# Transmutations of Mercury to Gold



## Anonymous (Jun 9, 2009)

Interesting read! http://www.levity.com/alchemy/nelson2_7.html


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## leavemealone (Jun 9, 2009)

That is absolutely incredible.Kind of wish I had all of my lamps back now....  lol.Very nice post gus.
Johnny


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## g_axelsson (Jun 10, 2009)

Interesting read but not probable. The amount of gold produced is so minute that it probably came from traces in the Hg. The purity of the Hg and electrodes needed to be in the 8-niner vicinity just to prove the effect and that is really hard to achieve.
If it was so easy to make gold it would be an industrial process right now and it would also have been developed to transmute radioactive waste into more benign isotopes.
Another negative proof is that high pressure Hg lamps are used by the spectroscopic community for high precision spectroscopy. If there was something as Hg transmutating into gold it would affect the measurement and they would need to compensate for it. I've never heard of any such compensation.

Nuclear transmutation by electron capture is really improbable. Known ways to do the transmutation is by :
1. Irradiation of Hg with gamma rays with 6.8 MeV energy. It ejects one neutron creating 197Hg with a half life of 2.5 days decaying into 197Au, stable gold.
2. Spallation, by smashing Hg with high energy protons the resulting debris contains among other things Au, Pt, and Pd.

Read more in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesis_of_noble_metals

Common to all the methods above is that it is cheaper just to dig the gold out of the earth. 

/Göran


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## newgold (Dec 24, 2010)

A few years ago I extracted about 200 grammes of "gold " using a Knelson concentrator from crushed rock .
The concentrate was put into mercury and then retorted . On opening the retort to look for the amalgam there was nothing there . The "gold" had somehow disappeared with the retorted mercury to be collected in a container.
Repeated attempts with nitric acid did not reveal gold, which we later recovered in a crystal form (beautiful tubes) using the chamois squeeze method. Somehow the gold had gone across by taking on the characteristic of mercury and then back into liquid mercury.
Transmutation? ---- maybe-----but only after we started with gold


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## Ocean (Dec 27, 2010)

Philosopher's Stone?


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## Claudie (Dec 27, 2010)

Other peoples dealings with Mercury & Gold
http://www.finishing.com/130/44.shtml

Wikipedia also has an article on synthesis of precious metals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesis_of_precious_metals


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## kuma (Jun 29, 2011)

Hello there everyone , hows tricks ? I'm a newbie on the forum so please bear with me ( yeah , like youv'e never heard that one before , ;-) . 
Just a thought on the recovery of gold plate from circut pins , gold plated cable sockets and plugs ect.
Since gold can be amalgamated with mercury , is it not possible to dip in , or even mix in then remove your gold plated pieces into said mercury to 'clean off' the gold , then burn off mercury using your torch , leaving behind what I would imagine to be a very tiny amount but nevertheless a very pure piece of gold ?
If this wouldn't work , why not ?
Was just a thought , 
Hope to hear back , 
Kindest regards , 
Chris C. :roll:


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## goldsilverpro (Jun 29, 2011)

kuma,

Since we are in the business of keeping our members healthy and long-lived, evaporating mercury with a torch would be the epitome of stupidity. Also, the material itself would then be contaminated with mercury, especially, I would think, in areas where the mercury contacted copper. There are much safer methods outlined on this forum.

Just because something might work, that doesn't mean it would be sensible to do it.


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## etack (Jun 29, 2011)

this is what happens

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=2198&hilit=mercury

there is a whole section on safety
Eric


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## kuma (Jun 29, 2011)

goldsilverpro said:


> kuma,
> 
> Since we are in the business of keeping our members healthy and long-lived, evaporating mercury with a torch would be the epitome of stupidity. Also, the material itself would then be contaminated with mercury, especially, I would think, in areas where the mercury contacted copper. There are much safer methods outlined on this forum.
> 
> Just because something might work, that doesn't mean it would be sensible to do it.



Hello , hows tricks ?
Thanks for the reply. I totaly understand the dangers of mercury vapour , and if I were to ever attempt to amalgamate gold with mercury it would as a matter of course be burnt off outside. 
This is not somthing that I am even thinking of attempting , I was purly interested in wether or not it was at all possible to recover the gold from these materials in this way ! 
I am interested in gold and silver recovery and refining using the electrolyisis method , which brought me to your forum through my online 'research' , you can bet I'll most probably pick all your brains on that one at some point !! (if that's o.k. ?)
Thanks again and all the best for now , 
Chris


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## goldsilverpro (Jun 29, 2011)

Inside, outside, you're still contaminating the air and I'm sure the heavy mercury fumes will hang near the ground for awhile. It would be difficult for you or anyone else in the vicinity not to breathe them. A little here, a little there, and then you're very ill.

Buy or make an efficient retort if you're going to deal with mercury. It's the only safe way and all the mercury is collected and is reusable.
http://www.goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/search.php?keywords=retort+mercury&terms=all&author=&sv=0&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search


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## kuma (Jun 29, 2011)

Sorry , browser playing up !!


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## kuma (Jun 29, 2011)

That's a fair point and has been taken on board.
As I mentioned before , I have no plans to carry out this procedure , I was merely interested as to whether or not it would work in that way.
I am acutly aware of other 'safer' , and more productive ways of getting things done , and as the father of three amazing kid's , I have no plans to do myself in just yet , and so far I think I'm doing pretty well !
Please don't assume , that just because I have asked about whether or not a procedure is likley to work , that I am going to pop off and try it.
I have watched many fascinating documentaries about nuclear weapons , this doesn't mean that I'm on the look out for plutonium.
It means that I'm interested in the science behind it.
With the greatest of respect and the kindest regards , 
Chris C.


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## Harold_V (Jun 30, 2011)

kuma said:


> Please don't assume , that just because I have asked about whether or not a procedure is likely to work , that I am going to pop off and try it.


In this instance, it's important for you to understand that when you propose a hare-brained idea, there's no shortage of idiots that take it to heart, especially when it alludes to a simple way to extract or refine gold. We fight a steady flow of misinformed people on this forum, some of whom have paid good money for misinformation that isn't in their best interest. Armed with that idea, expect to be called out if you post anything moronic. That's what we do here. 



> I have watched many fascinating documentaries about nuclear weapons , this doesn't mean that I'm on the look out for plutonium.


True, most likely, with you, but do consider what I said, above. Those of us that moderate have a responsibility to ensure that readers aren't fed information that is misleading, especially if it offers risk. And, while we're at it, try to understand that there are those that refuse to come to terms with legitimate information, in particular if it's against that which they prefer to believe. A good example, although not related to refining, is smoking. Those that have no desire to quit often also refuse to acknowledge the connection between smoking and a huge number of health risks, not the least of which is cancer. 



> It means that I'm interested in the science behind it.


Nothing wrong with learning, but, again, we must be careful to not put in print anything that can be remotely considered as guidance. Anyone looking for the easy way out will generally ignore sound advice and take advantage of concepts that make a task seem easy. A good example of that is the huge number of people that hope to refine gold from e scrap using aqua regia, without addressing the base metals first. We face that problem daily---with some copping an attitude because they read it online. 

Do use good judgment when posting. It will keep you in the good graces of the moderators. We run a tight ship here, and the readers tend to be appreciative. It eliminates the need for them to question everything that's posted, so their learning curve is shortened, being fed with a good diet of information. 

Harold


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## texan (Jun 30, 2011)

Spend $60.000 to get $1.00 of gold....this has got to have been a government program without a doubt.

Texan


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## Dirtdiggaler (Aug 11, 2011)

I use a air tort to get the values out of the mercury. It has a 1 micron filter in one end of a tube. You just add your mercury then screw on the cap hold it under water and push the mercury through the filter with compressed air. The values are left on the filter. When I do an assay using mercury I dissolve the mercury in a nitric acid and water solution. The gold is then filtered out. To recover the mercury I put a piece of copper wire in the solution and the mercury is precipitated.
The mercury has an affinity for the gold, I do not believe (but I could be wrong) that the mercury would remove the gold from plated components because it is not free gold. I do all my mercury tests under a fume hood and I wear gloves if your skin is acidic or alkaline it will dissolve the mercury into your body and you will be sorry. Never let mercury sit uncovered it off gasses. Never take it into your house if you spill it in your house it will slowly poison you. Mercury is safe if used correctly but deadly if you repeatedly use it wrong it slowly kills you.


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## NoIdea (Aug 11, 2011)

The only thing you will achieve by mixing mercury with gold plated “what evers” is mercury covered gold plated “what evers”. Kind of like tinning gold with mercury. 

Many years ago, bin there done that, still have them in a sealed quick fit bottle. One day I will set up a wee still to deal with it. 

If you are using mercury, please keep some sulphur powder around in case of spills.

Deano


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## Harold_V (Aug 11, 2011)

dirtdiggaler said:


> The mercury has an affinity for the gold, I do not believe (but I could be wrong) that the mercury would remove the gold from plated components because it is not free gold.


Mercury, like most liquid metals, is a solvent of other metals. Gold is dissolved in mercury, until the mercury gets saturated. Whether you could recover gold by that process may or may not work, but it's important to understand that gold that has been exposed to mercury is not unchanged. 

Solder used in wave soldering machines slowly gets contaminated with gold, yet the solder is well below the melting point of gold. Again, a case where a liquid dissolves a solid. 

Harold


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## Dirtdiggaler (Aug 12, 2011)

Harold_V said:


> dirtdiggaler said:
> 
> 
> > The mercury has an affinity for the gold, I do not believe (but I could be wrong) that the mercury would remove the gold from plated components because it is not free gold.
> ...


This is what I have read and been taught. Solvent extraction is when you transfer certain ionic species in an aqueous solution to an organic solvent and I did not know that "liquid metals are a solvent of other metals" very interesting.
(Gold and silver are not soluble in mercury, as stated in most texts. The gold and silver simply combine with mercury to form a pasty mixture. It is like the relationship of diamonds and grease: Diamonds have an affinity for grease and are collected on greased plates C.W Ammen). As you stated, the gold is unchanged. Does that mean The amalgam is a mixture - not a compound. 



Could it be that lead is very corrosive when its molten so the gold becomes soluble in the lead as it does in a fire assay? When I am testing an ore and I see visible metal in my scope, I pan until all I have left is the metal, then I add the metal to 30 grams of lead and cupel at 1700 degrees. Gold and platinum have a higher melting point and for some reason they are soluble in molten lead. The part that baffles me is that you can have an assay bead with ruthenium, osmium, and rhodium when they are not very soluble in molten lead. 
Thank you for your reply Harold I have learned so much from this forum.


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## Harold_V (Aug 12, 2011)

dirtdiggaler said:


> This is what I have read and been taught. Solvent extraction is when you transfer certain ionic species in an aqueous solution to an organic solvent and I did not know that "liquid metals are a solvent of other metals" very interesting.
> (Gold and silver are not soluble in mercury, as stated in most texts. The gold and silver simply combine with mercury to form a pasty mixture.


I'm inclined to disagree with that. If it was true that mercury did not dissolve gold and silver, dental amalgam wouldn't work as it does. It is also well known that covering a gold ring with mercury destroys the ring. It may be that it dissolves one of the alloying agents, however, which might also explain why dental amalgam works as it does. It contains some copper, along with silver. 



> It is like the relationship of diamonds and grease: Diamonds have an affinity for grease and are collected on greased plates C.W Ammen). As you stated, the gold is unchanged. Does that mean The amalgam is a mixture - not a compound.


I think you may have misunderstood what I said. I'm of the opinion that the gold is  changed when in contact with mercury, evidenced by the destruction of alloyed gold jewelry. Again, that may be due to the removal of copper, although I don't know that it is. 

I'm not convinced I'd say molten lead was corrosive---it's just a solvent. I suppose that's a matter of acceptable terms, for dissolving something you wish to remain un-dissolved would certainly be viewed as having corroded. At any rate, molten metals are good solvents of other metals, otherwise litharge wouldn't be nearly as useful as it is in an assay. 

Harold


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## Dirtdiggaler (Aug 12, 2011)

Harold_V said:


> dirtdiggaler said:
> 
> 
> > This is what I have read and been taught. Solvent extraction is when you transfer certain ionic species in an aqueous solution to an organic solvent and I did not know that "liquid metals are a solvent of other metals" very interesting.
> ...



I would like to learn more about metals being solvents of other metals, it is very interesting do you know any literature on the subject ?


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## Harold_V (Aug 13, 2011)

dirtdiggaler said:


> I would like to learn more about metals being solvents of other metals, it is very interesting do you know any literature on the subject ?


I do not---I've never been concerned enough to investigate. However, if there's anything you discover that disproves ANYTHING I've said, please bring it to my attention. 

In foundry work, they often use a steel ladle to handle molten metals. The ladle is (refractory) lined, to prevent contamination of the heat in question. It's important to keep metals isolated from one another when molten. It's even important to keep pure silver isolated from pure gold. It is well documented (read Sir. T.K. Rose's The Metallurgy of Gold) to discover that silver and gold when placed in intimate contact, migrate to one another. If they can do it cold, imagine the speed at which it can happen when heated. 

Harold

Edit:
It was brought to my attention that the word "heat" may not make sense. My training as a machinist is flavoring my comments. When certified material is purchased, the lot number, referenced as a "heat", is assigned to a given batch of metal, with documents certifying chemical analysis provided. So then, I really did mean heat, although in precious metal terms, that may not be appropriate. The point is that you understand that molten metals dissolve other metals, even at temperatures below their melting points. 

Thanks, Nick! 8)


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## qst42know (Aug 13, 2011)

> I would like to learn more about metals being solvents of other metals, it is very interesting do you know any literature on the subject ?



You might try here and the links within.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_diffusion

Solder and braze joints are possible because of this blending at temperature. Solder tanks are known to become contaminated with the metals being bonded to the point of becoming ineffective. Temperature accelerates the migration of atoms but depending on the elements involved it can occur at room temperature. "Solvent" may not be the technical term but it is an easy way to visualize the effect.


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## butcher (Aug 13, 2011)

After skimming through posts, (briefly no time on my hands).
This I feel temperature has something to do with what the reaction will be chemically, mixture of two metals or an alloy. Heat may play a role in how they combine, for that matter time may also, like oxygen and Iron. The reaction may only be speed up, with heat or time, and initial contact and separation may not form an alloy? 

Alma gamed gold can be squeezed through chamois cloth, seems to me not to be a mixture chemically,
Gold dissolved from pins into solder does seem to be combined chemically.

I will read this post better and try to get more of gist of what this discussion is about, been so busy lately.
??? very interesting...


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## Harold_V (Aug 14, 2011)

qst42know said:


> "Solvent" may not be the technical term but it is an easy way to visualize the effect.


Yes, I agree. What ever the mechanism, it's known that metals are absorbed by other metals that are in a fluid state. Example---you can "dissolve" nickel (melts @ 2647°F) in gold by simply melting the gold (less than 2,000°F) and vigorously stirring. Even though you never achieve the temperate of molten nickel, it forms an alloy (white gold).

I am not versed in assay procedures, but platinum is commonly dissolved (when present) by the lead that results from added litharge when performing an assay. Platinum melts @ 3,224°F. Indications are that the temperature for a common fire assay is at 2,000°F. 

Harold


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## Claudie (Oct 20, 2011)

He thinks Chicago is a country. Don't click on the link.... :|


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