# smb clarafication and process refinement please.....



## rarefindsprospecting (May 30, 2014)

Hello you may have noticed recent posts... as i am an individual pursuing a career in prospecting, mineralogy and mining. Currently in an ar process disolved and filtered twice now. 2/1 ratio muriatic acid to bleach. Multiple processes have suggested promptly pricipitating with smb, although others have suggested neutalizing first then adding smb.....? Am i understanding this properly... does smb neutralize my solution as well as precipitate? I was confident in my procedure as i started but now that i have a very clean dissolved solution nd wish to confer with "professionals" here before i proceed. f i may resolve this issue promptly it would be immensly appreciated. Thanks again hope to hear back soon


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## rewalston (May 30, 2014)

First off, you have two different processes confused...AR is not made from muriatic acid and bleach, AR is HCl (muriatic acid) and Nitric acid. They both do basically the same thing but they are totally different. With acid/bleach the only thing you need to do is let it set for 24 hours to make sure that the bleach is removed from solution. There is no need to neutralize it like with nitric acid. To see if it's neutralized you can take a cap of ammonia and hold it over the acid solution, if there is white fumes, you still have bleach in solution. Once it is gone, you can add SMB to precipitate your gold.


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## rarefindsprospecting (May 30, 2014)

Thank you so much rewalston. Clarafication was definately key here then, i am very glad to havebeen patientand waited. I appreciate your response!!!


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## rarefindsprospecting (May 31, 2014)

Hey there rewalston.. can i heat my solution without compramising it to speed up the displacement of chlorine? I had made another post as i did not recognize my title from yesterday. Sorry mediator.......


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## rewalston (May 31, 2014)

yes it can be heated, just below a boil...if you boil it, it will remove the chlorine but you'll also loose gold.


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## rarefindsprospecting (May 31, 2014)

Thanks again. I should have this procedure down after this wash. I have found a well detailed method for multiple rinses with muriatic and water. As long as precipitation works out, ll be rinsing. Possibly redissolving. I probobly should as i am having it assayed and selling to a jewler for 88% of the value


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## goldsilverpro (May 31, 2014)

rarefindsprospecting said:


> Thanks again. I should have this procedure down after this wash. I have found a well detailed method for multiple rinses with muriatic and water. As long as precipitation works out, ll be rinsing. Possibly redissolving. I probobly should as i am having it assayed and selling to a jewler for 88% of the value


Assuming the gold is pure and melted into a clean button, I would find another buyer.

I noticed you didn't mention filtering. This has always been a rule of mine. Before precipitating any metal, I filter the solution to as crystal clear as possible, then combine the rinses with the solution. Any solids could contaminate the metal.


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## rarefindsprospecting (May 31, 2014)

Thank you, all the info is very usefull and appreciated! A question on the chlorine. I have approx 2 cups in my solution totalling 7 cups. As i am heating it is clumping and rising and falling as normally expected. Just to clarify.... filtering will retrain the chlorine sediments. Should i refrain from rinsing te filter. On another note i am familiarizing myself with the hydrogen peroxide and muriatic acid solution. I believe i will be using that method next to eliminate this chlorine issue. What shoulld i expect to deal with in removing ths product, regular rinsing methods should handle any leftover?


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## rarefindsprospecting (May 31, 2014)

Been heatingfor six hours now still white vapours coming off and accumulative white chunks....... how long should i continue and will coffee filters catch these particles?


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## heliman4141 (May 31, 2014)

rarefindsprospecting said:


> Thank you, all the info is very usefull and appreciated! A question on the chlorine. I have approx 2 cups in my solution totalling 7 cups. As i am heating it is clumping and rising and falling as normally expected. Just to clarify.... filtering will retrain the chlorine sediments. Should i refrain from rinsing te filter. On another note i am familiarizing myself with the hydrogen peroxide and muriatic acid solution. I believe i will be using that method next to eliminate this chlorine issue. What shoulld i expect to deal with in removing ths product, regular rinsing methods should handle any leftover?





Your getting a bit confusing,
First off, Hcl & H2O2, Muratic & Peroxide.........is only used for projects such as removing the Gold strips from Escrap fingers like memory modules or any fingers that push into slots on a M/B. etc or anything that it will work on in that fashon.
Has nothing to do with bleach at all, the solution using Hcl & bleach is for dissolving the Gold strips "after" using Hcl & peroxide to dissolve the base metals bonding the Gold to the fingers, filtering them, then dropping the Gold with smb. The fingers also need to be heated in Hcl again after removal from the fingers after rinsing to remove stubborn traces of base metals that will contaminate your final Gold drop. Even then its best to drop the Gold 2 times with rinses inbetween for purity.
All these different technics are for totally different types of Gold scrap refining, it all is dependant on what exactly you are refining as to what way to go far as chemicals go.
As was stated if your Gold acid tests 24K then yea your getting ripped. Hard to get that quality tho without a LOT of rinsing, washing in acid, & re-dropping. As a business I can see it being worth it to try to get 4 nines but, if its just a hobby then well, just a lot of your time will be spent on prepping between drops. Which is fine IF your doing large quantitys of Gold or Silver, small batches and you will make more money flipping burgers if you add up the hrs. involved & all the chemicals & waste disposal.

Dave


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## rarefindsprospecting (May 31, 2014)

Alright. Thanks for your input, all apreciated. Through my research ive understood that i can do a straight muriatic acid and peroxide method to get max oxygen and dissolving rates compared to the bleach and muriatic correct? I am dissolving gold ores with minimal properties of silver and copper... i will ave 3 lbs of what i believe is gold ore sulphides. Hoping to use a cleaner method without bleach although the muriatic acid is all i have access to for the acid part.. so to clarify i am using the blach and acid method on my arsenopyrite or calaverite... have not been able to differbetween the two with my resources s both deinitions are matching but im still leaning on calaverite... i believe to have all the chlorine out and i am about to add te smb. My solution is rather warm. 6 cups of solution estimated 2 oz of gold within. So im using half cup of smb mixed in 8 oz of distilled water to precipitate. I know this post is a little jumpy but this is exactly what im dealing with at the moment


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## goldsilverpro (May 31, 2014)

I moved this thread to the mining section. Should have told us what material you're working on to start with. No wonder everyone is confused. This is a scrap forum. Mostly apples and oranges. We only have one section for mining.


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## rarefindsprospecting (May 31, 2014)

I was getting relative assistance here and believed that i would generate quicker responses with this area. Its all relative procedures. Im mainly concerned with straight forward methods as i am dealing with minimal impurities.


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## jimdoc (May 31, 2014)

rarefindsprospecting said:


> I was getting relative assistance here and believed that i would generate quicker responses with this area. Its all relative procedures. Im mainly concerned with straight forward methods as i am dealing with minimal impurities.




Quicker responses come from the search bar.
You need to study.

Jim


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## rarefindsprospecting (May 31, 2014)

As u suggested crystal clear... i have filtered 6 times but the solution holds its burgandy colour...


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## jimdoc (May 31, 2014)

rarefindsprospecting said:


> As u suggested crystal clear... i have filtered 6 times but the solution holds its burgandy colour...




"You" is spelled exactly as I spelled it. Text lingo is not permitted here. You should try your best to remember that before you get banned.

Jim


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## rarefindsprospecting (May 31, 2014)

I have exhausted the internet of its resources.. i find it un usefull to sift through somewhat relative topics as ive done through searching. Clarification is all im asking through my early stages so my time and effort is not waisted. I have been nose down for a month digesting everything i can come across. I am moving forward with the best understanding of mostly unrelative conversations picking out pieces that apply to me. I am looking for someone experienced enough to confer with through this learning process as i am working alone and confering gives me sense of approval as i do ot wish to botch my efforts. Iam travelling long distances to gather material so at this stage it is very important. Not as a lack f info or studying but as necessity to complete these actions properly.


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## rarefindsprospecting (May 31, 2014)

Txt understood. It slipped out due to common use. I am operating from a small tablet. I will remember that.


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## galenrog (May 31, 2014)

A few things you should do before starting any more processing of ore.

1: Have a sample assayed. A good assay will show what is in your ore and in what quantities. Unless the values are visible AND free milling an assay is essential to determine proper recovery procedure. Most of the small miners I know would be doing trial and error (mostly error, because many ores look similar) on recovery were it not for proper assays.

2: Find a good consultant. A mining professional that has worked in both ore production and values recovery is worth every penny to those who are new to mining and have a lot of questions. There are a few on this forum, and they are very helpful, but many more will congregate on the several mining forums that have cropped up over the years.

My experience is in placer mining, not recovery of gold from complex ores. Were I to start mining complex ores, gold or silver, I would follow the advice above. It serves me well for placering and will serve you well for your operation.


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## rarefindsprospecting (May 31, 2014)

Assaying i will do with my next paycheque and i will search for other forums for specifics on processing such minerals, for now i am finding this site quite helpfull "advice that has been given" n refining the leaching processes i am working with. May i ask the cleanest method of leaching for minimal contaminated ores.... i as well will have 3 lbs of sulphuric gold ore refined to powder tomorrow i would like to move forward with. That is all.


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## goldsilverpro (May 31, 2014)

rarefindsprospecting said:


> As u suggested crystal clear... i have filtered 6 times but the solution holds its burgandy colour...


I should have clarified that. By crystal clear I meant that there is no visual evidence of cloudiness or murkyness, ALL sediment has been removed, and, if it's not too dark, you can basically see through it. It can end up blue, green, burgandy, or whatever. Crystals come in all colors.


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## galenrog (May 31, 2014)

What do you mean by "refined to a powder"? The term confuses me. I am assuming you mean crushed. If so, what size powder? I am familiar with mesh sizes, both English and Metric. Most folks I mine with use a mesh system with measurements in inches. 12 mesh is 12 holes per linear inch, 100 mesh is 100 holes per linear inch, etc. Knowing the size of the powder, in addition to the assay report, can be very helpful in determining strength, or dilution, of the appropriate chemical leach.


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