# Recovering gold dust



## Anonymous (Aug 11, 2007)

I have a solution of hcl/cl and am preparing to drop the gold with smb but one question I have is .....
What is the best metod to use to collect the gold dust in the bottom of the container without losing much of it?

Thanks for any help in advance

Ken :?:


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## lazersteve (Aug 11, 2007)

Let the powder settle for 24 hours. Siphon or drain off the bulk of the fluid thru a filter.Wash and rinse in the same vessel that you dropped it in. Transfer to filter and allow to dry when finished washing and rinsing.

Steve


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## Harold_V (Aug 12, 2007)

Do as Steve said aside from the final step. There is no need to use a filter, which often results in some lost gold. After pouring off the last rinse, simply place the beaker on a very low temperature heat source, not enough to create steam. Allow the gold to evaporate to dryness, and occasionally shake it about as it dries, so it won't stick to the beaker. Once it's dry, raise the temperature and allow any traces of acids to evaporate as well. You'll be surprised to find that even well dried gold still gives up fumes of acids. 

When you dry the gold by this method, if the gold is clean, it clumps up well and doesn't remain as a fine powder. If it insists on remaining a fine powder, guaranteed, your quality is lacking. You should improve your process unless you have no concerns about achieving 9995 (industry standard).

Be very careful about drying the gold by this method. If you heat too rapidly, you experience tiny steam explosions that toss gold well out of the container. Slow and easy is the order of the day----but you'll come to find this is the best method for handling the precipitated gold. I tried every possible combination you can imagine and didn't find one that came close to this one for convenience. 

Harold


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## dwt9999 (Sep 5, 2007)

Harold,

Would it work to put the gold into a "dedicated" toaster oven on say 100' F to dry it out?

Thanks

Lew


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## Harold_V (Sep 6, 2007)

A toaster oven would work, but unless you rinse the hell out of your gold, don't expect much life from the oven. You'll come to understand that as the water evaporates, acid then comes off the gold. Once the water is gone, it's a good idea to elevate the temperature well above boiling to insure all the acid is gone. There isn't much, but being a hot, confined environment, I don't expect the oven will respond favorably. 

The big problem, as I see it, will be dropping contaminants in your gold as the oven degenerates. I had a policy of wiping down the interior of my hood before drying gold that had been re-refined. That helped to minimize the chance of anything contaminating the gold. 

Harold


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