# A question about SSN



## Wyndham (Jul 3, 2011)

This is a generalized question about SSN compared to AR, not about which is better but about the similarities between them, if any.
Since SSN, is the super saturated solution of salt is in water with nitric acid and Ar is the composition of HCL and Nitric acid and water is there a similarity of ingredients that cause a similar reaction because of the chlorine/chloride, the nitric and the hydrogen/oxygen in the water in the SSN.
Put it another way is the SSN a backdoor(my visualization) to what AR does.
I know from several years of reading and a few post that those here are very adamant about the correct way to proceed with any recovery or refining and rightly so,chemistry is dangerous if not taken seriously.
I'm not asking for a method but just a general though as to how gold can be reacted on and if my superficial look at a complex problem has any merit.
Happy 4th, Wyndham


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## Anonymous (Jul 3, 2011)

I have used SSN several times,and from a recovery standpoint,I won't touch it again.It will dissolve almost anything and everything you put in it(like AR), however getting back was extremely difficult for me.


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## skippy (Jul 3, 2011)

Mic, I think maybe the problem is the excess of nitric in comparison to the amount of metal being dissolved, which leads me to say either the solution needs to be used until spent, or to use less nitric.
I don't see why you couldn't add smaller amounts of nitric to the solution as needed rather than the one large initial amount like the SSN document specifies.

SSN is likely a decent choice for ores and catalysts and other lower concentration materials where you need a large volume of a relatively cheap and strong leach. It does a good job on platinum and palladium too, although I haven't yet established how it does on rhodium. You don't actually need nitric acid to make it either. You can get the exact same action by mixing sodium nitrate, hydrochloric acid and sodium chloride to achieve the same concentration of H+, NO3-, Na+ and Cl- ions 

Addressing the original question, yes they work off similar chemistry. Much like poor man's AR approximates AR by mixing sodium nitrate with HCl, SSN does the same with sodium chloride and nitric acid. You've got a strong acid for H+, and if you've got nitrate and chloride ions, you'll get the same reactions happening.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_regia - you can see from the equations and the text the roles of the various ions in the reaction. 
As a further example, you could also dissolve gold with sulfuric acid mixed with salt and sodium nitrate. 

I can't see any advantage to SSN over regular AR for most of the uses of AR in gold refining, however. In fact AR should dissolve more gold than SSN given the same amount of HNO3 owing to SSN requiring the HNO3 to provide acidity as well as drive the oxidation of the gold forward.


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## butcher (Jul 3, 2011)

The hydrogen (HNO3) in the acid and salt form HCl,
HCl with nitric forms Aqua Regia,
I see this as another poor mans Aqua Regia,
not the best gold recovery choice for most ore.
Ore can be loaded with base metals.


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## element47 (Jul 3, 2011)

What is SSN?


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## Barren Realms 007 (Jul 3, 2011)

element47 said:


> What is SSN?



Cyanide leach!

Saturated salt and nitric, actually. Barren was unable to edit, so I did it for him. 

Harold


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## Oz (Jul 4, 2011)

I do not know what Barrens is talking about. SSN to the best of my knowledge has always been a saturated sodium chloride solution that nitric acid is added to.

Cyanide has nothing to do with it.


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## Anonymous (Jul 4, 2011)

Oz said:


> I do not know what Barrens is talking about. SSN to the best of my knowledge has always been a saturated sodium chloride solution that nitric acid is added to.


Correct. SSN stands for Saturated Salt Nitric leach.
Here is the method,and volumes,that I used. http://www.scribd.com/doc/16798901/SSN-Leach


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## Barren Realms 007 (Jul 4, 2011)

Thanks Oz & mic, I wasn't thinking right.

I would go change it but I have no edit button on that post.

I commented in the post for you. Barren.

Harold


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## rusty (Jul 4, 2011)

Oz said:


> I do not know what Barrens is talking about. SSN to the best of my knowledge has always been a saturated sodium chloride solution that nitric acid is added to.
> 
> Cyanide has nothing to do with it.



If you added cyanide to SSN I believe you would have hydrogen cyanide, the gas used in the chamber to terminate life.

Regards
Rusty


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## Harold_V (Jul 5, 2011)

rusty said:


> If you added cyanide to SSN I believe you would have hydrogen cyanide, the gas used in the chamber to terminate life.
> 
> Regards
> Rusty


Pretty much true. When I used cyanide, it was important to maintain no less than 9½ pH to eliminate the formation of hydrocyanic acid.

Harold


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## Wyndham (Jul 5, 2011)

Thanks for the replies, to me at least, it's interesting to see the different ways things come together to provide similar results.
Wyndham

Edit:
Another thought came to mind after I posted this. Would there be problems with this leach if it were used on micro gold & black sand concentrates or beach placer concentrates because of the iron and possible arsenic compounds in the black sands and associated minerals (well ventilated outside) would be the possible test.
Wyndham


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