Mercury poisoning, a question.

[gusku]

A while ago i visited an old goldmine dated about 1890, and in a last desperate attempt to find some gold i decided to try to pan in those long concrete sluices they used mercury to extract gold in. It didnt really cross my mind then but now the health issue about that concerns me. I havent felt anything wrong after that trip but i dont know alot about mercury, so im interested in your opinion, should i worry about it? I didnt use gloves, only did a couple of pans, did not even find a spec, but there were quite a bit silverish, heavy grains that i suspect was mercury.

And yes this is my first post here, hi everybody. Im from norway, found anything here yet.

 

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[GrizzlyGremlin]

Everyone will say mercury is VERY dangerous. I call bollox. You can teach a kindergartener to treat it safely. Dont Eat it. Dont touch it. Dont inhale vapors if you burn it off. Thats it. Rest easy my man. You are fine. If i were you i would collect ALL that i can. If you find mercury chances are very good that there is a very high concentration of gold in the amalgam. The old mad hatter saying is induced by steady constant daily contact with mercury. Driving on the highway is more dangerous for sure!

 

[nmhunter]

If I were lucky enough to find intact sluices from the 1890s that still had mercury I would certainly pan out and retain every speck I could get. Wear gloves and bring your common sense and you will be fine. Once you collect all you can, either make a retort or bring the material to someone with a retort. You can then safely remove the mercury from the gold and retain both. Be sure to store your mercury underwater.

This is part 3 of a BASIC 4 part video. Parts 1 and 2 show how to construct a retort and part 4 shows tells how to store the retort. This is just a basic intro but imo a good start.

 

[jcazgoldchaser]

We used to play with it.

Yer fine, except for some VD but it should clear up.

 

[gusku]

Thanks for the good replies guys, unfortunately i kindof snuck in late at night at the spot, because I did not ask for permission first. Did not know it then, but i would get big trouble if i was caught. Soo going back is out of the question now. Maybe i should contact owners later on and do it the right way Do you have pictures/video of such mercury found in sand at old mining spots? As im not really sure about if it is mercury or not. The sand i panned is supposed to be crushed quartz though so it is likely

 

[gusku]

We used to play with it.

Yer fine, except for some VD but it should clear up.

You have to explain what VD is , jcaz

 

[Alex Burke]

You will be fine, you have a greater chance of something way more random shortening your life imo. Including the stress of worrying about your death, as stress as been proven to kill lol.

 

[jcazgoldchaser]

 

[jcazgoldchaser]

You have to explain what VD is , jcaz

VD, STD.... Venereal Disease

 

[Fullpan]

Forget the mercury exposure you encountered, it was not enough to have any effect. Now, since you will not be breaking any U.S. laws, I suggest you sneak
back in that ole mine and scrape all that material up and skedaddle out of there.

 

[KevinInColorado]

A while ago i visited an old goldmine dated about 1890, and in a last desperate attempt to find some gold i decided to try to pan in those long concrete sluices they used mercury to extract gold in. It didnt really cross my mind then but now the health issue about that concerns me. I havent felt anything wrong after that trip but i dont know alot about mercury, so im interested in your opinion, should i worry about it? I didnt use gloves, only did a couple of pans, did not even find a spec, but there were quite a bit silverish, heavy grains that i suspect was mercury.

And yes this is my first post here, hi everybody. Im from norway, found anything here yet.

Those silverfish heavy grains are most likely GOLD covered with mercury. If it's heavy, keep it!

 

[Hoser John]

Only 1 thing is--only your liver knows for sure what ya did. I've worked with mercury for over 57 years but CAREFULLY. Mercury starts offgassing at between 68-72,with flames or acids so err on the side a caution ALWAYS. Lucky ya didn't get terminal lead poisoning from a fast moving object as MUCH MORE FATAL IS CLAIMJUMPING than mercury poisoning. John

 

[bill-costa rica]

mercury and gold almalgum and the finished product gold button

bill/cr

 

[Kruzman]

about 20% of the gold I find has mercury on it. just cook it off out side when there is a breeze. to think I used to play with the stuff as a kid because it was soooo cool the way it rolled around...

 

[KevinInColorado]

about 20% of the gold I find has mercury on it. just cook it off out side when there is a breeze. to think I used to play with the stuff as a kid because it was soooo cool the way it rolled around...

Seems like a waste of useful mercury.

 

[Jimmydolittle]

I have a bunch of it in my mouth. Amalgamated silver dental fillings. Been there some of it 50+ years!