Can any one identify this?

[Crewsader]

Sorry about the pics but those are as close as I can get.
This stuff seems a little malleable, and I was thinking that it might
be platinum. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance

 

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[wtetro]

Lead or silver, hard to tell with the glare. Platinum will appear as a dull grey and is heavier than gold.

 

[Goldwasher]

where are you it looks like gold with mercury on it. or electrum.

 

[wtetro]

Agreed, I didn't think about electrum. If it's merc covered gold, nice pickers, getting the merc off will be fun though.

 

[prospect007]

nitric acid removes the mercury.

 

[NeoTokyo]

Pretty sure that's lead, if it bends easily and leaves a grayish white streak on the pan, its lead.

If you can put a little torch butane lighter to it and it melts, its lead.

Before doing this, take a knife to it and slice into it.
If it is mercury covered gold you will reveal a little bit of the yellow gold under it, DO NOT HEAT IT IF IT IS MERCURY!

but it looks like lead.
I have found 1000x1 more lead than gold, you get an eye for it too.

Save all of your lead and melt it down later for something like a weight belt.


PS. If it is platinum it will not tarnish under heat, you can heat it with a torch can it wont tarnish.

 

[Crewsader]

OK, Im really sure it's not lead and it's from Michigan where we don't have mercury like that in the rivers. It is VERY heavy. Tried scratching and scoring and doesn't reveal any gold color. It did remain as the last thing in my pan just like gold would. And believe me when I say it is not lead. I am a plumber and used to wipe and make lead joints so I am very familiar with lead, so I torched it with my mapp gas set up and it doesn't melt or change color.

 

[Crewsader]

OK, Im really sure it's not lead and it's from Michigan where we don't have mercury like that in the rivers. It is VERY heavy. Tried scratching and scoring and doesn't reveal any gold color. It did remain as the last thing in my pan just like gold would. And believe me when I say it is not lead. I am a plumber and used to wipe and make lead joints so I am very familiar with lead, so I torched it with my mapp gas set up and it doesn't melt or change color.

I looked at the photos on your post Neo of the Platinum photos and it looks VERY similar to the samples in the pics. Although my pics are not of good quality.
And I'm not saying we don't have mercury in the waters but it was never used here in Michigan like in the west for gold mining.

 

[Duckshot]

Hi, first post. Neat forum. I am learning a lot.

I can think of two different ways to test for platinum. One test, is to get it's density by weighing it and then slipping it into a graduated cylinder with water to measure it's volume. If it is platinum it should have a density very near 21.5 grams per a cubic centimeter. This test will be more difficult the less you have.

Another test is to try to dissolve the metal with a mixture of about one part nitric acid and three parts hydrochloric acid. This will dissolve gold and just about everything- except it won't dissolve platinum until you get it very hot.

If it's gold and you dissolve it, I know how to get it back.

Maybe. It's gonna cost you....



EDIT: Maybe you could put it into a pan with a bunch of fine gold and tapping it around some. Tap the pan against something solid on the left and the denser platinum should be trying to travel to the left side of the less dense gold. Just like denser gold moves from lighter heavies. If it goes to the right, well then it is less dense than gold wich has a density around 19.25 g/cc.

 

[dredgeman]

Get a clear beaker or glass. put hydrogen peroxide in the glass and drop a piece in.

Platinum is a catalyst and will throw off little bubbles. almost nothing else will. Quick and easy.

 

[NeoTokyo]

If it didn't tarnish under heat then its most likely platinum.
The pics made it look very lead like, but the heat test is an extremely good test to figure out what it is.

I have never tried the Hydrogen Peroxide method but that sounds like a great way to test it too.

Any chance of getting closer, better pics?

 

[Crewsader]

Thanks Dredgeman. The peroxide test seemed to work.
It gave off bubbles like you said.
Sorry Neo but that was as close as I could get with my camera.
I was pretty sure that it was platinum but wanted some more opinions.

 

[wtetro]

Learned something there with peroxide. I had no idea it would do that. What gas is it releasing, oxygen?

 

[NeoTokyo]

You ought to make a video to post to youtube, I never knew that H2O2 would have that kind of reaction.

Glad to hear that your finding platinum nuggets though, that's freakin awesome.

 

[Duckshot]

The thing about the peroxide test is that silver does the same thing to H2O2 as platinum. They make rocket motors running fairly pure hydrogen peroxide through a silver screen in front of a combustion chamber. It is still a good test to start with. Since silver has about half the density of platinum- about 10.5g/cc it should be fairly easiy to distinguish the two. Try that pan test I mentioned earlier.

Or toss a piece in muriatic- sliver will form a chloride and turn white. HCL won't touch platinum.