Is this a proven method?

[goldnrelics]

concentrates washed in hydrochloric about a cup full of black sand that came from the sluice and about the same amount of final concentrates from the Gold Exorcist (Drywasher). I heated the material up after this washing and then added aquia regia to containers. I am trying to get the gold to dissolve. The aquia regia bubbled up to about 3 times the sample size. Tomorrow I will filter out the solids and keep the liquid. I have some sodium metabisulphite and it should turn the dissolved gold into gold chloride, a powder. Once the gold chloride is a solid, I can filter that material out of the liquid and save it. According to what I have read, gold chloride will turn back into gold metal when heated with a torch.

 

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[Oakview2]

Above my pay grade, but this forum may be of some help...

Gold Refining Forum.com ? Index page

 

[goldnrelics]

Thank you for the link!!

 

[Hoser John]

Yep ya got it,old school but works fine,hot aqua regia is one dangerous summab soo anyone attempting should be very careful. Coffee filters work good for this filtration process. Add a lil'borax glass and saltpeter,just a pinch, to get purer gold when torched-John

 

[goldnrelics]

Great thank you

 

[DizzyDigger]

GR, fram what I've read, that Aqua Regia can be awful dangerous stuff
to be working with. Please, go read the info from a past discussion
on this same issue:

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/326484-very-fine-gold-recovery-2.html

 

[goldnrelics]

Thanks for being cautious.... i will be careful. If it doesn't work out i probably wont be posting here much often. =S

 

[LP13]

Most sources will tell you that Aqua Regia really isn't for black sands. But I have used that method successfully many times. Trick is in cleaning up all the other garbage in the sands, because you never know all what's in the black sands that will react. I roast the black sands first. Get rid of sulfides, etc. Then I use hydrogen peroxide and vinegar 50/50 to get rid of any lead in the sands if it's there. Then a good soak in HCL. Oh and don't forget to remove all the magnetic material such as magnetite. Reduces the quantity you need to process.

I think how successful you are and what your recovery will be using AR directly on black sands will really have a lot to do in the chemistry of the sands. As I said, processing black sands here, it works well for me. Where you are and with what minerals are in your black sands? I don't know.

I spoke of dangers of AR in another thread. So I am not going to give recipes and processes here. Suffice it to say that AR is dangerous on a few fronts. First being it's strength as an acid (acid safety handling precautions should be used.) Even the vapors from AR can instantly corrode the best of stainless steels! And the dangers of the vapors. They CAN kill. Even days later if you get too much. (As I recall it can destroy the liver.) So it's definitely something to do outside unless you have a lab that has a fume hood up to the task of venting the vapors absolutely and safely. If you live close to someone else, out on your back patio is not going to be a good place either I will bet. And then there are compounds that are explosive that can be inadvertently created. Small batches of AR processed probably won't yield a large quantity of these, but it could and that is a danger too. There are a lot of variables in this method, too many for a lot of people to be safe using.

This is an issue that needs to be solved though. My Gold Well sluice really collects a lot of fine gold. Because of that, more people are going to need a method that is safe and effective to get that fine gold out. Most miners only have to deal with such a small amount of fine gold that they really don't care much about it, it's not worth the effort to collect. But with the Gold Well, the amount of super fine gold can be significant. So I have been looking for a good solution. None of the standard gravity devices (bowl, wheel, table, etc.) seem to be efficient enough. They miss too much in my opinion. How do I know? Because I have taken a lot of material that's been processed through them and put it through the GW, and recovered a lot of fine gold that was missed by them.

I am however looking into the MineLab. One customer of mine who processes concentrates commercially in the northwest swears by it, so I will look into it and see. I will give an update when I find out how it does.

Basically it boils down to this:

Enhanced gravity methods (centrifuge type devices)
Standard gravity/mechanical devices (bowl, table, spiral)
Chemical methods (Aqua Regia, Cyanide, Mercury ... all have significant dangers of one kind or another)
Smelting (when finished you will have to use a chemical method to get pure gold if that's what you are after)
Send it out and have it done professionally for a fee: Problem has been a lot of people distrust refiners for one reason or another.

Well it's something I think about on a daily basis and I hope to come up with a good answer. So far I haven't.

Bottom line, chemical methods all have some inherent danger. But then so does life I guess, right? Just make sure if you choose a chemical method to make sure you know what you are doing. Might cost you your life if you don't or a trip to the ER. But if you are an intelligent, responsible adult and are willing to study before you leap, I think you might be ok using chemical means but make sure you really do have all that much fine gold to make it worth while, and see if there isn't a mechanical method that works for you well enough first!

 

[goldnrelics]

Understandable, alot of that stuff is dangerous and not recommended i just happen to know a chemist and was wondering if it was a legit idea.

 

[LP13]

I think it is and if you can have that chemist advise you and show you the ropes, that way of learning pretty much can't be beat short of getting a degree.

 

[goldnrelics]

I've been actually learning quite a bit from him. I didn't even know this technique was feasible until he mentioned it to me. At least when we do these experiments trial and error usually always occurs, were prepared for caution

 

[goldenIrishman]

Ok... What's with everyone wanting to use Aqua Regia here lately? I'm a bit crazy but also a trained industrial lab tech and used to working with some really nasty stuff and AR worries even me! Anything that can dissolve a noble element like gold is not something for the untrained to be playing around with. Having a chemist friend and knowing exactly what YOU are doing are two different animals. If you don't have training in how to handle the materials involved then leave it to those that do.

LP13 brought up many important points about the use of AR so I'm not going to harp any more here.

 

[Jimmydolittle]

I've used "Royal Water" in the past when I was recycling computer scrap, and found It cost about as much to safely dispose of the spent acid as the gold recovered that way. I'm a member on the Gold Refining Form. Lots of useful information on there if you choose to go ahead and use AR.