I need black sand concentrates

[reptwar1]

Thanks Kevin. I am trying to avoid mercury, but not sure I have a choice lol

 

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[Oregon Viking]

Oregon viking, until spring, I'm stuck in Arkansas where there is very very little gold to be found. Would you be able to send me a couple of zip lock freezer bags of that black sand? Let me know sometime today of you can. On my way home from work, I can money gram some cash for shipping and your time. Thanks either way.

Let me check the beach. We are in the middle of a wicked winter storm, so the black sand on my favorite beach will most likely be gone/buried or moved.

 

[Sluice Willis]

Has anybody ever thought about making iron or steel with their black sand? Magnetite is actually one of the best sources of iron ore and hematite is another. I have been thinking about building a small blast furnace and casting a frying pan from my black sand. Or maybe a steel crevacing tool, either way I think it's a pretty cool way to put that black sand to use. Imagine cooking breakfast over the campfire in a skillet that you made from black sand.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Has anybody ever thought about making iron or steel with their black sand? Magnetite is actually one of the best sources of iron ore and hematite is another. I have been thinking about building a small blast furnace and casting a frying pan from my black sand. Or maybe a steel crevacing tool, either way I think it's a pretty cool way to put that black sand to use. Imagine cooking breakfast over the campfire in a skillet that you made from black sand.

Cool idea. You would be making cast iron though, not steel so don't plan on making tools with it. Steel making is advanced, high temp chemistry compared to casting iron. Iron is strong but brittle.

 

[reptwar1]

Willis...cool idea, but let me have a shot of getting that shiny yellow metal out first

 

[reptwar1]

And Kevin...you have a wealth of knowledge. Wish I had someone as knowledgeable with me when I hit the beaches of Alaska. Lol I think I spelled knowledgeable wrong? The irony

 

[reptwar1]

Oregon viking sounds awesome. Give me a holler and stay out of that nasty weather

 

[Sluice Willis]

Cool idea. You would be making cast iron though, not steel so don't plan on making tools with it. Steel making is advanced, high temp chemistry compared to casting iron. Iron is strong but brittle.

I agree steel making today is advanced chemistry, but it's a fairly simple process that uses common materials. With a little practice I feel it could be made at home, you would have to convert the cast iron to steel.

Steel is made by adding more charcoal to molten cast iron and running the blast to introduce oxygen. Steel was first made by packing wrought iron in clay jars with charcoal then heating it for days. Wrought iron is what was used for tools before steel making became widespread. A traditional Kentucky blast furnace produced cast iron and wrought iron. William Kenny discovered a way to make steel by burning the excess carbon from the cast iron, however he went bankrupt. Henry Bessemer later perfected the process and it was named after him, the Bessemer Process is considered the first method of mass producing steel.

The difference between cast iron, wrought iron and steel is the percentage of carbon. I think it would be interesting to try to produce all three with the black sand we get, it's actually very high grade iron ore. Plus how cool would it be to have a few tools or other items that we created from raw materials? Once I get enough saved up I plan on trying it, I have even thought about using magnets in a sluice just to collect enough ore. One or two buckets won't be enough to produce much iron or steel.

Here is a great article that provides a more detailed explanation and history of the early iron furnaces Early Iron Furnaces

 

[Sluice Willis]

Willis...cool idea, but let me have a shot of getting that shiny yellow metal out first

No problem there. It might be something for you to try with all that left over ore, even if you just cast it into ornaments or something simple.

 

[chlsbrns]

Sluice W, what State are you in? I have buckets full of black sands for your project in NJ and could probably get more from NC. You can have them but have to pick them up.

 

[Sluice Willis]

Sluice W, what State are you in? I have buckets full of black sands for your project in NJ and could probably get more from NC. You can have them but have to pick them up.

What state am I in? Usually somewhere between a daze and a stupor but occasionally shell shocked! Thanks, I would take you up on that offer but Jersey is too far for me, thanks again for the offer though.

 

[enamel7]

We have a good supply of (removed by mod for rule violation) I've linked the underlined words, hopefullly we can help you out.

Jerrod

You aren't a paid member thus can't list products for sale on the forum. Don't worry though, a mod will be along soon to remove your post, unless you do it first.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Great reading material Sluice Willis, thanks for sharing that! Now I really want to try making iron from some magnetite!

You inspired me to look for more info on this: http://iron.wlu.edu

 

[Sluice Willis]

Great reading material Sluice Willis, thanks for sharing that! Now I really want to try making iron from some magnetite!

You inspired me to look for more info on this: The Rockbridge Bloomery

Thanks Kevin! It does look like it would be pretty fun, plus it would be really cool to get good at it. I checked out that link, thanks, I have some more info to share on the topic, I'm getting ready for bed now so I will post it tomorrow. I would like to master making all three metals, something about it just fascinates me, I'm glad my post encouraged you to research the topic. It would be really cool to have a few others interested in experimenting with this lost art.

 

[chlsbrns]

It interests me too! Kind of like they do on that new giant sword show. I saw a preview for one of the Alaska homestead shows where they are going to make a knife. Keep us up to date.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Kevin, Sluice (or anyone else with the knowledge),

Would it be possible to form the iron rich black sands
into ferrite panels?

Ferrite panels are used extensively in the construction of
RF shielded chambers used for electromagnetic testing
of products. A standard panel is approx 100mm x100mm
by 6mm thick, and will sell for roughly $8-$10.

Some chambers, such as the ones at NASA, Boeing, etc.
will require 20,000-50,000 of these tiles for a single chamber.
Currently, there is no US source for the tiles.

If you could find a way to produce a sufficient number of
the tiles right here in the Good 'Ol USA, there is a waiting
market that will buy up every tile you can produce. It'll take
making thousands, however.

 

[Bill_saf]

If you want to try your hand at making and pouring Iron here is some info for you. you will need some lime stone and oyster shell. you can find more info on the net just google coupla or pouring iron.

Oh and it will give you a whole new idea of what hot is.

http://materialrulz.weebly.com/uploads/7/9/5/1/795167/cupola.pdf

 

[Jjhall68]

Mike,

That's a very interesting idea. Do you have a line on a cut sheet for these panels that I could take a look at?
I have digested blacksand in... I'll skip that for fear of hijacking the thread and the fact that there is already the mercury conversation going on
It's fairly easy to chemically remove the Iron from magnetite and ilmenite and make copperas or green vitriol. I use this in gold refining. From that point if you thermally decompose the crystals (FeSO4) you have very pure iron powder.

All the best,
John

 

[Jjhall68]

Ron,

I hope you take this in the spirit it's given, I'm just not the kind of guy the can watch someone step in a hole without warning.
Mercury is so misunderstood that it's a topic all it's own. The over simplification of the "safe"and responsible, use not to mention disposal of mercury is very common. By the way that disposal includes all the things you contaminate in the process.
The peroxide is an accurate improvement and will cut way down on flouring of the mercury so will a prewash with a little sodium hydroxide solution. Unfortunately you could still set yourself up for financial ruin with the Fed's if you're not very careful with your effluent and tailings.
Practical Stamp Milling and Amalgamation - H. W. MacFarren - Google Books. This is a free ebook from back when you could talk about how to use mercury.
Action Mining also has information and equipment related to your quest.
I would suggest torture your blacksand as best you can then smelt the super cons. This is not without risk but it's like comparing a spork to a bear trap. There's lots of advise out there on how to do that, and I am always willing to help with the little knowledge I have, with flux smelting that is.

Free advice being worth what you pay for it, this, my very unsolicited advice and $5.00 will buy you a cup of coffee most anywhere.

Stay safe, have fun
John

 

[goldenmojo]

Working black sands is tedious at best. The best way is to find rich ground loaded with lots of gold and work that. Then you can save the buckets of black sand you collect for a rainy day. Good Luck in Alaska. Hope you find a bonanza.