melting gold

miasdad · Jan 1, 2011

hi all got some fine placer gold anyone know how to melt this down into small flake some one told me you could use a potatoe and a tourch

Gravel Hog · Jan 2, 2011

An acetylene torch will do it. Plenty of ventilation don't breath fumes to be safe. If I was to do it I would use a crucible slow and easy as not to blow the fines away.
I forgot to mention to use some flux.

Doug Watson · Jan 2, 2011

Watch out with a torch. I blew a bunch of fine gold all over the place with a torch one time. Be sure to keep the flame under whatever you're heating it in. By the way I couldn't find most of my gold either. Live and learn. Anyway, I tell myself now that it wasn't worth as much then. Doug.

Golden member · Jan 4, 2011

I did this after breaking open one of those flaky leaf gold type displays that you get from the souvener shop using the crucible method and yup fine gold does blow away. And nope it wasn't as pure as they claimed, there was a high level of copper in the mix. If it doesn't say 100% gold then it isn't.

I'm sure the potatoe method works too.

miasdad · Jan 4, 2011

one more thing can you use the hand held propane tourch some said it works others say it dont get hot enough

Needle · Jan 4, 2011

I have melted fine Gold with a propane torch.

I took a black charcoal barbecue bricket and made a hole in it with a pocket knife, the hole resembled the shape of a teaspoon in size and depth.

Place this bricket in the middle of a large paper plate so, if any of your Gold does blow out from the torch the plate will capture most of it.

I used 20 mule team Borax for the flux...
I placed a little borax in the hole then placed the fine Gold on top of it and placed a little more borax on top of the Gold (not much, just a little to cover the Gold).

Then light the torch and slowly work the flame into the mass from the sides,
the borax will slowly melt and the Gold will form a ball or a button as it is called.
Let it cool then dig it out and clean it.

Needle

GoldinSocal · Jan 6, 2011

Needle, Slowly work the flames into the mass from the sides means what in dummie? :tongue3:

Cause im going to try this out tomorrow and any other tips would help me out some.

Needle · Jan 7, 2011

Slowly work the flame into the mass...
means the mass of borax and fine Gold in the depression of the bricket.
:dontknow:

GoldinSocal · Jan 7, 2011

cool man i think i gotcha now, i just assumed that was some sort of "special" technique. Thanks

Gravel Hog · Jan 7, 2011

Get some youtube video of it and post it, for others. I have seen lots of mining related video but none of melting small amounts of placer gold.

GoldinSocal · Jan 7, 2011

Gravelhog, Great idea and i'm kicking myself in the a$$ right now for not doing that because that is what i had planned for the same reason you mensioned, but as usuall i got behind and didn't get around to doing it till tonight and kind of rushed things which doesn't make for a good video.

Needle, well it turned out to be a decent idea considering i don't have the good material just sitting around and didn't cost me anything, but if i ever need to melt more gold i will definitley invest in better materials.

strickman · Jan 8, 2011

you have to work it slowly ,very slowly to keep from blowing your fines all over the place. scrap ,flake ,and nuggets not so much - but fines are a little harder to melt without losing a lot.

miasdad · Jan 10, 2011

hey you got to try it befor i did but i see it works :icon_thumleft:

sherwood · Nov 4, 2011

GoldinSocal said:
Gravelhog, Great idea and i'm kicking myself in the a$$ right now for not doing that because that is what i had planned for the same reason you mensioned, but as usuall i got behind and didn't get around to doing it till tonight and kind of rushed things which doesn't make for a good video.

Needle, well it turned out to be a decent idea considering i don't have the good material just sitting around and didn't cost me anything, but if i ever need to melt more gold i will definitley invest in better materials.

great work,

those little balls of gold look neat!

ohiochris · Nov 4, 2011

The video on youtube of the guy using the microwave kiln to melt gold showed him thoroughly mixing flux up with the gold bearing material before heating it. Would mixing borax up with it help while melting with a propane torch as well as putting borax on top of it ?

Gramps43 · Nov 4, 2011

I'm wondering if using one of cermaic type briquets for gas grills would work if you could hollow it out with say a concrete drill bits. If it could be done you'd have a reusable crucible.

Gramps

goldcur · Nov 6, 2011

Very interesting. If you torched a gold nugget coated with mercury would the mercury burn off before the gold melted? :coffee2:

russau · Nov 6, 2011

goldcur said:
Very interesting. If you torched a gold nugget coated with mercury would the mercury burn off before the gold melted?

yep it would, and your teeth and hair would fall out just before you would die from mercury posining. think before you do anything please!

Hoser John · Nov 7, 2011

Very good article in the ICMJ questions answered column on this very subject---get it for enlightenment AND Scott wrote a great highbanking article in the same issue also-John

goldcur · Nov 7, 2011

Just thinking out loud Rassau. I know the dangers and it has kept me from trying it. I am getting old enough though, that my hair and teeth are beginning to fall out on their own without any extra help.