# Desperate need of an expert - processing



## Stirrupcay (Sep 13, 2017)

I have urgent need for an expert. I have been gathering micron gold in mercury. The material is screened down to lumpy mixture of very fine (talcum powder) mercury covered gold. I add that material into a kiln with borax and fire it at 2100°. In the end... As much as several ounces seems to go out in vapor, as the crucible holds no values at all. Now... I suppose that exposes my ignorance and lack of experience here... That's a fact. It's killing me. 
Not a lot of easily obtainable information available. Is it the lack of flux that is giving me nightmares? PLEASE, if you have any info that you can pass on it would sure save a man from jumping off a bridge here. 
The process is this. 
I gather the gold bearing ore
Crush the ore to talcum powder
Seperate the gold with mercury
Filter the mercury/gold material
Mix an equal amount by volume of borax/gold-merc
Kiln at around 2000 - 2100
Find no values in my crucial at all..
That's pretty much what the procedure has been. What am I not doing right? Roasting? Flux? I need help big time. I also thank you ahead of time for your patience and support.
A desperate prospector....


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## patnor1011 (Sep 13, 2017)

There is a thought here. Perhaps there is no gold there to start with. 
On a side note, if you are vaporizing mercury you are not going to enjoy this hobby for a long time. I hope that you are not poisoning other people around you with your suicidal method.

Mercury releases vapors at a room temperature, 2100 degrees is way more than overkill. If you do not value your health and secondly if you do not have any regard breaking several laws by polluting everything around you, you should read more about how to make and use mercury retort.


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## FrugalRefiner (Sep 13, 2017)

Stirrupcay said:


> I have urgent need for an expert. I have been gathering micron gold in mercury. The material is screened down to lumpy mixture of very fine (talcum powder) mercury covered gold. I add that material into a kiln with borax and fire it at 2100°. In the end... As much as several ounces seems to go out in vapor, as the crucible holds no values at all. Now... I suppose that exposes my ignorance and lack of experience here... That's a fact. It's killing me.


Unfortunately, you may be exactly right that it's killing you.



> Not a lot of easily obtainable information available. Is it the lack of flux that is giving me nightmares? PLEASE, if you have any info that you can pass on it would sure save a man from jumping off a bridge here.


You'll find quite the opposite here. There is a wealth of easily obtainable information here and it's all free. The catch is that you'll have to devote a lot of time to read through it. 



> The process is this.
> I gather the gold bearing ore
> Crush the ore to talcum powder
> Seperate the gold with mercury
> ...


First, we do NOT endorse the use of mercury here. There are safer ways to recover gold. I don't deal with ores, so I can't advise you on how to proceed, but we have some members who can. Be patient and they'll probably be along. But stop using the mercury.

Dave


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## Topher_osAUrus (Sep 13, 2017)

How do you know there is gold in the ore?
Can you see the gold?

Why have you chosen to hit the "amalgamation" in the furnace instead of a retort to reclaim your mercury?(which would save yourself, and the environment - mercury vapor recondenses and contaminates everything -IT [mercury] will murder you)

Gold isnt easily volatized, so there being nothing in the crucible is a tell, that there probably wasnt anything in there.

What color is the borax flux after the melt?

**I guess i left this in preview, and a couple other gentlemen posted on the same concerns that I did initially, but I am still curious about the flux color


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## goldsilverpro (Sep 13, 2017)

Have you become "mad as a hatter" yet from the mercury fumes? Seriously, the way you are doing this is very foolish and you could die from it. Search the forum for threads on mercury retorts. Like what you're doing, a retort cooks the mercury off with heat but, unlike what you're doing, it prevents the fumes from going off into the air. If you're wanting to remove the mercury from gold or silver amalgam, a retort is about the only safe way to do it. However, even a retort can be dangerous if you don't know how to use it. Study, study, study and, were I you, I would buy a decent retort from a mining supply rather than make one yourself.


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## kurtak (Sep 14, 2017)

STOP what you are doing "right now" :!: :!: :!: 

You clearly don't know what you are doing --- you are poisoning yourself - you just don't know it :!:

Go see a doctor ASAP & have him/her test you for mercury poisoning & "tell them why" so they can treat you :!: 

The sooner you do this (see a doctor) the better - the longer you wait the better the odds that the damage caused by the mercury poisoning can't be reversed :!: 

Then - when you have done the above (stopped what you are doing & gone to see a doctor) come back & we can talk about your ore

We will then be glad to help you with how to process your ore SAFELY :!: 

Kurt


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## rickbb (Sep 14, 2017)

Stirrupcay said:


> What am I not doing right? *Nothing at all.* I need help big time. *yes you do, more than you could possibly know.
> *




Like everyone else said;

Step 1. Stop using mercury. There are better methods, less costly and less deadly.

Step 2. Get a real assay done, at this point you don't even know if have any gold at all.


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## Lino1406 (Sep 14, 2017)

May I assume 2100 refers to Farenhheit degrees?


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## Lightspeed (Sep 14, 2017)

Of what purpose is it to crush to a talcum powder state? Are you squeezing out the amalgam through a wet chamois leather? What are you using to"filter". What on earth possesses you to go straight to a melt from amalgam instead of a recovered sponge from retort? Using amalgam to recover from fine powder is a mistake in itself. If you are using amalgam you should be ball milling. After which recover the amalgam with a gold wheel. For your own safety use a retort if you must use Mercury for recovery. In fact just find a process healthier for yourself and the environment. I've done battery crushing clean ups and the Mercury that was used 100 years ago is still sitting on the ground in fine balls, you just don't need to mess with this gear. I hate cyanide but even that is better than Mercury and your recovery will be sound. I am seriously questioning your methods, some research and self examination is in order, no amount of gold is worth your life. Sorry but your method is deeply concerning, you have come to the wrong shop if you don't even respect yourself enough to do basic research for recovery of fine values. Just because you can, does not mean you should.


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