467, member: 29643&quot;]Let&#039;s see...</p><p><br /></p><p>Post-1982 (discounting the pennies in 1982 that are ZnCu) pennies are 97.5% Zn and 2.5% Cu. Copper has a melting point of 1085C, more than double that of Zinc&#039;s 419.5C. So, effectively, you&#039;d need to either file or cut all 1mm of your pennies. If you attempted to melt the coins without removing the shell of copper, you might have exploding pennies...</p><p><br /></p><p>2.375 metric tons of Zn at a specific heat of 388 J/kgK</p><p>0.125 metric tons of Cu at a specific heat of 385 J/kgK</p><p><br /></p><p>2375 kg * 398.5 K * 388 J/kgK = 217,750 J</p><p>125 kg * 398.5 K * 385 J/kgK = 19,177,812.5 J</p><p><br /></p><p>So, you&#039;d need to generate roughly 386.5mm Joules of energy or 364.6mm BTUs. At $25 per mmBTU, that&#039;s $9115 for energy costs.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then you&#039;d need a way to sort out the Cu from the molten Zn, without breathing in any of the toxic gases. Let&#039;s assume that&#039;s another $1000 in refining costs.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then you&#039;d need to transport the sorted Zn and Cu to a metal assayer. Let&#039;s figure that Cu is enough to give you a net assay fee of $500.</p><p><br /></p><p>Transportation costs on a payload of 2500kg across, say 50km total... 125 MTkm? I guess that&#039;s approximately 182.5 Tmi. At 37-cents per Tmi, 34.7mi would be... $2343.12.</p><p><br /></p><p>Energy Cost: $9115</p><p>Transportation cost for 34.7mi: $2343.12</p><p>Assumed refining &amp; assay costs: $1500</p><p>Total related costs: $12,958.12</p><p><br /></p><p>That&#039;s just to prepare the Zn for sale. You&#039;d still need to find a buyer for the Zn, which would likely be at 87% of spot, since you couldn&#039;t make delivery on a full order.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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