# Red stuff in melted ore



## warmgold (Oct 22, 2017)

Hello everyone, this is my first post, hope to be in the right section. 
Thanks to all for all the informations you sharing, this forum is fantastic 

I need some help with this.. 
I have some gold and silver ore..
I started milling the sized ore with an old corn mill (dry) and worked fine, what coming out was sand/powder grain. Then I screened the milled ore.
I wash it with water and dish detergent.
Then I take some and put in a graphite crucible with some borax and turn on the forge (mineral coal one, not gas)
The matrix is composed most of quartz, some altered pirite/iron(oxide), mica, gold, silver, very low ccopper. 
This was my first melting experience, so I just give it a try to see what will happen
After 30 mins, I put off the crucible and the compost wasn't totally melted, but something happened. As in photo the mass is porous and hollow but it's quite heavy (32/33grams), it do not react with a mmagnet
For sure the melting must be done better with a properly flux, etc
But it reached high temperatures during "melting", a red stuff cristallized inside the melted ore mass, what is it???
Thanks to everyone for the help

Morris


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## Lino1406 (Oct 22, 2017)

Red stuff can be Fe2O3, Cu2O


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## galenrog (Oct 22, 2017)

Without an assay showing all materials in the ore, one can only guess. Lino1406 may be correct, but my stroke addled brain tells me it could be something else, although iron and copper compounds top the list. Only an assay has the data necessary to tell us how to treat the ore.


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## warmgold (Oct 22, 2017)

Thank you guys for the reply. 
I though igt could be gold chlorure crystallized, the amount of gold was moderate in the stone processed, but there is no signs of yellow in the melted ore


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## g_axelsson (Oct 22, 2017)

No way, gold chloride breaks down into gold and chlorine gas at just a few hundred degrees C.

Standard question for ore, what was the assay? How much gold was it in the sample?

Göran


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## warmgold (Oct 23, 2017)

Hi Göran, OK thanks for let me know. :mrgreen: 
What do you mean with "what was the assay? 
We got a small graphite crucible, 4cm diameter and about 8cm depth. Full by half with milled ore and some borax. 
We preheated the crucible and then full with the Ore plus borax. 
We used an homemade charcoal forge, with a turbine on the bottom (activeted by a hand lever) to increase the heat by air
We put the crucicle IN/ON the charcoal and boost heat by the lever for about 30 min. 
I don't know the exact heat but the flames was almost white and the bottom of the crucible starting to frailing...
We don't used the gas forge because it looks like all the pirite was already reduced to iron oxide and we wanted just to do a quick test (this is the fist melting attempt)
Thanks for the patience to everyone, I'm reading a lot of stuff here and out but it's not simple. 

M


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## warmgold (Oct 23, 2017)

And don't know exactly the quantity of gold in the sample. It was about 50 grams of Ore, the gold supposed to be in there is minimum 0.1 grams... Maybe more
The crushed ore was part of a gold vein


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## nickvc (Oct 23, 2017)

What Göran is saying is how do you know there is any gold in your sample if it hasn’t been assayed to prove it.
Many ores contain some very nasty elements that need addressing before any roasting or acid processing to make it safe, be aware we are trying to protect you and others around you.


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## warmgold (Oct 23, 2017)

Thank you nick for explain. 
There is a document of a company that made a test on the area, test results are: 20grams/ton gold, 100+ silver, and other metals in less proportion (copper etc)
The document is not detailed, was a request for a concession. 
There are ancient closed gold mine around and the metal on the specimen don't react with hcl (33% solution ), leave it in acid for couple of days (Temperature about 20•C)
I watch the specimen with microscope and it have the same "pastry shining" of a cute yellow flake...the same. 
It's not mica or pirite... Never had doubt about it

I'm a mineral collector from a while, using from years hcl and never needed nitric acid, I'll gonna buy some now.. 
And any advice for the safe and security is ALWAYS welcome


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