Very nice, Dave.
todays Refined gold!
- Thread starter jewelerdave
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lazersteve
Well-known member
Excellent color Dave,
Harolds rinsing process is the bomb!!! I just recently adopted it and would never go back since I did.
Steve
Harolds rinsing process is the bomb!!! I just recently adopted it and would never go back since I did.
Steve
Noxx
Well-known member
Nice nugget 
NobleMetalsRecovery
Well-known member
Would someone please direct me to the post on the rinsing process that Harold uses?
lazersteve
Well-known member
Steve,
I can't seem to find Harolds original procedure but here's where I posted the steps in a similar cleanup:
Harolds Cleanup
Catfish also posted a summation of Harolds cleanup
Harold's Cleanup
I have a few short videos of this process also. I included a few snipets from these videos on my Gold Filled DVD, I'll try to get them posted to my website soon.
Steve
Steve
I can't seem to find Harolds original procedure but here's where I posted the steps in a similar cleanup:
Harolds Cleanup
Catfish also posted a summation of Harolds cleanup
Harold's Cleanup
I have a few short videos of this process also. I included a few snipets from these videos on my Gold Filled DVD, I'll try to get them posted to my website soon.
Steve
Steve
aflacglobal
Well-known member
It's in the book.
aflacglobal
Well-known member
:arrow: :arrow: :arrow: Getting pure gold (shining)
It has everything to do with how you’re refining.
There are NO shortcuts. If you want pure gold, you MUST follow accepted practice. Remember, those
that went before us have gone through this time and again----and have perfected a process that will yield
good quality------so if you’re interested in achieving that level, follow instructions that are at your
disposal. Don’t experiment-----leave that for others with time on their hands that are content to re-invent
the wheel. This is particularly important for you, considering you’re trying to establish a refining service.
Depending on what you’re starting with, you may have a hard time achieving a good level of purity the
first time through. That’s to be expected. Part of the problem is mechanical drag-down, where you’re
working with very heavily contaminated solutions, part of which follow the gold. They’re not always easy
to wash out, even when boiling with HCL.
My advice to you is this:
Process your gold the first time, using conventional means. Allow as little in the way of contaminations
(metals) as is humanely possible, to be included with the gold. Use only clean vessels. Wash them well
between operations-----and use BonAmi cleanser if necessary to remove stubborn stains. Do not use other
cleansers, for they scratch the glass. Filter before precipitating, and insure that the filter does not allow
particulate matter to pass. If it does, re-filter, or go to a better filter grade. A Whatman #2 does an
outstanding job for first refined metals, although they are not cheap. I used them exclusively for filtering
first run gold chloride. I felt they were worth the extra money. At all times, keep your beaker covered
with a watch glass of appropriate size, to prevent contamination from other sources.
Precipitate your gold using conventional methods, collect it and wash it well. It’s best to use a precipitant
that does not add contamination. I preferred SO2, but there are others that work equally as well, I’m
sure.
First wash should be in boiling HCL and tap water. Boil for a prolonged period of time. Take up the solution
with tap water, decant after the gold has settled, then rinse with tap water, which should again be
brought to a boil. After it has boiled for a period of time, add more tap water to cool the lot, then decant
as before. Rinse again, and do it until the wash water comes off clear. Next, wash the gold with
ammonium hydroxide and tap water. Heat it until it boils. You’ll notice that the solution gets discolored.
How much is determined by how dirty your gold was when you started. The ammonia evaporates fairly
quickly, so you can’t boil very long. Add tap water to cool, decant, and follow up with a tap water rinse,
again, boiling the water. Add tap water to cool, then decant. You now repeat the HCL and tap water wash.You’ll be amazed that suddenly more contaminants will come off. Boil well, add water to cool, decant,
repeat the water rinse, decant, then, and this is important-------start the refining process all over again by
dissolving the well washed gold powder in aqua regia. I’ll talk about that in a minute, but these are
indicators you should have observed along the way, aside from the fact that you could see contaminants
being washed from your gold powder.
The gold powder, which started out quite dark, is now much lighter in color.
It may have been rather loose and flocculent, but now is eager to agglomerate, so it forms lumps and
settles quickly.
While these instructions sound like a lot of wasted time, when you process what you think is pure gold,
you’ll see evidence in the remaining solutions that it was not. The evidence of which I speak will be in your
solution when you’ve extracted the gold for a second time. It’s a lot of work which is why I re-refined my
gold in large lots, often as much as 200 ounces at each refining, so the time spent yielded a large return.
When you precipitate for a second time, one of the things that you can do to help eliminate unwanted
elements is to use a different precipitant than the first time. I never bothered with that, but it’s good
advice if you’re fighting with a given contaminant and can’t get rid of it by other means. That was never a
problem for me.
Wash the gold powder the second refining by the same methods and sequences as the first refining. Make
sure all your equipment is scrupulously clean. Force dry the gold when it’s washed by heating the beaker
at a very low heat for a long period of time. Avoid allowing the beaker to achieve boiling temperature---
you get minor steam explosions that blow gold out of the container. As the gold dries, it’s a good idea to
30
swish it around the beaker occasionally, which prevents the gold from bonding to the beaker. The residual
matter in water tends to form around the gold and bond it to the beaker. While it’s a contaminant of
sorts, it does NOT alloy with your gold, so it is not a source of lowering the fineness unless you have
strange elements in your water. For me, it was not a problem.
Once dry, you can then melt your gold. A clean, never used for anything but pure gold, dish can be
used. It should be covered with a coating of borax, but nothing else. DO NOT USE ANY SODA ASH. If
there are any oxides present, they’ll be reduced and absorbed by the molten gold instead of locked in the
flux.
Your torch should be cleaned of loose crud before melting your gold. Run fine abrasive cloth over it until
it’s very clean, then wipe it down with a damp cloth to remove any traces of dust. Think clean every inch
of the operation-----otherwise you undo all the hard work you’ve done getting your gold pure.
Your other option is to operate a small gold cell, but you must have several ounces of pure gold for the
electrolyte.. That is likely not a viable choice for you at this point in time.
Harold
Washes
Quote Talking about eliminating the chlorides is a lot easier than doing it. The slightest trace of HCL
in your solution when you introduce nitric will be no different than a trace of nitric when you
wash your precipitated gold with HCL. In either case, you’ll dissolve some of your gold. Quote Harold
Hey guys:
I have just finished up a batch of gold that started out looking bad. It was black, very fine and
spongy. I used the method that Harold has outlined in this post on purifying gold. I am waiting
on some new cupels to melt it.
I followed all the steps as far refining in AR, boiling in Hydrochloric for 5 minutes, rinsing, then
boiling in water for 5 minutes, then rinsing, boiling in Ammonium Hydroxide for 5 minutes,
rinsing, boiling in water for 5 minutes, boiling in Hydrochloric again for 5 minutes, rinsing, and
boiling for 5 minutes in water. After all this I put it back in AR again and redid the entire
process. Catfish
It has everything to do with how you’re refining.
There are NO shortcuts. If you want pure gold, you MUST follow accepted practice. Remember, those
that went before us have gone through this time and again----and have perfected a process that will yield
good quality------so if you’re interested in achieving that level, follow instructions that are at your
disposal. Don’t experiment-----leave that for others with time on their hands that are content to re-invent
the wheel. This is particularly important for you, considering you’re trying to establish a refining service.
Depending on what you’re starting with, you may have a hard time achieving a good level of purity the
first time through. That’s to be expected. Part of the problem is mechanical drag-down, where you’re
working with very heavily contaminated solutions, part of which follow the gold. They’re not always easy
to wash out, even when boiling with HCL.
My advice to you is this:
Process your gold the first time, using conventional means. Allow as little in the way of contaminations
(metals) as is humanely possible, to be included with the gold. Use only clean vessels. Wash them well
between operations-----and use BonAmi cleanser if necessary to remove stubborn stains. Do not use other
cleansers, for they scratch the glass. Filter before precipitating, and insure that the filter does not allow
particulate matter to pass. If it does, re-filter, or go to a better filter grade. A Whatman #2 does an
outstanding job for first refined metals, although they are not cheap. I used them exclusively for filtering
first run gold chloride. I felt they were worth the extra money. At all times, keep your beaker covered
with a watch glass of appropriate size, to prevent contamination from other sources.
Precipitate your gold using conventional methods, collect it and wash it well. It’s best to use a precipitant
that does not add contamination. I preferred SO2, but there are others that work equally as well, I’m
sure.
First wash should be in boiling HCL and tap water. Boil for a prolonged period of time. Take up the solution
with tap water, decant after the gold has settled, then rinse with tap water, which should again be
brought to a boil. After it has boiled for a period of time, add more tap water to cool the lot, then decant
as before. Rinse again, and do it until the wash water comes off clear. Next, wash the gold with
ammonium hydroxide and tap water. Heat it until it boils. You’ll notice that the solution gets discolored.
How much is determined by how dirty your gold was when you started. The ammonia evaporates fairly
quickly, so you can’t boil very long. Add tap water to cool, decant, and follow up with a tap water rinse,
again, boiling the water. Add tap water to cool, then decant. You now repeat the HCL and tap water wash.You’ll be amazed that suddenly more contaminants will come off. Boil well, add water to cool, decant,
repeat the water rinse, decant, then, and this is important-------start the refining process all over again by
dissolving the well washed gold powder in aqua regia. I’ll talk about that in a minute, but these are
indicators you should have observed along the way, aside from the fact that you could see contaminants
being washed from your gold powder.
The gold powder, which started out quite dark, is now much lighter in color.
It may have been rather loose and flocculent, but now is eager to agglomerate, so it forms lumps and
settles quickly.
While these instructions sound like a lot of wasted time, when you process what you think is pure gold,
you’ll see evidence in the remaining solutions that it was not. The evidence of which I speak will be in your
solution when you’ve extracted the gold for a second time. It’s a lot of work which is why I re-refined my
gold in large lots, often as much as 200 ounces at each refining, so the time spent yielded a large return.
When you precipitate for a second time, one of the things that you can do to help eliminate unwanted
elements is to use a different precipitant than the first time. I never bothered with that, but it’s good
advice if you’re fighting with a given contaminant and can’t get rid of it by other means. That was never a
problem for me.
Wash the gold powder the second refining by the same methods and sequences as the first refining. Make
sure all your equipment is scrupulously clean. Force dry the gold when it’s washed by heating the beaker
at a very low heat for a long period of time. Avoid allowing the beaker to achieve boiling temperature---
you get minor steam explosions that blow gold out of the container. As the gold dries, it’s a good idea to
30
swish it around the beaker occasionally, which prevents the gold from bonding to the beaker. The residual
matter in water tends to form around the gold and bond it to the beaker. While it’s a contaminant of
sorts, it does NOT alloy with your gold, so it is not a source of lowering the fineness unless you have
strange elements in your water. For me, it was not a problem.
Once dry, you can then melt your gold. A clean, never used for anything but pure gold, dish can be
used. It should be covered with a coating of borax, but nothing else. DO NOT USE ANY SODA ASH. If
there are any oxides present, they’ll be reduced and absorbed by the molten gold instead of locked in the
flux.
Your torch should be cleaned of loose crud before melting your gold. Run fine abrasive cloth over it until
it’s very clean, then wipe it down with a damp cloth to remove any traces of dust. Think clean every inch
of the operation-----otherwise you undo all the hard work you’ve done getting your gold pure.
Your other option is to operate a small gold cell, but you must have several ounces of pure gold for the
electrolyte.. That is likely not a viable choice for you at this point in time.
Harold
Washes
Quote Talking about eliminating the chlorides is a lot easier than doing it. The slightest trace of HCL
in your solution when you introduce nitric will be no different than a trace of nitric when you
wash your precipitated gold with HCL. In either case, you’ll dissolve some of your gold. Quote Harold
Hey guys:
I have just finished up a batch of gold that started out looking bad. It was black, very fine and
spongy. I used the method that Harold has outlined in this post on purifying gold. I am waiting
on some new cupels to melt it.
I followed all the steps as far refining in AR, boiling in Hydrochloric for 5 minutes, rinsing, then
boiling in water for 5 minutes, then rinsing, boiling in Ammonium Hydroxide for 5 minutes,
rinsing, boiling in water for 5 minutes, boiling in Hydrochloric again for 5 minutes, rinsing, and
boiling for 5 minutes in water. After all this I put it back in AR again and redid the entire
process. Catfish
