AUDuke said:
Shortstack said:
WIRE gold in quartz? You can multiply your money take on it by using acid to eat away the rock of chunks of material and leaving the gold as little "trees" with enough of the rock left to form a base. I've always heard that this kind of specimen
wire gold is very, very valuable way
beyond the value of the gold alone because wire gold is
rare. And processing the chucks like this reveals beautiful forms in gold that resembles trees and lace coral. I've seen beautiful examples in the gems and jewelry magazines. These type specimens are sold at auction and bring big bucks. You could have a large pot of mullah in return for one backpack worth of material. Construct a "hide" for your gloryhole and go there a couple of times a year and liveth the goodth lifeth.
technique and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Just think of how much hard work miUsing nitric acid gets rid of the rock material while giving the gold a good cleaning.
Do some investigating into this ning you'll save while raking in a lot more money.
Nitric acid will not remove the quartz. Only
hydrofluoric acid dissolves quartz, it attacks silica, and using it is VERY dangerous.
You are correct. I was wrong about which acid to use to dissolve the quartz. Nitric is used to safely clean the gold of small grunge and soil; such as that collected from everyday wear on jewelry. The hydrofluoric acid is dangerous if certain precautions are not taken. Proper elbow length gloves, full length apron, face shield, and active ventilation. You should also use a face mask with filter cans designed for poisons and acid fumes. Such face masks and filter cans can be found in welding supply stores and paint suppliers.
The sizes of material being processed would be no larger than 2 fists; mostly half that size and smaller because you'd be processing highly marketable specimen sizes. A glass container large enough to hold these pieces (one or two at a time) can be purchased from a laboratory supply house.
In addition to not breathing the fumes and not getting the acid on you; a biggie is to NEVER, NEVER, NEVER add water to the acid. If it's necessary to dilute the acid, you MUST add the acid to the water, SLOWLY. A safety requirement would be to have a plentiful source of cold water to flush a skin area where any acid might splash.
Since wire gold is so rare, the expense and extra work it takes to process those high dollar specimens would be repaid a hundred times over. Just one rucksack full of that rich quartz could conceivably bring 10s of thousands of dollars. If the wrong people get too nosey, the gentleman can just tell them that they were picked up on cross country hikes and "I just don't remember where they came from."
Truthfully, I'd much rather use this technique than mercury, arsenic, or high temps in processing gold. But, of course, that's just MY opinion. It's definitely Hard Rock's choice and I wish him the best in his project.
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Shortstack said:
AUDuke said:
Shortstack said:
WIRE gold in quartz? You can multiply your money take on it by using acid to eat away the rock of chunks of material and leaving the gold as little "trees" with enough of the rock left to form a base. I've always heard that this kind of specimen
wire gold is very, very valuable way
beyond the value of the gold alone because wire gold is
rare. And processing the chucks like this reveals beautiful forms in gold that resembles trees and lace coral. I've seen beautiful examples in the gems and jewelry magazines. These type specimens are sold at auction and bring big bucks. You could have a large pot of mullah in return for one backpack worth of material. Construct a "hide" for your gloryhole and go there a couple of times a year and liveth the goodth lifeth.
technique and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Just think of how much hard work miUsing nitric acid gets rid of the rock material while giving the gold a good cleaning.
Do some investigating into this ning you'll save while raking in a lot more money.
Nitric acid will not remove the quartz. Only
hydrofluoric acid dissolves quartz, it attacks silica, and using it is VERY dangerous.
You are correct. I was wrong about which acid to use to dissolve the quartz. Nitric is used to safely clean the gold of small grunge and soil; such as that collected from everyday wear on jewelry. The hydrofluoric acid is dangerous if certain precautions are not taken. Proper elbow length gloves, full length apron, face shield, and active ventilation. You should also use a face mask with filter cans designed for poisons and acid fumes. Such face masks and filter cans can be found in welding supply stores and paint suppliers.
The sizes of material being processed would be no larger than 2 fists; mostly half that size and smaller because you'd be processing highly marketable specimen sizes. A glass container large enough to hold these pieces (one or two at a time) can be purchased from a laboratory supply house.
In addition to not breathing the fumes and not getting the acid on you; a biggie is to NEVER, NEVER, NEVER add water to the acid. If it's necessary to dilute the acid, you MUST add the acid to the water, SLOWLY. A safety requirement would be to have a plentiful source of cold water to flush a skin area where any acid might splash.
Since wire gold is so rare, the expense and extra work it takes to process those high dollar specimens would be repaid a hundred times over. Just one rucksack full of that rich quartz could conceivably bring 10s of thousands of dollars. If the wrong people get too nosey, the gentleman can just tell them that they were picked up on cross country hikes and "I just don't remember where they came from."
Truthfully, I'd much rather use this technique than mercury, arsenic, or high temps in processing gold. But, of course, that's just MY opinion. It's definitely Hard Rock's choice and I wish him the best in his project.
Hydroflouric acid cannot be used in a glass container, glass is made from silica.
