# Strange Metal - what is this stuff?



## kadriver (Apr 6, 2011)

I was processing some gold and this material was on the bottom of the container as I dissolved the gold in aqua regia.

I though it was undissolved gold. I actually added more AR to get it to dissolve, but it would not budge.

Finally I stopped trying, added 10 drops of sulfuric acid to the dissolved gold, added urea to neutralize and filtered.

This is a picture of the filter paper and the left over material.

I dried it overnight and then crumbled it into a melting dish.

It appeared to just burn away to ash, but then a bead of metal started to form and kept getting bigger. Finally I dropped it into cold water.

Below is a picture of the metal. I have no idea what it is - I am guessing one of the other precious metal.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## nickvc (Apr 6, 2011)

What type of metal were you working on carat and colour?


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## kadriver (Apr 6, 2011)

It was gold from karat scrap.

This is what filtered out of the AuCl.

I did add sulfuric acid to the AuCl before I filtered.

But I do not think this is lead - it is too hard.

Thanks - kadriver


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## pgm (Apr 6, 2011)

kadriver said:


> It was gold from karat scrap.
> 
> This is what filtered out of the AuCl.
> 
> ...



that looks like zinc....might be wrong but i think that is ZINC.....the powder is the same colour


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## toja (Sep 25, 2011)

IMHO, it's silver. The powder is silver chloride. This substance decomposes to silver at higher temperatures, so you got silver on heating.


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## Harold_V (Sep 26, 2011)

toja said:


> IMHO, it's silver. The powder is silver chloride. This substance decomposes to silver at higher temperatures, so you got silver on heating.


Uhhh--no, it doesn't. If you heat silver chloride long enough, it will all go off as smoke. It should be converted to elemental silver prior to melting, or melted with soda ash, which will reduce the silver chloride to elemental silver, in spite of some folks insisting it won't. Been there, done that. 

Harold


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## Harold_V (Sep 26, 2011)

kadriver said:


> It was gold from karat scrap.
> 
> This is what filtered out of the AuCl.
> 
> ...


Test! Try Schwerters. If that proves negative, try dissolving the button in nitric. If that proves negative, place the button in a small beaker (or a test tube) and apply a few drops of AR. Test the resulting solution with stannous chloride. These tests will be worth far more to you than the uneducated guesses you're getting from readers (mine would be no better). 

Harold


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## butcher (Sep 26, 2011)

I give up (easily), give us some clues, density , hardness, melting point, flame test colors, maybe if you let me dissolve it I might get a clue but just seeing a chunk of gray metal bead from your filters, of an unknown source dissolved in aqua regia is like asking me to tell you what star is on the other side of the sun, I have no clue.


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## kadriver (Jan 23, 2012)

I found this post and can see the problem here. 

I have several of these beads saved in a plastic bag - I had forgotten about them.

Tomorrow I must get these out and do the tests on each of the beads.

Back when I posted this I was clueless on performing tests on the metals.

I didn't even have a spot plate or standard solutions!

Man, that seems like ages ago, but it was only a few months.

Looking back on my posts I can see where I have gained knowlege - I am grateful to all of you who have taken the time to help me.

Once I get some results I'll post some pictures.

Thank you - kadriver


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## kadriver (Jan 23, 2012)

Harold_V said:


> kadriver said:
> 
> 
> > It was gold from karat scrap.
> ...



I ignored this information because I did not have the proper knowlege or equipment to do these tests. 

I didn't even know what Schwerters was - amazing.

kadriver


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## Harold_V (Jan 23, 2012)

kadriver said:


> Harold_V said:
> 
> 
> > kadriver said:
> ...


It's one of the fastest, easiest and reliable tests for silver you'll encounter. By the way, that's what I expect the majority, if not all, of those buttons will be. If you hadn't dissolved all of the base metals after inquartation, you'd have a core of predominantly silver alloy remaining, which would account for the silver chloride looking material that remained. If you melted the material without soda ash, you likely lost the silver chloride coating, but the remaining un-dissolved bits will have gathered, leaving you with pretty much the same thing you had after inquartation. If, by chance, you melted with soda ash, you'll have recovered at least some of the silver from the chloride, so the alloy will be somewhat lower in gold, but you'll still find some in the buttons. It's just a matter of how much. 

Harold


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