Abstract: Particles of precious metal are recovered from a mixture drawn from the mouth of a dental patient. An enclosure is interiorly divided by a perforated baffle into an upper chamber and a lower chamber. The mixture is introduced into the lower chamber by an inlet conduit which has a substantially smaller cross section than the lower chamber so that a reduced velocity in the lower chamber will permit gravitational settlement of the particles. Residual fluids flow upwardly through the perforated baffle at a relatively low velocity, and they are removed through an outlet conduit which extends into the upper chamber and is connected to a vacuum source.