Answer to Question #131141 in General Chemistry for Tuan Sung

Question

why is copper sacrificed to recover pure silver as opposed to some other metal such as iron or zinc

Answer 1

The sacrificing of copper to recover pure silver is because when copper sulfide concentrates are smelted and converted, it results in a copper-containing 97% to 99% of the silver present in its original state. The silver obtained by electrolysis in most cases has three-nine fines or 99.99% of silver as opposed to other metals such as zinc, which has very low percentages of pure silver.