# Cody'sLab Youtube



## Cody Reeder (May 30, 2016)

Hey Guys I've been meaning to start a thread here for some time. As some of you know I've been doing some refining and mining on my YouTube channel and I would love to see some discussion on what I do since you are all much more knowledgeable than the average YouTube Commenter. For instance what do you think of my last video?:
[youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5GPWJPLcHg [/youtube] 
In this video I did an assay on a choice stretch of Freeway shoulder and determined that it did contain platinum. I also attempted to separate the metals in the bead. I'm pretty sure I got the platinum out but I'm not sure on the palladium, other than there was an obvious color change after I heated it, and I didn't even try for the rhodium. 
A big question is whether 3-6 grams of platinum per ton of sifted dirt would be profitable and what would be the best way to go about getting the precious metal? I have my own ideas of course but I would love to see what you all think. 

Any way I'm excited to be active on here again and look forward to hearing from you guys!


----------



## justinhcase (May 30, 2016)

Well Blow me down with a feather.
Speak of the devil and he douse appear.
We where just talking about that video.
http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=23970
What a fantastic spread your farther has it makes a beautiful backdrop to your work, I would be lost in the geology for years.
very good to make your acquaintance .
Justin


----------



## everydayisalesson (May 31, 2016)

Love your videos Cody. My wife and I watch them while drinking our morning coffee. Just wanted to say hi.

Mike


----------



## Platdigger (May 31, 2016)

Well for one, I think on average you will find more pd than pt just judging by the average make up of most cats these days. For another, I am not sure you will pick up much rh with just lead for a collector.
Need gold or at least ni/sulfide for that I believe. But, that said, I would say your test was a success. Good job.
It could be you had some rh in what would not dissolve of that bead. 
Why would think there would be silver?
Justinhcase mentioned a flotation cell, anyone else think that would work to concentrate further?


----------



## kernels (May 31, 2016)

Same here, love all your videos, they are actually what got me into hobby gold recovery! Would love to see more mining videos, I guess winter is coming to an end over there ?


----------



## Cody Reeder (May 31, 2016)

Platdigger said:


> Well for one, I think on average you will find more pd than pt just judging by the average make up of most cats these days. For another, I am not sure you will pick up much rh with just lead for a collector.
> Need gold or at least ni/sulfide for that I believe. But, that said, I would say your test was a success. Good job.
> It could be you had some rh in what would not dissolve of that bead.
> Why would think there would be silver?
> Justinhcase mentioned a flotation cell, anyone else think that would work to concentrate further?



Ah! so thats why I can never get an accurate rhodium assay, I've been using the wrong method! Thanks!

as for the silver I knew it would be there because it is almost always found because it is so common. 

Flotation cell is an interesting idea, I was wondering if you could add some peroxide to the water and produce bubbles of oxygen in close proximity to the platinum particles.


----------



## justinhcase (May 31, 2016)

Cody Reeder said:


> Platdigger said:
> 
> 
> > Well for one, I think on average you will find more pd than pt just judging by the average make up of most cats these days. For another, I am not sure you will pick up much rh with just lead for a collector.
> ...


From what I have read.
If your particle douses not exhibit a natural tendency to atear to the surface tention of the bubble.
There are a number of additives that will help trap the small particles and be worked up the column.
Though kind enough to give me the tour ,the company running the cell would not tell me what additives they were using.


----------



## Cody Reeder (May 31, 2016)

justinhcase said:


> From what I have read.
> If your particle douses not exhibit a natural tendency to atear to the surface tention of the bubble.
> There are a number of additives that will help trap the small particles and be worked up the column.
> Though kind enough to give me the tour ,the company running the cell would not tell me what additives they were using.



I've been having the same problem, I got one person to say that they use pine oil but other than that it seems to be a secret. Perhaps someone here knows more?


----------



## 4metals (May 31, 2016)

Years ago when there was lead in gasoline there was an issue with the lead coming out of the tailpipe and ending up on the concrete much like you found the PGM's from the catalytic converters. What you have found is a bit too low yield to be worthy of collecting so what you need is a natural collector. 

Well back in the leaded gasoline days they found that streams that ran alongside and crossed roadways had elevated levels of lead from the gasoline combustion products and they were concentrated in the stream beds. If Mother Nature worked her magic to concentrate the lead, she may very well perform the same function on the PGM's you found. A series of assays on some stream delta's may come up with a natural collector of these values. I would suggest you survey some roadways (in urban areas where the more cars move along the road and move slower due to volume or traffic) and find areas with natural runoff. This may eliminate a lot of the sweeping, not to mention the questions from the police when you are caught sweeping the highway at 3 AM! 

I question the efficiency of the fusion you performed to extract all of the PM's from the sample, the sample size to flux ratio was (from looking at the video) 1:1 or close. An effective fusion on catalyst material for assay uses a much greater flux to sample ratio. What was your flux make-up for the sample you used?

I found this abstract from the leaded gasoline levels in soil and roadway runoff.
*
Trend and concentrations of legacy lead (Pb) in highway runoff.*
Kayhanian M1.

Abstract
This study presents the results of lead (Pb) concentrations from both highway runoff and contaminated soil along 32 and 23 highway sites, respectively. In general, the Pb concentration on topsoil (0-15 cm) along highways was much higher than the Pb concentration in subsurface soil (15-60 cm). The Pb deposited on soil appears to be anthropogenic and a strong correlation was found between the Pb concentration in surface soil and highway runoff in urban areas. The concentration of Pb measured during 1980s from highways runoff throughout the world was up to 11 times higher than the measured values in mid 1990 s and 2000s. The current Pb deposited on soil near highways appears to be a mixture of paint, tire weight balance and old leaded gasoline combustion. Overall, the Pb phase-out regulation reduced the Pb deposits in the environment and consequently lowered Pb loading into receiving waters.
Copyright Â© 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This may be the start of a platinum rush on the highways of the world! :idea:


----------



## Smack (May 31, 2016)

Hint, corrugated culverts are pre-installed sluice boxes, go rob the dirt that has collected in them and report back on that.


----------



## Platdigger (Jun 1, 2016)

Because of the size of the particles we are talking about here, I wouldn't think a corrugated culvert pipe would have much if any effect on concentrating these values.
But, of course I could be wrong. Actually in this case I hope I am.


----------



## 4metals (Jun 1, 2016)

I think a decent stream system along or passing under a major highway will exhibit all of the concentrating powers exhibited by placer gold. Think where a stream would deposit the "flour" gold and that is where to look. It would be interesting, if once some concentrated areas are found, to measure the lead concentration as well. There are instant indicating lead testers on the market and they would be invaluable if the lead and PGM's travel together because you could field test for lead, kind of as an indicator metal since it is a lot more difficult to analyze in the field for PGM's.


----------



## Topher_osAUrus (Jun 1, 2016)

I love all your videos cody.

Sometimes your safety practices are questionable... But, i cant say i myself am perfect...not even close.

It seems as if 4metals beat me to posting my idea. But ill go ahead with it.

On the way to my parents on memorial day, i was looking for spots that i thought would be great to sweep and "assay".
-i was keeping close eye on the "underpass" sections of highway, especially ones where there are really *really* crappy on/off ramps, where the vehicles have to slow down to 20mph, then accelerate to 60 immediately, just so they dont get rear ended.

I think i am going to sweep it before they tear it up for the new fly over, and just save it until i have the things i need. Or i would ship them to you, cody, or any other member that may want to.

It is one of a couple spots that i want to try as i believe mother nature would be concentrating them for me there.

Us400 (hwy 54)/hwy 235 in wichita ks (street view) is one that would have a great spot of concentration i think. This is the main one, of 4 or 5, that i am going to sweep. Another is right in front of my in-law's house in the city. 

Thank you for your thought provoking youtube videos. I enjoy them immensely, and yours are just some of the very few I watch on youtube... In fact, all of the youtube video's i watch now, are all made by forum members. Maybe thats biased, but, I made alot of mistakes by taking youtube videos as my only form of education in this field initially, and it has left a sour taste in my mouth ever since.

Thanks again.
-topher

I am very glad you are a member of this forum.
Edit to fix a misplaced sentence


----------



## justinhcase (Jun 1, 2016)

Topher_osAUrus said:


> I love all your videos cody.
> 
> Sometimes your safety practices are questionable... But, i cant say i myself am perfect...not even close.
> 
> ...


Please be very care full and remember some heavy traffic road are illegal to walk along let alone sweep up.
The safety stats for worker's on roads are quite alarming and they all work behind bollards with full lighting and High Viz.
http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/resources/facts_stats/injuries_fatalities.htm
The mountains may be safer and better for your lungs.


----------



## jason_recliner (Jun 1, 2016)

The precious metal dust is so very fine but comparatively heavy. So I suspect it would settle between individual prices of gravel in the tarmac.
As insanely comical as it would be to see in action, I wonder if a good collector may be a portable, cyclonic, bagless vacuum cleaner.

I'm sure passing motorists would be nonplussed to see a guy vacuuming the highway.


----------



## Geo (Jun 2, 2016)

The first gold rush happened in Lumpkin county Georgia. There was a gravel company contracted by the state to supply gravel for road construction in the county. At the time, they were hydraulic mining the hills for gravel. They began having issues where the new road bed was being dug up during the night after all the workers left. Come to find out, there was some really big nuggets of gold in the gravel. That spawned legislation that put restrictions on selling sand and gravel that contained precious metals. It was classified as ore and the gold had to be removed before the company could sell the gravel. We should all have that problem. "HEY, your rocks are full of gold. You have to get rid of the gold to sell the rocks". The placer deposits and hard rock mining produced enough gold that the federal government ordered a mint to be built in Dahlonega, the county seat of Lumpkin county. There, $1 , $2.50 , $3 and $5 coins was minted. Since coinage was federal property, it was guarded and transported by the U.S. army. 

From Wiki : 
This court house, built in 1836, replaced the small structure used since the establishment of Lumpkin County in 1832. The town was named Dahlonega in October, 1833, for the Cherokee word Talonega meaning "golden."
From its steps in 1849, Dr. M.F. Stephenson, assayer [sic] at the Mint, attempted to dissuade Georgia miners from leaving to join the California Gold Rush. His oration gave rise to the sayings: "There's millions in it," and "Thar's gold in them thar hills".


----------



## Phishin_ca (Jun 6, 2016)

Cody Reeder said:


> Hey Guys I've been meaning to start a thread here for some time. As some of you know I've been doing some refining and mining on my YouTube channel and I would love to see some discussion on what I do since you are all much more knowledgeable than the average YouTube Commenter. For instance what do you think of my last video?:
> [youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5GPWJPLcHg [/youtube]
> In this video I did an assay on a choice stretch of Freeway shoulder and determined that it did contain platinum. I also attempted to separate the metals in the bead. I'm pretty sure I got the platinum out but I'm not sure on the palladium, other than there was an obvious color change after I heated it, and I didn't even try for the rhodium.
> A big question is whether 3-6 grams of platinum per ton of sifted dirt would be profitable and what would be the best way to go about getting the precious metal? I have my own ideas of course but I would love to see what you all think.
> ...



Cody is on Hackaday
http://hackaday.com/2016/06/06/mining-platinum-from-the-road/#comments

Shawn


----------



## Cody Reeder (Jul 1, 2016)

Hey guys! I'm back, I see the changes to the form, snazzy! 
anyway here is a link to my newest video, let me know what you think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vltBwXncjCI


----------



## Topher_osAUrus (Jul 1, 2016)

Haha.
I like it. Very interesting stuff.

Keep the videos coming.


----------



## Cody Reeder (Jul 1, 2016)

Geo said:


> The first gold rush happened in Lumpkin county Georgia. There was a gravel company contracted by the state to supply gravel for road construction in the county. At the time, they were hydraulic mining the hills for gravel. They began having issues where the new road bed was being dug up during the night after all the workers left. Come to find out, there was some really big nuggets of gold in the gravel. That spawned legislation that put restrictions on selling sand and gravel that contained precious metals. It was classified as ore and the gold had to be removed before the company could sell the gravel. We should all have that problem. "HEY, your rocks are full of gold. You have to get rid of the gold to sell the rocks". The placer deposits and hard rock mining produced enough gold that the federal government ordered a mint to be built in Dahlonega, the county seat of Lumpkin county. There, $1 , $2.50 , $3 and $5 coins was minted. Since coinage was federal property, it was guarded and transported by the U.S. army.



Very interesting, makes me wonder how ask Jeff Williams (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1fx1ClmS8w) got gold in his sand.

I've tried to recreate it but I have to assume he had some gold in his equipment already. (a problem I've had way too often myself)


----------



## justinhcase (Jul 1, 2016)

Very interesting, makes me wonder how ask Jeff Williams (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1fx1ClmS8w) got gold in his sand.

I've tried to recreate it but I have to assume he had some gold in his equipment already. (a problem I've had way too often myself)[/quote]
I like the way he is letting all the spoil build up in his back yard.
I bet it started out as a nice flat lot.


----------

