# Iodine Leach Disaster? Need some H e l p with Smelting, etc



## Gold-Digger (Mar 26, 2007)

I have been pulling my hair out and unfortunately I don't have much left to pull out...

I'm using a Iodine 7% strong tincture mixed with HCL (muratic acid) and distilled water. I use a rough weighing chart and add the HCL last to lower the PH down to below 1. It then sits for a couple of days until the gold is stripped. The electronic leftover parts are then filtered out. Then I slowly raising the PH using Lye.

Here's where my confusion starts. I've read about 4 different reports on using Iodine for leaching and everyone says something a little different or seem about 90% complete. 

I noticed when my solution PH is raised from a PH 1 to about PH 5 or 6 -- I then start getting a milky yellow color swirling around. See photo below. Also note there are two posts with this. So also see the next post..

I can filter this milky yellow color off and after drying it does look yellowish. So it's making me hopeful there's gold in this solution. 

My confusion here is some reports say the gold will just percipitate off around a PH6 or PH7. So I let this sit for hours then filtered it and dried it on a hot plate... Other reports say bring up the PH to 7 and the solution should be a reddish brown color THEN add a percipitant which I didn't do in this case because stuff fell out of it around a PH6...

Please see the photo and let me know if this looks correct or if something has gone horribly wrong here!!! Or if I really must use a precipitant. Then please read my next post..


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## Gold-Digger (Mar 26, 2007)

O.K. Now I have filtered this stuff using a heavy duty paper towel. I then dry it on a hot plate I got at Wal-Mart at around 150 F for an hour or so..

I then cut out the paper towel which has the gold colored stuff and burn it in a crucible using alcohol and matches. 

On photo below the bottom left is the blue paper towel with a yellow (hopefully GOLD) material on it.

Bottom right is this paper towel after burning. Note I can still see some small yellow flakes in this burnt ash.

After this is complete I then tried two different techniques to separate the gold and both were disasters.... Either that or there was no gold. Also, I'm using a Benzomatic using Mapp Gas.

The upper left I used a pre-mix smelting material. It's the Action Mining stuff and has pre-mix of lead, silica, etc. in it.. I ended up showing a little bit of yellow color mixed in the smelt but not sure if it's just a color produced by something in the smelt. No matter what I did using this Mapp Gas setup I could not get things to separate and this stuff was glowing red hot liquid. This was the mess I ended up with..

The upper right is the same strory but I only used Borax and nothing else. The Borax I'm using is 20 Mule Team Borax Multi-Purpose Household Cleaner and laundry booster containing soldium tetraborate decahydrate. 

Also, everything stuck into the crucible and will not come out. 

I'm assuming this Borax stuff is what is making the black glass looking material.

I was unable to separate out any of the gold and totally confused at this point.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

I also have a small furnace designed for melting of materials like gold and it comes with a small graphite crucible. I tried using this too but the same results. As I cannot watch the gold when it's melting in this crucible and I must pour out before it cools otherwise it sticks to the crucible.


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## Noxx (Mar 26, 2007)

I don't have any experience with Iodine but I can say that if your borax turned black, it's because you have a lot of impurties...


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## lazersteve (Mar 26, 2007)

Gold-Digger,

You need to make some stannous chloride gold test solution to verify that have gold in the liquid. Bring a little tin in HCl to a boil and there you have it. Test by applying a drop of the test solution to a clean white filter followed by a drop of the liquid to be tested. If it turns purple or darker after drying you have gold in the liquid. 

Steve


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## Anonymous (Mar 26, 2007)

lazersteve said:


> Gold-Digger,
> 
> You need to make some stannous chloride gold test solution to verify that have gold in the liquid.
> Steve



Based on science, I disagree, Lazer. The is no way a gold testing stannous chloride solution 
will indicate the presence of gold in this alcohol, lye, double halogens 
diluted by water 
multple metal compounds in solution. Its impossible to get an accurate gold metallic presence color 
indicator from this Gold-Digger solution as it was constructed. 

Sue


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## lazersteve (Mar 26, 2007)

Sue,

Is the construction you are referring to the iodine solution? If not what is the construction?

Thank you,

Steve


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## Anonymous (Mar 26, 2007)

> I'm using a Iodine 7% strong tincture mixed with HCL (muratic acid) and distilled water.
> I use a rough weighing chart and add the HCL last to lower the PH down to below 1.
> It then sits for a couple of days until the gold is stripped.
> The electronic leftover parts are then filtered out.
> Then I slowly raising the PH using Lye.



This forum member is using a tincture which by very definition is a solution based in one of the alcohols 
combined with whatever chemical is added. That is what is called a tincture.

That added chemical in the tincture is the halogen, iodine.

To that, the forum member also added the compound acid, HCl also containing 
a halogen.

To that, the forum member added a fourth chemical, also a compound, NaOH 

And the non-complicated common Stannous Chloride solution compound is supposed to
"sort through" all the complexed metallic and metalloid compounds created in this particular formulated 
convoluted solution to find a gold particle which may have missed being caught in filtration, 
and then report back on its existence( or lack thereof) with any level of reliability via a color change?

We have no clue what the gold was on, so there is the added complexed metallic or metalloid form of that unknown
(base?) metal under the gold now digested in this mystery solution.

This is science, not a parlor game. There is no reliable stannous chloride test result available in this particular instance. NONE.

Sue


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## lazersteve (Mar 26, 2007)

Sue,

Is there a scientific test for gold in iodine solutions? 
What is it if yes?
Is there one that can be done in the comfort of your home?

I only ask because last night I performed the same parlor trick and would like to know how to test my solution. I know it's no longer on the scrap. I have not added any hydroxides at this point. I don't want to make the same mistake gold-digger did. And lastly, Yes, I have a video of my misadventures for your amusement. :lol:

Thanks in advance,

Steve


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## Anonymous (Apr 11, 2007)

not unless you have a mass spec in your home workshop. Sorry I missed thi s reply earlier.

Sue


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## rainmaker (Apr 26, 2007)

First , Iodine works best between 2-5 pH and can be used right out of the bottle (7-10%) to first attack Au then the other PMG's. To extend your budget it can be reduced at the rate of 1 part iodine to 10 parts water and still work well. 

The HCl should only be used to keep the pH between 2 -5. 

At the end of your leaching the solution should be darker than when you began, and will be brownish red during the entire process.

I have posted the entire procedure elsewhere on this forum, and if followed closely works very well.

Good luck

Rainmaker


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## MacDaddy (May 4, 2007)

Sue said:


> lazersteve said:
> 
> 
> > Gold-Digger,
> ...




According to ActionMining (great outfit!) the stannous chloride test is only good for chloride solutions. Would the addition of HCL create chlorides instead of iodides?


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