PURPOSE: To conveniently and efficiently recover Au from a recovered material by introducing gaseous Cl2 while heating the recovered material contg. Au and the oxide of the base metal in the presence of CO or carbon, converting the oxide of the base metal into its chloride, and evaporating and separating the chloride.

CONSTITUTION: The recovered material contg. Au and the oxide of the base metal carrying the Au is mixed with carbon powder, and the mixture 1 is changed in a chloride forming vessel 3 and heated at 400W1,063°C by an electric furnace 4. Gaseous Cl2 or gaseous mixture of Cl2 and CO is simultaneously introduced from an inlet pipe 5 through a glass-fiber bottom plate 2. Consequently, the Au and oxide of the base metal are converted into the chlorides. When the heating temp. is controlled to a temp. higher than the b.p. or sublimation temp. of the chloride of the base metal and the dissociation temp. of Au chloride, the chloride of the base metal is evaporated, separated, and transferred into a chloride trap 7, and the Au chloride is dissociated to obtain metallic Au. When the heating temp. is controlled to a temp. lower than the dissociation temp. of Au chloride, the evaporated Au chloride is heated to a temp. higher than the dissociation temp. by a heater 8 provided at the midway of an evaporation duct 6, and metallic Au is collected.