bottle of mercury

mojjax

Silver Member
Feb 27, 2005
4,563
4,090
MAINE
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
4
Detector(s) used
Ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

Attachments

  • IMG_4964.JPG
    IMG_4964.JPG
    1.3 MB · Views: 122
  • IMG_4965.JPG
    IMG_4965.JPG
    610 KB · Views: 121

UnderMiner

Silver Member
Jul 27, 2014
3,783
9,643
New York City
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Minelab Excalibur II, Ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Liquid Mercury kept in anaerobic conditions over long periods can become metabolized by certain bacteria creating Organic Mercury which is fatal in even the slightest absorbtion concentration. I would send that to a hazardous waste collection site, they're usually free to drop off small things like this. I doubt there would be gold dissolved in it. Always fun to play with liquid mercury but the older it is the more likely it has begun to degrade into more dangerous forms.

Fun fact I just remember sorta related. The German uboat U-864 sank off the coast of Norway carrying many tons of liquid mercury, meant to make mercury-based explosive primers, and that one wreck has contaminated countless billions of sea creatures because of a phenomenon called bio-accumulation. Also the RMS Titanic has a few barrels of the stuff and to this day the puddles of the stuff are still visible on the wreck site. 😎👍
 

Last edited:
OP
OP
mojjax

mojjax

Silver Member
Feb 27, 2005
4,563
4,090
MAINE
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
4
Detector(s) used
Ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Liquid Mercury kept in anaerobic conditions over long periods can become metabolized by certain bacteria creating Organic Mercury which is fatal in even the slightest absorbtion concentration. I would send that to a hazardous waste collection site, they're usually free to drop off small things like this. I doubt there would be gold dissolved in it. Always fun to play with liquid mercury but the older it is the more likely it has begun to degrade into more dangerous forms.

Fun fact I just remember sorta related. The German uboat U-864 sank off the coast of Norway carrying many tons of liquid mercury, meant to make mercury-based explosive primers, and that one wreck has contaminated countless billions of sea creatures because of a phenomenon called bio-accumulation. Also the RMS Titanic has a few barrels of the stuff and to this day the puddles of the stuff are still visible on the wreck site. 😎👍
I was thinking ebay
 

UnderMiner

Silver Member
Jul 27, 2014
3,783
9,643
New York City
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Minelab Excalibur II, Ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I use to pour a little puddle in my palm with a penny, rub and rub and presto.......dime🤪🙃🤪
A great way to accumulate gold in the old days using the same process as you describe. Mercury will amalgamate with copper, silver, and gold simply by making contact with these metals. Unfortunately in order to retrieve the valuable metals back you have to heat the mercury to evaporation temperature and fill the air with vaporous mercury - poisoning yourself and everything around you. Suprized to see this method is still used in developing countries, a very big hazard to their comunities.
 

Chiltepin

Sr. Member
Sep 25, 2017
295
363
Southwest US
Detector(s) used
BH Time Ranger
Primary Interest:
Other
A great way to accumulate gold in the old days using the same process as you describe. Mercury will amalgamate with copper, silver, and gold simply by making contact with these metals. Unfortunately in order to retrieve the valuable metals back you have to heat the mercury to evaporation temperature and fill the air with vaporous mercury - poisoning yourself and everything around you. Suprized to see this method is still used in developing countries, a very big hazard to their comunities.

Ever read the story about the UK man that ate tuna 5 times a week for years? Yea mercury poisoning from consumption of large fish is a thing. They say 1 serving a week maximum is safe. If you fish in the USA get a yearly game and fish pamphlet and read the "Red" list of fish not to eat. The "Red" list usually contains all the fish in each lake listed.
 

boogeyman

Gold Member
Jun 6, 2006
5,016
4,399
Out in the hills near wherendaheckarwe
Detector(s) used
WHITES, MINELAB, Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
A great way to accumulate gold in the old days using the same process as you describe. Mercury will amalgamate with copper, silver, and gold simply by making contact with these metals. Unfortunately in order to retrieve the valuable metals back you have to heat the mercury to evaporation temperature and fill the air with vaporous mercury - poisoning yourself and everything around you. Suprized to see this method is still used in developing countries, a very big hazard to their comunities.
Still used here. I've got 2 pounds under the bench along with a retort. All the booga booga is over kill. NEVER use your retort indoors. I always ran mine out in the yard downwind of everything. Most important use a lot of common sense!
Saw a documentary on the miners in the Amazon rain forest. Little guy dumping a couple cups of mercury in a big bucket with his cons and stomping around barefoot like stomping grapes. Then take his cake of amalgum to town to sell. Been doing it for years.

There's an outfit in Arizona that buys it purifies it to lab grade and resells it.

We found an old arrastra. We ran the dirt under it through a high banker and came up with a lot of bbs of mercury. Jeez if we reported it they probably would've closed a ten mile square area. Maybe a good trip after the summer heat.

As long as you use common sense and good technique it's not scary despite all the booga booga.

Anyone know the spot for mercury?
 

Riverbum

Sr. Member
Jul 13, 2011
297
577
Colorado
Detector(s) used
Whites
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I saw a T.V. special a while back showing Gold Miners in South America who still heat up mercury to retrive Gold, Looks really dangerous ..beyond anything I can understand all for the sake of a few bucks
 

UnderMiner

Silver Member
Jul 27, 2014
3,783
9,643
New York City
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Minelab Excalibur II, Ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I saw a T.V. special a while back showing Gold Miners in South America who still heat up mercury to retrive Gold, Looks really dangerous ..beyond anything I can understand all for the sake of a few bucks
A few bucks to them is probably really high in their world. Like I saw these Zimbabwe people digging for gold and once they had 0.3 grams it was enough to buy food for their whole day. Just 0.1 gram, one tenth of a single gram, got them a meal. Bassically a barter economy - gold for food.
 

boogeyman

Gold Member
Jun 6, 2006
5,016
4,399
Out in the hills near wherendaheckarwe
Detector(s) used
WHITES, MINELAB, Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I saw a T.V. special a while back showing Gold Miners in South America who still heat up mercury to retrive Gold, Looks really dangerous ..beyond anything I can understand all for the sake of a few bucks
That's not just a few bucks to them it's food for their families means they eat a little asada instead of just frijoles & tortillas.
 

gunsil

Silver Member
Dec 27, 2012
3,863
6,204
lower hudson valley, N.Y.
Detector(s) used
safari, ATPro, infinium, old Garrett BFO, Excal, Nox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Heck, I stole mercuric oxide from the high school chemistry lab and heated it in an old coffee can on the stove and it turned to mercury. I am still here sixty years later. We also coated lots of silver coins with mercury back then, and no health issues ensued. Heating mercury in an open air environment is not so dangerous. Unless you ingest mercury it really isn't all that dangerous and it is worth decent money.
 

boogeyman

Gold Member
Jun 6, 2006
5,016
4,399
Out in the hills near wherendaheckarwe
Detector(s) used
WHITES, MINELAB, Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Heck, I stole mercuric oxide from the high school chemistry lab and heated it in an old coffee can on the stove and it turned to mercury. I am still here sixty years later. We also coated lots of silver coins with mercury back then, and no health issues ensued. Heating mercury in an open air environment is not so dangerous. Unless you ingest mercury it really isn't all that dangerous and it is worth decent money.
I've squeezed it through chamois barehanded a lot of times over the years making a ball of amalgam. Come to think of it I may have eaten a sammich or to without washing my hands🤪
 

bartholomewroberts

Sr. Member
Feb 23, 2011
393
608
Cedar, B.C.
Detector(s) used
excal2, XP Deus, Whites TDI
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
A great way to accumulate gold in the old days using the same process as you describe. Mercury will amalgamate with copper, silver, and gold simply by making contact with these metals. Unfortunately in order to retrieve the valuable metals back you have to heat the mercury to evaporation temperature and fill the air with vaporous mercury - poisoning yourself and everything around you. Suprized to see this method is still used in developing countries, a very big hazard to their comunities.
The old timers used to hollow out a potato.. Then they would bake it and presto, the gold would be left in the hollow.

The mercury would then evaporate and go into the spud and condense there.. No hazardous fumes [not that they knew about them back then.

Unfortunately, many of the old miners would then eat the spud..

Micheal
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top