# Activated Carbon



## ME CO (Mar 25, 2007)

I know you all are not using this to get gold out of solution- or at least I haven't found any comments to that effect. Was wondering if during anyones research into this gold leaching thang if anyone got any understanding or saved links to info about activated carbon. I was a member of a group a couple years ago where the idea was to get gold out of water using activated carbon (it was said that natural charcoal worked too), anyways I made up a bag with heavy nylon window screen and filled about half full with carbon. Had one end sos I ran a rod through and hung it in the river. Anyways when I left the river last season I laid it out for the water to flow through, also had one with natural charcoal for a comparison. Last weekend I went up to the claim for some stress relief and to look around- someone had pulled my carbon bag out (I'm sure not too long ago as there was alot of snow from the time I left till a month ago) and it was laying on the bank, my other bag I wasn't able to locate without wading out and really looking. I took the carbon bag to another spot and reinserted it and plan to retrieve in May on ME 2 week trip. Anyways I have heard that when burning the carbon flux is needed to keep the gold from volitizing off (one of my lost links). 
Has anyone came across any links with info that would help me- my puter crashed a month and a half ago and I lost everything. I may take the time in May to mortar and pestle some of the carbon and try to recover the gold out of it around camp. Then again I may just pick it up and grind it when I get home. Thanks, Mark


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## lazersteve (Mar 25, 2007)

Mark,

I seem to remember hitting a few web sites that metioned using carbon in the gold refining process. If I remember correctly it was an industrial scale operation.

Here's what I found in a few clicks on google today:

http://www.cyanidecode.org/cyanide_use.php

and 

http://www.marthamine.co.nz/ore_process.html


I hope this points you in the right dirction, keep us posted.

Steve


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## jimdoc (Mar 25, 2007)

The guy in the action mining dvd on platinum leaching from converters
mentions a carbon filter in the presentation. I think he said you can run aqua regia through it to reclaim the precious metals from the carbon.


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## ME CO (Mar 25, 2007)

Thanks. I'm thinking grind it up and burn it either in the muffle furnace or with a torch. I could charge some merc and sick it on it but it loses its charge too fast- I have used charged merc on black sand and have no doubt it would eat the carbon to get the gold. 
I will let you all know how it goes- talk in that other group was to get rich pumping water with 5ppm through a filter system haha. I will have to check on them again but to my knowlege noone has been too successful yet or haven't tried yet. Maybe I'll get a little button out of it- if I do I'll get some pics. Mark


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