Your answer do not make sense since you have only been here for a month.
Most people need a couple of months just for Hokes book.
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Most people need a couple of months just for Hokes book.
Barthel732
Well-known member
It makes sense if I was working with this before I joined. Which I was. Someone doesn’t have to be joined in this group to work with chemicals or read hokes book. I just joined to try and figure out what I was doing wrong and figured people here would be welcoming to that. I see this group isn’t gonna be for me with people judging or looking down on the next. Take care
JSP nitric substitute is sodium nitrate. When mixed with water it will not dissolve anything of interest for our purposes here. When added to HCl, it acts as an oxidizer, and a reasonable substitute for Aqua Regia is made.
Both more HCl and more Sodium Nitrate are used than HCl and Nitric Acid for the same quantity of gold.
Adding Urea to this solution will change the PH toward basic, but does little to destroy nitric acid. The solution must be acidic for SMB to precipitate gold. This is why we use Sulfamic Acid to destroy Nitric Acid, and leave Urea to the garden.
Does this help a bit?
Time for more coffee.
Both more HCl and more Sodium Nitrate are used than HCl and Nitric Acid for the same quantity of gold.
Adding Urea to this solution will change the PH toward basic, but does little to destroy nitric acid. The solution must be acidic for SMB to precipitate gold. This is why we use Sulfamic Acid to destroy Nitric Acid, and leave Urea to the garden.
Does this help a bit?
Time for more coffee.
Barthel732
Well-known member
Yes that helped thank you. So if I don’t have sulfamic acid to use. What else can I do
This is a typical case of to little information too late.
You did not do a proper introduction, and we do not read minds.
I was trying to get a base line on your position.
So you have read Hokes book, have you read the safety section and waste treatment?
In your case you could/should have dropped the Nitric all together and used HCl/Peroxide in stead or HCl/Pool chlorine.
So what I would do, is to re acidify with HCl, maybe the SMB starts working immediately.
If not, Cement it with Copper and collect the powders and dissolve it in HCl and your preferred method of the previous mentioned techniques. Then drop it again.
Barthel732
Well-known member
Ok. Thank you. Bad day yesterday all together. My apologies. Yes I’ve read the whole book. But I’m one to learn from doing and not reading honestly
Fair enough, how about the links?
Barthel732
Well-known member
Which links would that be??
The links posted as a reply to your first post here.
https://goldrefiningforum.com/threads/precipitating-gold-problems.17220/post-360582
Barthel732
Well-known member
Honestly I’m still trying to figure out tho site and how to work it
So far it has basically been reading the replies you get and research what comes in the replies.
Barthel732
Well-known member
Ok. Now like I mentioned before I don’t learn by reading. I never have. I’m a hands on learner. I have to actually do things to learn. So how can this site help someone who is that way.
You will not be able to learn refining in a manner where you can't read some and learn from it.
So you will have to be tough on yourself, read some and then go and practice what you have read
and then repeat with the next chapter.
Get a notebook and take frequent notes during the experiments.
What you really NEED to do is read the safety section, this one should almost be memorized since your health and maybe even your life depends on it.
The waste treatment is almost as important but there you can use your notebook.
Barthel732
Well-known member
Ok. The safety I do take seriously. That’s probably the one I pay attention to the most. Everything waste wise is all neutralized and disposed of properly. I always wear gloves and masks. Also I use fume hoods
Mask is not recommended, that is emergency evacuation gear and not for refining.
Waste needs to be treated properly, not only neutralized and disposed of.
Simply laid out:
First one use Copper to drop what ever PMs is left in solution and then Iron is used to drop the Copper.
Then the solution is subjected to high pH to drop the Hydroxides of the rest of the metals
and then at last neutralized for disposal.
Barthel732
Well-known member
Ok got it. I just wear the mask cause I’ve had lung surgery a few years ago and wouldn’t want to do that again if I can help it
Any mask will have a relatively short life time after the canister is opened.
And the red cloud NOx from Nitric is beyond masks ability.
Having a decent fume hood and a system for catching the fumes should suffice.
Something like this:
Barthel732
Well-known member
Ok. Yeah I noticed the masks don’t work to well. I am however going to put this gold process on hold for awhile. Try to read up on it more and take your advice. I have been doing the silver refining with sulfuric acid/lye and sugar. And I have had success with that process. So if I can’t eventually figure this gold process out atleast I’ll have the silver process
Barthel732
Well-known member
So I set that solution aside earlier and just looked at it. There’s a half inch layer of brown liquid on the surface and under all that is a really dark green color. Not sure what’s going on. My stannous test isn’t working for some reason. Maybe it’s to old I’m not sure
