Tellerium, Gold Tellurides, Calverite

Heathen Mojo

Tenderfoot
Nov 21, 2023
6
2
So I'm new to all this, and have been crawling past hurdle after hurdle, but as of yet, denied success. I made my own kiln that can go excess of 2000 degree F, I've roasted my ore cons, I see gold, or what I think is gold, then as I go through cupellation, the lead cooks off, the gold seems to disappear and I'm left with a blob of metal like this, see photo. If I touch the metal barehanded I end up with micro metal splinters in my fingers that when looked at with eye loop seem to morph between a mercury looking liquid as I squeeze it out then becomes a solid metal splinter when near or on the surface of my skin. I might add this metal blob then becomes rather impervious to smelting and takes on an extreme refractory nature, difficult to even melt and pour out of the cupel. Any thoughts, help, ideas? I've also included a photo of some of my ore.
 

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I think you need to give the black one a few light hits with a hammer to knock the slag off.
 

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I think you need to give the black one a few light hits with a hammer to knock the slag off.
I've already done that, but you've given me an idea for what I have not, I'm gunna try just to see what happens, the slag has pretty much been lightly knocked off of it, soon as it cooled, so I'm going to try hammering it hard enough to flatten it. I originally suspect it to be Chromium melted off the steel rebar I used in the crucible charge, as well also use a long piece of rebar to stir my crucible during smelting.
 

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I've already done that, but you've given me an idea for what I have not, I'm gunna try just to see what happens, the slag has pretty much been lightly knocked off of it, soon as it cooled, so I'm going to try hammering it hard enough to flatten it. I originally suspect it to be Chromium melted off the steel rebar I used in the crucible charge, as well also use a long piece of rebar to stir my crucible during smelting.
I think you need to give the black one a few light hits with a hammer to knock the slag off.
Oh NVM, thats a good eye you have, I mistakenly thought you were speaking of my mystery blob, but you noticed my slag-bar. It's from my early attempts at cupelllation and I poured myself a bar of slag which I thought unique enough keep around, would not take much to shatter it to pieces
 

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Oh NVM, thats a good eye you have, I mistakenly thought you were speaking of my mystery blob, but you noticed my slag-bar. It's from my early attempts at cupelllation and I poured myself a bar of slag which I thought unique enough keep around, would not take much to shatter it to pieces
Need a better photo
 

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