# Does this resemble rhodium powder or black



## Slaughlin79 (Nov 13, 2019)

Being that there is no safe way of testing for rhodium while in a metal form and I understand that it’s probably mostly guessing but You guys that have seen rhodium black can you tell me if this resembles it? I honestly can’t remember how I collected it but do know it came from catalytic converters I processed and actually still processing bc I couldn’t find anyone to take all of off my hands for free. I’m glad they didn’t bc there is loads of palladium and platinum and maybe rhodium. I found a picture online that looks identical and so is why I ask does my boat float or am about to sink?


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## butcher (Nov 14, 2019)

Who knows without some type of testing.

Rh can be put into solution with a fusion using sodium bisulfate NaHSO4, (or in Hot concentrated H2SO4) giving a red -orange-colored solution (Rh becomes soluble in water).

With some study this can be done safely on a small test, in a test tube...


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## Lino1406 (Nov 14, 2019)

Rhodium from precipitation should look absolutely black - not what in the photo


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## Slaughlin79 (Nov 14, 2019)

Okay and am in no way arguing with you guys but I’m getting weird results. This material I have tried to dissolve twice,once with hydrogen peroxide 12% and HCL and once with HCl and dry chlorine granules, also with and without heat and nothing is put into solution. 

Now I melted a little and while melting It spark could tell I was burning some off but what did melt dissolved loved easily with H2O2 and HCl. The solution is yellow green and tests positive for platinum. Now I’m confused as hell. The platinum should’ve went into solution before melting.

Also I’ve read on this site that rhodium black had a brownish redish tint and your saying it’s going to be black. 
I hate the name pgm black bc it’s misleading in a few cases but my untrained eyes are causing a problem. The material is heavy and sinks rapidly and nothing I have will dissolve it and I remember where it came from. It was the left over precipitate after getting all the pd and pt out.
So I’m that’s why I’m getting a test for pt bc there must have been a tad bit left. Im not quite sure how to fuse it and most explanations I’ve found seem to be incomplete except for one post but I can’t find it


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## butcher (Nov 14, 2019)

When we take sugar or salt, or even a salt of metals and metals and heat them, they will fuse or melt into a syrup-like substance.
In that syrup-like substance or fusion of salts and metals, we can have reactions taking place with the salts and metals in the test tube (or another suitable reaction vessel), at these temperatures and concentrations.

Concentrated H2SO4 or the sodium bisulfate in the molten syrup (fusion) will react with the Rhodium oxidizing the Rhodium into a state that is soluble...

Fusion well it is kind of like making candy :lol: not really., although I would suspect making candy would be harder.


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## Slaughlin79 (Nov 14, 2019)

Thank you butcher. I do believe it was a post by you that I read about fusion and rhodium and couldn’t find. I’ve learned a lot from your posts so it’s an honer to have you reply on to this thread. Do you agree that the color is off from rhodium black you have come across? I know no one can give a 100 percent answer bc of monitor color and lighting when taking picture but I’m just curious bc like I mentioned above pgm black is kind of misleading. I absolutely will try fusion when I have time bc I’m just curious. Thanks to every who has replied


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## butcher (Nov 14, 2019)

Every time I try to guess how much gold I will have in my pan when I Finish panning I am always disappointed, I always believe the pan is holding big nuggets just out of view, be under the gravel in the pan.

Every time I try to guess how much gold in some scrap I am always wrong, and disappointed, I always see more than there is.

I have learned that I am not disappointed when I do not guess and am almost always wrong and disappointed when I do.

As a miner, I say it has to be loaded with gold I know the motherload is just under the rock, but every time I guess I must be guessing which rock.

I have found that by not guessing, but by testing, I am not disappointed, I know.

Search for Laser Steve's post on testing for Rh, I can not remember for sure, but I think he used concentrated H2SO4 to put rhodium into solution, I do remember that he had pictures.


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## g_axelsson (Nov 15, 2019)

Here is a collection of links I put together on rhodium.
http://goldrefiningwiki.com/mediawiki/index.php/Rhodium

Sadly, lasersteve's website is down since a couple of months and the pictures in his posts was linked from the website so it's gone for the moment.

Leftovers from catalytic converters, doesn't dissolve in acid, sparkles when trying to melt... maybe carbon?

Göran


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## ARMCO (Mar 11, 2020)

g_axelsson said:


> Here is a collection of links I put together on rhodium.
> http://goldrefiningwiki.com/mediawiki/index.php/Rhodium
> 
> Göran



Hi Goran, 
its been a while since I’ve been on the forum. 
I need to start educating myself on working with rhodium. I used the link above but didn’t find the collection of links on rhodium. Is it still available? I’ve run some searches on the forum but mostly come up with discussions on prices. 

Happy to do my homework. Can you point me in the right direction?

Thanks 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ARMCO (Mar 11, 2020)

ARMCO said:


> g_axelsson said:
> 
> 
> > Here is a collection of links I put together on rhodium.
> ...


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## Yggdrasil (Mar 11, 2020)

There is some domain problems, it says so in the orange ticker bar.
We will have to give Gøran some time and it will come back online again. 
I hope


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## ARMCO (Mar 11, 2020)

Yggdrasil said:


> There is some domain problems, it says so in the orange ticker bar.
> We will have to give Gøran some time and it will come back online again.
> I hope


Np. I appreciate the info. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## g_axelsson (Mar 24, 2020)

Yggdrasil said:


> There is some domain problems, it says so in the orange ticker bar.
> We will have to give Gøran some time and it will come back online again.
> I hope



Yeah, a computer crash that locked away 4 months of email, probably with the domain renewal notice somewhere in it. I thought I had it on automatic... need to fix that.
Then a server crash and I don't know how bad it is. I'm slowly rebuilding the server and the websites on it when I have time to spare. But at least this page is saved by Archive.org, https://web.archive.org/web/20190914101120/http://goldrefiningwiki.com/mediawiki/index.php/Rhodium

The corona outbreak coupled with other stuff have strained my economy. I need to work longer for less pay and that limits my time for projects like the wiki.

But it will be back in one way or other.

Göran


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