Refining gold and other precious metals is really one of the biggest areas where you have to "go big or go home". You need tons of raw supplies (motherboards, cell phone boards, what have you). You then need a lot of hazardous chemicals and safety gear - none of which comes cheap. In most places, you will need to go through significant red tape to be properly licensed and have the right permits.



Remember, meth labs blow up all the time - and they're dealing with less dangerous chemicals. Of course, they generally start out with fewer brain cells anyway, making them more prone to an accident - but still.