A method of efficient separation/purification for obtaining high-purity
silver chloride which eliminates the necessity of a pretreatment of a
refining intermediate comprising sparingly soluble silver compounds and
impurity elements when silver chloride is separated from the refining
intermediate and purified to a high degree and which enables the silver
chloride to be used as a raw material to give high-purity silver metal
without necessitating the pyrometallurgical refining or electro-refining
of the silver metal. The method is characterized by comprising: a
leaching step in which the refining intermediate is leached with an
aqueous sulfite solution to extract silver with the solution to thereby
form a silver-containing liquid resulting from the leaching and an
insoluble residue; a silver chloride generation step in which the liquid
resulting from the leaching is neutralized and acidified to precipitate
silver chloride and thereby form the silver chloride and a mother liquor;
and a silver chloride purification step in which the silver chloride is
oxidized in an acidic aqueous solution by adding an oxidizing agent to
dissolve and separate impurity elements and thereby form purified silver
chloride and a solution containing the impurity elements.