gettin gold out of black sand

[backandforth]

new at metal detecting. been drywashing for a long time. saved concentrates after panning for a long time. someone gave me some mercury and very reluctant to use it unless i know how. Is there a site to explaine how? A better method? got out everything i could see with the naked eye.

 

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[parttime_miner]

the danger isnt in using the mercury to catch the gold..

the danger is in seperating your "amalgam" to get your gold back...

"The Weekend Prospector" video by Dave McCracken is a great place to start (circa 1986 ?)... Otherwise there are many books on the subject of amalgamation...

Also there are many different methods to extract the Micro gold... there is a yahoo group for micron gold and there are
also things like "shaker tables" that work well...

I would wait till you save up at least half of a 55 gallon drum then buy/build a shaker table and get rich...

Micron gold is 99.97% pure or greater.... I believe that micron gold is the most purest form produced by nature.

 

[ARCOMANDPURPLE]

Yep, using mercury which is tricky,you need a spud,wire,aluminum foil,heat. End result will be
mercury will evaporate into the spud leaving a button of gold in the depression that you created
in the spud. Then you can pan out the meat from the spud to recover the mercury.You need to find the actual instruction and follow them to a tee since Mercury fume is extremely dangerous.
good luck ARCOM

 

[dudes2112]

Do some looking on the internet for a "mercury retort", you may find some plans out there on how to build one. Don't breathe the fumes while cooking mercury, bad things will happen!

Dudes

 

[bakergeol]

Hi Backandforth
Please give the mercury back to the person who give it to you. It is incredibly dangerous and you do not want it in your home. To assume a danger like this to recover 25 cents in gold is not worth it.
There are a lot of devices out there folks use for their? concentrates. Here is one I found effective. Read the whole thread.
http://bb.bbboy.net/alaskagoldforum-viewthread?forum=2&thread=84&postnum=0&highlight=
George

 

[Chris in BC]

LOL, Danger Danger, The sky is falling, first off, Mercury is not dangerous at all if you educate yourself on how to use it. Your asking the questions, thats a start, don't let these guys who have read once that it caused cancer in a labrat disuade you from educating yourself and making up your own judgement.
First off, keep it in a sealed container, preferedly outside where you spend your living hours , try the garage or in the shed. make sure to keep it covered with some water inside the container, handle it with rubber gloves and if an retorting or processing takes place do it outside or in a super well ventilated area, MOST IMPORTANT, dont do anything until you have researched it as best you can and feel confident with your advice from sources of your choosing.

Chris

 

[aarthrj3811]

The gpaa site and the prospecters cache have prople who know how to do it right Its the only way to get it all and it will be more than 25 cents worth.The only problem is getting good nitric acid....Art

 

[Hardrock]

For removal other than using Mercury,try tumbling it in a rock tumbler for several days with or without
added steel ballbearings. Then you can pan,use a wheel, or any final method such as a shaker table.Mercury is not the best way to do it but can be done safely but it is on the EPA's hit list of the worst chemicals to use. As stated above there are other methods and the info on it is out there on many sites. Tumbling it "liberates the gold" so to speak and makes it easier to recover without the use of chemicals. Hardrock

 

[nebraskadad]

I've not been able to find a vendor on this but I found the Patent information on an item called
'Quick Gold' Separator

Patent #Publication Number: 04451359? ?

see Link:

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...Osterberg+AND+Quick)+AND+Gold)+AND+Separator)

 

[parttime_miner]

Hey NebraskaDad... Nice Find...

I wonder just how well that thing actually works?

The patent has been around since 1982... wonder why he hasn't done anything with it?

Seams very similar to "Mother Nature's" springs...

theres always a pocket of gold at the bottom of a spring in gold country...
(until crossing paths with a happy prospector)

 

[nebraskadad]

pt-miner,

I can't seem to find any reference to the guy or a place that sells it.. I would be concerned about surface tension floating flours out the top.. May like the blue bowl you'd have to use Jet-Dry? in the solution as a wetting agent.

 

[parttime_miner]

Im thinking this is a semi-known technique... my memory is horrible, but I seem to remember an old timer describing something similar... or using a similar process.
I bet you could build one for cheap... Use the patent info and diagrams as ideas and just don't sell it without giving royalties back to the guy...

Not sure about where to buy one pre-made... but I have seen a steady rise in available gold-recovery equiptment since the price of gold has risen. So, I bet its just a matter of time, before something like this (and every other contraption known-to-man) is available on the web. (or through keene)

 

[nebraskadad]

I am fairly handy in the shop, I am looking for the Lucite? tube, I am looking at aquarium supply stuff. I think the rest would be fairly straight forward, from the timing of the "patent" it's my guess due to the price of AU at the time, takers on the production of a unit may have not been profitable enough to really make it viable.

I kind of like tinkering, just put together a sniping sucker, with threaded rod, PVC pipe, fender washers and a toilet flapper

Perhaps if Keene or someone like that could find someone to produce it in a cost effective manner if they bought the patent.

Guess it wouldn't have to be Lucite.. a person could make it with 4" or 6" PVC and some of the basic parts (like the pump, etc, etc, are fairly stock items. The clear Lucite just would allow one to see the process work and make sure the flow isn't too high to lose AU

 

[eric1]

I have a Blue Bowl, which is made for just this type of work. Pioneer Mining Supply in Auburn, Ca. sells them with different mesh screens, a pump, a tub, and other items depending on what you want. It's self contained so you can bring it to your campsite if you're car camping. Definitely saves lots of work.
Pioneer Mining has a good website with contact info.

 

[fbeal]

So how much micron gold is in black sand? I have tossed some after getting the visible gold out. Is it worth the trouble to extract it?

 

[nebraskadad]

Checkout

http://www.goldmineworld.net/index3.html

 

[Bulletboy]

I remember the first time a buddy and I tried using nitric acid to recover gold from mercury. We used the 10% solution we got at a prospecting store. We strained our amalgam thru a chamios and dropped it into a clean glass jar, might have been a 1 lb. peanut butter jar, with about a half inch of nitric acid in it. We did it outdoors while out plinking so as not to create a problem for anyone in town. It worked real well and real quick! We got some real clean shiny gold too.
The orange, brownish cloud that came from the jar was the deciding factor in using nitric acid for cleaning gold but not for treating amalgams unless you have a lot of it and are doing it in the field where it safer. That stuff, even in 10% solution, is real dangerous and you damn sure don't want that stuff in your eyes or burning thru your flesh.
Amalgams run thru a retort will be blacked by the mercury but will clean up with ammonia or a real weak nitric solution. Retorts are a much safer way to recover and clean mercury.

 

[Comanchero]

Yah, this thread just goes to show ya the old saying is true, Opinions are like As-----s! Everyone's one has one!
Hardrock is more correct IMO.? By rolling the blacksands in a rock tumbler with ball bearings, just enough water to cover by an inch or so and just a 1/2 teaspoon of lye, ya remove the oxides and/or "desert varnish" coating your gold which does cause it not to amalgamate.? After a couple of days, remove the ball bearings and add your mercury, and just let it go for another couple of days. (No Hurry!)? Then you can use your blue bowl or if you are an expert panner, separate your mercury amalgam from the black sands residue. (Watch out for the real fine floured light gray mercury, that ya don't lose it!)
Now, I prefer the Nitric acid bath to remove the mercury ( then recover the mercury later with copper wire) but to each his own.
Yes, it does pay to work ALL your black sand concentrates.? Ya might be really surprized how much of the platinum group metals ya get too!? ?? ?Comanchero?

 

[Comanchero]

By the way. Always just use good common sense when working with any materials. And always wear rubber gloves when working with mercury, lye and nitric acid (or any chemicals) and wear eye protection and when necessary wear a proper gas/chemical air filtration system over your mouth and nose. Like I said. Common Sense prevails. Don't take unecessary chances that can ruin your health or longevity! Comanchero

 

[nebraskadad]

Found a couple more "items" of interest for this thread..


I like the looks of this one. electrolytic recovery, the "idea" seems to be a sound one from a chemistry / physics standpoint. I believe I am going to try it on a butt load of dead Computer CPUs I have.

Cyanide Leach Substitute, mind you I've not tried or tested it
http://www.goldco-mining.com/



another is a set called "SubZero" handled by Shor International
SubZero appears to be aqua regia but in a kit form..

http://www.shorinternational.com/subzeroinstr.htm


http://www.shorinternational.com/goldrecovery.htm