# Making Aqua Regia



## Jelmerhk (Feb 20, 2019)

Hello everyone,
I am Jelmer and I live in the Netherlands.
Lately I have been busy with regaining gold from old computers.
To solve the gold wants to make aqua regia.
I read that this requires concentrated HNO3 (68%) and concentrated HCl (30%).
Unfortunately, I can't buy HNO3 with this high concentration. However, HNO3 (3%) is available.
My question is whether I could use this and if I use this then can I just use 68/3 times as much?

I'm looking forward hearing from you!


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## butcher (Feb 20, 2019)

Why?

After preparation of the materials, Why not consider using a leaching process such as CuCl2 or FeCl3 to remove base metals from the gold and then use H2O2 or NaClO as the oxidizer with HCl acid to refine the gold.

97% water with a hint of nitric is good for plants but will not get you far with gold.


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## Jelmerhk (Feb 20, 2019)

Thank you for your reaction!

I have already removed the gold from the gold fingers of the RAM sticks so the most unwanted materials are gone.

What do you mean with the leaching proces? Is this desolving the copper, nikkel and this kind of metals? I thought this can been done with H202 and hydrocloric acid, but your advise is do this at the end?

And besides that is the gold desolving in this procces?

I hope you can help me out


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## butcher (Feb 20, 2019)

Cupric chloride or the ferric chloride is very effective leaches for putting the base metals in solution, here we do not use a strong enough oxidizer to put the gold in solution.

After removing as much base metal and silver as possible we can put the gold into solution with a strong oxidizer like nitric acid, sodium hypochlorite, 30% H2O2, chlorine gas or many another strong oxidizers, many of which work by oxidizing a portion of the hydrochloric acid to chlorine gas in solution which will oxidize the finely divided particles of gold.


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## Jelmerhk (Feb 21, 2019)

So if I understand right this is a option:

First I desolve the most base metals in ferric chloride.
Then I put the gold in a solution
- hydrochloric acid (30%)
- bleach (in stead of chlorine gas)
- sodium hypochlorite

Is this right?
And can i do this with the ratio 3:1:1 ?


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## butcher (Feb 21, 2019)

Yes after removing base metal, and washing the gold flakes or powders you can dissolve the gold.
using sodium hypochlorite (household bleach).
HCl + NaClO
or using 32% H2O2
HCl + H2O2

Here the oxidizer is much less difficult to deal with when you are ready to remove the oxidizer to be able to precipitate the gold, heating will push out the chlorine gas easily, compared to trying to remove free nitric from solution.


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## Jelmerhk (Feb 21, 2019)

Aah, I think I get it.

Thank you so much for the clear explanation.  
I will keep you informed if have some results.


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## butcher (Feb 21, 2019)

Your results will be easier to come by whenever you educate yourself on the subject, do a little homework on the subject.


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## Simonides (Apr 1, 2021)

Good morning, brother, thanks for helping me the other day, I liked the idea of ​​ferric chloride (Fec13). This method is to lower the base metals before leaching, the ferric chloride is diluted in water and heated to precipitate base metals, which can contaminate leaching? So is it better to remove these metals first? Thanks.


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## Simonides (Apr 1, 2021)

I have had good results learning in the forum thanks friend. I have studied a lot and I am seeing results. 

It's a little nugget but it was a great learning experience


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## butcher (Apr 1, 2021)

Simonides,
I did not understand the question before you posted the picture of your gold.

The gold is small, there is not much of it, and it may not weigh very much, it may not sell for that much on the market although it does hold good value and would sell easily to help feed your family.

The gold is really not worth that much, the real value you have gained is in educating yourself, now you could lose this little button of gold and still have prospered from it.

But now that you have gained that education, and worked on gaining an understanding, you can build on that work to get more gold to help feed your family.
Now that is valuable.

Knowing this makes this small button worth much more than its weight in gold, it represents your ability to master the metals, and to get gold from them, it represents your ability to prosper from educating yourself.

Thus your gold button is just plainly beautiful, representing a job well done, shining through your hard work, making it more valuable than the metal it holds.

Nice gold, good job.


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## francisco rodriguez (Apr 1, 2021)

Good safety boots, yes sir.

Paco.


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## Simonides (Apr 15, 2021)

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the help alone I would not have been able to, I have been studying a lot to improve more and more, I want to learn more and more, the forum is the best thing I discovered, I spend hours studying to learn more and more. Thank you brothers without you I would not have taken a big step.


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