# Newbie in need of advice



## Anonymous (Jun 11, 2009)

Well I would like to be able to refine the gold that I have prospected. I have mainly small placer gold, nuggets, and a lot of fine gold (flake ect) 
My future goal is to melt down my gold in a decent purity so that I can design my own bar,, (I'm an artist for a living so there may be future questions on that)

Right now I'm at a lost as for what method will be the most cost effective, simple, safe(r) and of course effective. Using google I stumbled across the shor refining kit, which has the "too good to be true" feel to me. No chemicals, acid, or Mercury. Yet from what information I found here it may not be a great deal. I'm not sure if there are kits out there for AR or other methods.

I'm not sure if this will effect which method you guys think may be best for me, but I will most likely not be using a torch in any process, and instead go with a small furnace type product. 

Thank you for any input. I've been reading a lot here, but it can be quite overwhelming when figuring which method is better "for me"


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## nicknitro (Jun 11, 2009)

Welcome Aaron,

Just wanted to let you know we are here reading your posts. 

I personally can't give you the advice you need. Where did you get your materials from, panning? Dredgeing? I know there are many other forum member's who have experience with natural gold that could help you better than I. I would be concerned with quartz and other non PM's that would be involved with your samples.

Steve is very knowledgeable, Lou is an excellent chemist, Harold is a self-made refiner of numerous decades, Juan is probably your best bet for this type of material, and many others as well. 

I hope you find what you are looking for as I have numerous times here.

And again Welcome to the Forum,
Nick


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## Harold_V (Jun 11, 2009)

There are a few possibilities in processing your fines-----but it would be a good idea to know the size, and, if possible, the silver content. Placer gold that is not large in size can often be dissolved directly in AR. 

Can you provide a picture of what you have? 

Don't invest in any of the Mickey Mouse kits on the market. You can do what ever you must do without investing in any of them. You will be required to invest in a few chemicals and lab ware, however. 

Harold


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## leavemealone (Jun 11, 2009)

Hi Aaron and welcome to the forum.
You may want to reconsider refining those nuggets/flakes.I am sure you are aware that the value is much higher in "raw" form than in melted down or refined form.If you do decide to refine them you need to look at a couple things.First is the purity.If the purity is high enough like eastern gold belt gold,then you can simply process with AR.If its too low then you may want to inquart it and process with nitric.Also if the nuggets are too large and have a low surface to mass ratio then you'll want to hammer them flat to increase this ratio.Before you do anything though I would suggest simply selling them for nugget value,and if you still want to play with gold then buy some that has already been "used",at a lower price.
Johnny


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## Anonymous (Jun 11, 2009)

Thank you all for the reply, and welcome.

To answer your questions, the size of what I have varies from my largest nuggets around the size of a dime or smaller, and my smallest material the size of salt grains. I don't even bother with what may be in my black sand I just keep that in a jar for looks. I did know that a lot of people bought nuggets for collecting reasons, but not sure why people would buy smaller material unless to refine. I suppose that I want to use the gold I have to refine, melt down. 

I am in Colorado, so as for my purity, a process like you mentioned would probably be needed. Being that I'm pretty new when you say inquart it, I'm lost lol. Thanks again for the advice on the kit deal, I do not plan on investing any money into this project until I have done a ton of research. I'm not one to jump into something without knowing what I'm doing, so I have time to figure out what chemicals/acid/furnaces I will need and where to get them.

Thanks again for the welcome


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## leavemealone (Jun 11, 2009)

Ok Aaron Im gonna pass this one over to one of the guys more experienced with nugget refining.I do know that your material from that area should be between 85% to about 90% pure.That should help the next person that can advise you on what to do.Platdigger is not too far from you and he does a lot of prospecting,maybe he can help.I watched a show tom massie did when he and a friend went to a refinery to process his friends gold(11 ounces) and all they did was put it in a huge graphite crucible with a bunch of borax and soda ash and melted it.Doubt this will help you out any,but I am trying.
Johnny


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## Anonymous (Jun 12, 2009)

thanks


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## nicknitro (Jun 12, 2009)

Good call Johnny,

Selling the nuggets as collectors items in raw form, never even crossed my mind. This statement is very true too. I have recently seen auctions of gold mixed with quartz going for as much as $50 a gram US. I stated this in another post, the auction was on Goldbay.

good Luck,

Nick


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## Anonymous (Jun 12, 2009)

Could any one give me some advice on where to start looking at equipment? I think I would be more comfortable not using a tourch, so alternative oven perhaps?

Also found this using google. Any feedback would help.


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## leavemealone (Jun 12, 2009)

Well I understand it is your choice to melt them or not to,so I will be unbias and help.I see your hesitation to use a torch,but steves torch furnace is really idiot proof.There is no wrong way to do it.The lid covers the top of the melting dish so there is no worries of your gold "blowing" away from the pressure of the torch.Its efficient:can melt quite a bit of gold in less than 10 minutes.Requires no maintenance,basically set it,and forget it(but never leave it unattended).And the most important feature,drumroll please.................it is SUPER inexpensive.
If you still insist on using the "non torch" method,then I would suggest a small kiln,but bear in mind the cost of the kiln is only the beginning of your headaches.The chemicals,fluxes,and outgasses can wreak havoc on the inside of a kiln,I know from experience,and don't forget the cost of firing that thing up.
Johnny


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## Anonymous (Jun 13, 2009)

Where can you find "steves torch furnace"?? I'm not closed to that idea. Just cautious. Finding a good supplier for all the chemicals that I need is also important. 

**EDIT: Wanted to say that I am looking at selling the larger nuggets and buying scraped gold to use. Also, this is more of an artistic venue for me apposed to monetary reasons. At the same time, I pride my work and want to do this with the utmost quality possible.


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## nicknitro (Jun 13, 2009)

Aaron,

Johnny is giving you some great advice again. :')

"Steve's Torch Furnace" refers to LazerSteve, a long time member and great guy, and his Mini-FireBrick Furnace. His site is listed numerous times on the forum as I believe he has the most replies, "Sorry Harold if I'm Wrong", I believe his site is www.goldrecovery.us 

It is an excellent product, especially for the price. It is very versatile, use it as a furnace, use it without the top for incineration, etc. , and he also provides visual instructions on how to use it effectively and most importantly safely on his web site. I have bought one, and I love it.
If I hadn't bought one, I would have been one of the idiots sweeping up my gold powder blown out of the dish by the torch. "Ok, so I'm still an idiot, I'm just not sweeping." LOL

As far as chemicals, I had a hard time at first, many of the stores recommended to me weren't available in my area, but I eventually found what I needed. My best advice I can offer on the subject is to plan ahead. If you are planning to use acids, and bases and such in refing look first into waste disposal. Might be through your local transfer station/recycle center, or if planning larger scale operations, you may need to look into getting a license. I'm not trying to scare you off, just trying to be responsible.

In any case read up on all aspects of refining here on the forum. With the knowledge base from some of the long time members you will surely get the answers you need.

Good Luck,
Nick


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## Anonymous (Jun 17, 2009)

Where do you guys get your chemicals? I would imagine that finding the necessary safety equipment and glassware would be pretty simple. But searching for chemicals would be easier with some recommendations. Has anyone here used the ishore kit with any success? Or has it all been negative feedback?

I watched the videos that are posted, very VERY helpful. So basic Clorox and muratic acid will dissolve gold. filter out the other stuff then precipitate with smb. I found some sodium meta bisulfite for sale on ebay. Clorox and muratic acid available at lowes/ect....
What purity can this process yield?


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## lazersteve (Jun 17, 2009)

I get my HCl at Lowes and other dry chemicals from various websites (chemistrystore.com, skylighter.com, and ebay).

The purity of your gold depends on how well you filter, wash, and melt the gold. Contamination can come from dirty dishes, torches, poor filtering, etc. Producing pure gold requires good 'lab hygiene' and a close attention to small details like washing your beakers well and filtering until your solutions are 100% clear. Clean the gold at every stage of the process. Removing all base metals before dissolving the gold is a big plus in attaining high purity gold.

Steve


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## Anonymous (Jun 19, 2009)

could this process work with getting gold out of black dirt?


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