# Mystery metal



## mikeinkaty (Jan 26, 2013)

I disolved 8 ozs of my bars yesterday for electrolyte for the 2nd cell. I diluted it and poured it in the cell and noticed it was very cloudy, almost black in appearance. I decided to filted it all and recovered maybe 2 grams+ of real black mud. This stuff was real fine passing right through a muslin filter. I then switched to coffee filters (took about 5 filters for the entire 4 liters). The coffee filters caught most of it. I then dryed it and melted it into a bead weighing 0.6 grams. It took a lot higher temp to melt it and the bead is shiny like silver but much harder. What is it? Platnum, Pallidium, Nickle? 95% of the stuff that went into my bars was cups, plates, bowls, forks, and spoons, all Sterling.

So far I have ran 24 ounces through electrolysis and all were clean except for 2 bars (based on the residue in the catch bag). The catch bag in one was full of this black mud. I noticed a black cloud coming out of the bag so shut the cell down and started a new bar and catch bag. The other bar was not so much black stuff.

I found the same type stuff a couple of weeks ago when I was filtering one batch of dropped silver. That bead was a little bigger and had the same characteristics.

Mike


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## metatp (Jan 26, 2013)

I had something similar, but it was a dark gray not black. What I had was a mixture of silver, Palladium and gold. I dissolved most of it in in nitric acid and separated the silver by using HCL to precipitate silver chloride. If I remember correctly it was still mostly silver some palladium and just a small amount of gold.


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## metatp (Jan 26, 2013)

I forgot to mention that the electrolyte turned a light green color.


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## mikeinkaty (Jan 27, 2013)

metatp said:


> I forgot to mention that the electrolyte turned a light green color.


So did mine.


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## Palladium (Jan 27, 2013)

Are you double bagging the anode with muslin cloth? I bet if you stopped using that wire you would see that problem go away.


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## mikeinkaty (Jan 27, 2013)

Palladium said:


> Are you double bagging the anode with muslin cloth? I bet if you stopped using that wire you would see that problem go away.


Never thought about double bagging. The black stuff has only happened with 2 of the bars in the cell. Rest of the time the bags have been remarkably clean. 

I am using aluminum wire now. I drill a hole in the end of the bar about 1/4" deep, put the wire in, then whack that end of the bar with a heavy hammer. That press fits the wire in tightly. I also have been putting shrink tubing on the wire for about 1 inch from the top of the bar. I keep the top of the bar above the level of the solution. Usually what happens now is all of the bar is consumed except for about the top 1/8" or so. Those pieces go back for recycling.

How do you establish an electrical connection to the silver bars?

Mike


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## Palladium (Jan 27, 2013)

I take a piece of 2 in angle iron, like a V, with a plated weld on one end. I lay it to where it forms a v pattern looking at it from the end. I lay it slightly slope toward the end with the stop plate welded on it so when i pour the silver it runs down hill and up against it. I spray wd-40 on the channel and then heat the angle iron with a torch. If you pour it into a cold mold it will pop everywhere. Pour the silver in and it will make the ugliest long bar you have ever seen. Lay your bars to be refined in your anode bag flat. Take the long ugly bar about 10-12 inches long and prop it straight up on top of the bars you just laid flat. Attach you positive lead to the top of the ugly bar with an alligator clip. The ugly bar will make connection with the bars on bottom and start dissolving. The long ugly bar will slowly dissolve down as you keep feeding more bars to the basket. Once the ugly bar is to short you just unclip it and let it fall into the basket with the rest. Attach a new ugly bar and the process repeats itself.


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## mikeinkaty (Jan 27, 2013)

Palladium said:


> I take a piece of 2 in angle iron, like a V, with a plated weld on one end. I lay it to where it forms a v pattern looking at it from the end. I lay it slightly slope toward the end with the stop plate welded on it so when i pour the silver it runs down hill and up against it. I spray wd-40 on the channel and then heat the angle iron with a torch. If you pour it into a cold mold it will pop everywhere. Pour the silver in and it will make the ugliest long bar you have ever seen. Lay your bars to be refined in your anode bag flat. Take the long ugly bar about 10-12 inches long and prop it straight up on top of the bars you just laid flat. Attach you positive lead to the top of the ugly bar with an alligator clip. The ugly bar will make connection with the bars on bottom and start dissolving. The long ugly bar will slowly dissolve down as you keep feeding more bars to the basket. Once the ugly bar is to short you just unclip it and let it fall into the basket with the rest. Attach a new ugly bar and the process repeats itself.



Originally I thought I'd stop with the 98-99% purity and that's why the 4 oz bars. Next batch of Sterling I do I will pour larger bars. In the jars I'm now using, 8 oz would be the max I could do before having to do a cleanout. After reading your last msg I thought maybe I could pour a bar with a 2" tang on the end of it.

I am getting good recovery. I thought I was coming up shy in an earlier post but it's dead on considering a 1-2% loss.

How can I tell when the electrolyte is starting to peter out?

Mike


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## mikeinkaty (Jan 28, 2013)

I tried using a coffee filter around the bar secured with a small plastic tie wrap at the top. So far those have been doing a good job. They have not came apart and I have seen no cloudiness leaking out like with the muslin bags. Saves having to find the sissors each time!

Mike


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