# more gold buttons please



## shyknee

hello everyone I'm here to plead to you to post more pics of new and different buttons. 
the reason for this plead is simply that I have been feeling a little down  .
seeing new buttons always cheers me up  .
and you will be doing a service to others like me ,we all need a little shine.
thank you in advance for your efforts


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## shyknee

OK. I guess it is not fair to ask to see yours and not show you mine.
So here is my junk 53grams and still collecting


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## butcher

well if looking at that don't cheer you up yer sick.
NICE. 8)


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## shyknee

well ya. i've seen mine and im sick
seeing others buttons would make me feel better


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## loserx69

Nice buttons. How long did it take you to collect enough stuff for those?


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## shyknee

it's just a hobby 
started reading this forum 2 years ago 
and already had a good amount of stuff to refine 
so you could say too years and a bit


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## butcher

yes I think the doctor would say you have a fever GOLD FEVER :lol:


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## shyknee

fever and itch :mrgreen: :lol: 
I'm allways itching to do the next batch or to fillter something or melt some powder into buttons
like an addict looking for a fix I'm hooked :lol: 
1 ounce a year not to ambitious when i retire i should have 20 ounces
so let me know your estimate of the price of gold in 20 years 
so i can do some math ,I just hope i can buy bread with it :shock:


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## Noxx

Just Click on it ImageShack.us


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## shyknee

thanks noxx
I like how shiny your eggs are but
those i have see before show me new ones or some stamped stuff

You know Noxx what I am after is for more newbies to post their efforts in the gallery and not be shy about it 

study hard and stay heathy


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## philddreamer

Hi brother shyknee!

I hope these will wet a bit your appettite. My granddaughter Nicole went with my wife & I to Bear River, Ca. on our second panning trip this year & it happen that a prospectors club was having a gathering & had some very nice specimens on display. As you can see, awesome, eh! :lol: They came from Australia. One still has quartz crystals on it. If a recall, my wife said they both were over six ounces, each. I couldn't stick around. All the sudden I had a good grip on my shovel, my eyes on the owner and... :mrgreen: 

Oh well! Enjoy my friend! :lol: 

philddreamer


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## philddreamer

I manage to crop & get some close-ups if these beauties.

philddreamer


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## shyknee

philddreamer
thanks for that
2 hand fulls of sunshine


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## philddreamer

You are very welcome, brother!


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## shyknee

I need more pictures please


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## Lou

Here's a cute little fellow. I don't remember what he weighed, but those 3 cc alumina crucibles hold just shy of two troy ounces full to the brim.


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## Noxx

Nice


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## shyknee

thanks Lou 
 I like the way it lights up the inside of the crucible


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## Noxx

More from me :


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## shyknee

love those bars they just shine

thanks Noxx


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## Oz

I like the concentric rings on Noxx's bars. 

Who would of figured Lou liked gold with all the PGM talk. Sorry Lou, too easy.


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## shyknee

you all know I am just getting more depressed with this oil spill

that is why i need to look at more new buttons of gold . i dont care how small or big as long as they are shinny


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## philddreamer

Enjoy!!! :lol: 

philddreamer


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## shyknee

thanks philddreamer

im going to play connect the dots ......oh don't forget the tiny one at 11 o'clock high


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## Oz

Philddreamer,

What is the history of how these came to be, and on concrete? 

Shyknee,

I thought oil was black gold! 

Truth be known, much ecological havoc is caused by the extraction of both from mother earth.


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## philddreamer

Hi Oz!

These are the result of some vacation trips to the N.F. American River in CA.
I had for a while very fine gold in black sands & decide to smelt using a flux formula I found on the net. Not having a crucible, I used an old ceramic coffe cup & a mapp torch & that's what I got. I crushed the slag to free the gold with a hammer on the concrete floor, I snap'd the photo. I few days later I came across the forum where I've been learn'n to recover & refine PM's. 

This is what they look like today, after AR process. My thanks to all of you! 17.1gms. I posted on "gallery". :lol: 

philddreamer


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## pinman

I do most of my prospecting on the American river off of Iowa hill road. There and on the yuba off of north Bloomfield. How long did it take accumulate that gem?


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## philddreamer

Hi brother pinman!

I saw on national news in 1986 the big flood & the small gold rush. I took my kids to Disney & on the back to Seattle we stopped @ Iowa Hill. Ever since we've gone to Ca we visit Mineral Bar campground. I was absent from that area for 18 yrs. because of booze & drug abuse, but the Lord Jesus set me free of all that garbage in 2001 & in 2006 we started going back to Colfax, (as we call the area), about a dozen times. This year we've been twice already. We plan to be down there in a week or two again. :lol: 
I'll keep you posted. 
I've only recovered about 2 oz during these time periods. I sold 1 oz back in '89. We are sad 'cause we can't dredge, but, life goes on!  
We've also visited Bear River campground this year. It's OK.

philddreamer

ps How can I downsize the photos? :roll:


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## philddreamer

Brother pinman,

please show us some of your gold!


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## glorycloud

Dang - I opened this thread thinking I would see gold buttons, not belly buttons!! :lol:


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## pinman

Phildreamer,
It's a small world. My buddies and I park just before the bridge at pennyweight trail. A good 1 mile trail hike in there is a nice bend in the river with pretty good turbulence that is always our home base when we go out there(passed the stone benches if you are familiar). Sadly I am the one that is most passionate about prospecting. My companions generally swim around and do a fair bit of hiking. As soon as I can dig up my finds I will post a picture of them, everything I found was pretty fine(which I crudely melted into a blob) with only one picker to speak of. I must say you have been more successful than myself. But for me it's much more about the experience. Another 1/2 mile in from the bend there is a great swimming hole with rocks to jump off of for the adventurous. If you haven't been there yet I suggest a day hike as it is an amazing experience and not too bad of a trek. I like to bring a fishing rod and a couple of kastmasters with me for there are some really nice small mouth bass in the deep pools. Bringing a mask and a snorkel is a must for sniping and just to appreciate the fish down there. The trout are always in the rapids but I have yet to see one worth keeping, the squaw fish are out of control up there. Glad to know that someone else on the board is appreciating that area as much as I. I have yet to experience dredging but the likelyhood looks distant with the new law the governator passed banning all dredging in California. This season is lookin grim for me due to some health issues but I'm still hoping to get out there.


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## butcher

http://www.goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=4639&mode=view

nice bellybutton in that chunk of gold :lol:


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## philddreamer

Hi Richard!

I can thank all @ the forum for sharing their expertice, but you in particular for the detailed steps to follow. That's why that nice belly buttom! :lol: 

I'm plan'n another trip to CA so I can gather more gold dust that I can refine and make brother shyknee's day a little brighter! :lol: 

philddreamer


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## philddreamer

Shyknee, 
I found some small nuggets & pickers that I've saved thru the years from my trips to the N.F. American River in CA.

Enjoy!  

philddreamer


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## shyknee

N..I..C..E..!!! I'm moving down there for the water the fishing the gold but the only thing that scares me are hairy belly buttons so i might think it :lol: :lol: over


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## philddreamer

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: 

Good one shyknee! :lol:

You too glorycloud! :lol:


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## pinman

Good lord! I would love to have such luck. Not that that collection didn't come at great effort.


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## philddreamer

So true brother pinman!

I just found the old photos that I meant to post, instead of the "belly button" one! :roll: But it's stay'n there... unless I have to remove it for indecent exposure!  

But I did experience some loss on one particular trip in late '80s when the river rouse 4' over nite & here is the photo. It was a beautiful day & I never thought it would rain. And oh brother did it rain all nite!  I lost half my gear. To show us all that we always have to think safety first!

philddreamer


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## pinman

Is that looking downstream across from the kayak launch?


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## philddreamer

That's look'n from the bridge, the old one), upstream to the bend you was talking about.


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## pinman

When did they ban dredging there?


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## philddreamer

July or august 2009. It may be 2011 before it opens again... maybe. :roll: 

By the way, this is the photo I meant to post, not the belly button one. :shock: This about summer 1988.


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## pinman

Not the california wide ban just the Ban on the north fork. I've only been going there for 4 years but you've never been able to there as far as I've known it's been hand and pan only.


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## pinman

So I have a few pictures of my meager findings but for some reason can't upload them from my iPhone. I no longer have a working computer so if anyone has any suggestions I'd be very appreciative. I also have numerous pictures of rock samples for the the rock man to help me identify, but once again can't upload them from my iPhone.


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## rfd298

I combined my 7.77 g, 3.4g, 2.03g, and 2.03g buttons together to get this 15g+ button, still molten for your pleasure and you can see a reflection it it.


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## lazersteve

Very nice!


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## philddreamer

Hi shyknee!

These are specimens in a voult @ the Auburn, Ca museum. My wife & I just got back today from prospecting in the Bear River, just west of Colfax, CA.

philddreamer

I had to edit & crop the photo to do justice to this awesome display!


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## Barren Realms 007

philddreamer said:


> Hi shyknee!
> 
> These are specimens in a voult @ the Auburn, Ca museum. My wife & I just got back today from prospecting in the Bear River, just west of Colfax, CA.
> 
> philddreamer



Now that is some beautiful stuff there.


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## shyknee

what is the ball park weight of the big ones :?: :mrgreen: 

by the way very nice :mrgreen:


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## philddreamer

The 4 big ones are from 6 to 9 in long, 3 to 4 in wide, from 1 to 1.5 in thck.

Because they're rare specimens, I guess, they range in the hunfred k dollars.
The ones my little grandaughter is hold'n in previous photos are over $10,000. And those where 5 to 8 oz. These are several troy pounds a piece...  

I knew you would enjoy them! :lol:


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## shyknee

These are several troy pounds a piece... :?: HOLY COW :!: :shock:


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## philddreamer

Some more golden photos!


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## philddreamer

And how about these???


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## Barren Realms 007

That beats the hell out of SEX, DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL. 8) 

You keek posting pictures like this and I am going to ask my friend that use to go panning to take me on a trip. :twisted:


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## philddreamer

It's named "Hand of Faith," it's the size of a baby, and it weighs almost 62 pounds. It was found in 1980 by a guy in Australia with a metal detector, who reportedly almost didn't bother to dig it up because he thought that his machine was faulty. Hand of Faith was only six inches below the surface. The Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas, NV bought it for a million dollars.


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## butcher

Those make the small specks in my pan just seem pitiful, and to think how sore my back is at the end of the day, well my specks of gold still bring a smile to my face, I guess I just don't know how to dream that big.


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## philddreamer

I know exactly what you mean! :lol: This is what I have to show for 7 days of digging. Mind you, it rained & the digging got mucky. 
A bit over a dwt. It's still gold & I love it.


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## butcher

not bad for all that hard work.


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## philddreamer

It's so beAUtiful!!!


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## machiavelli976

three little pigs !


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## samuel-a

here, my own mickey mouse


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## metatp

samuel-a said:


> here, my own mickey mouse


Watch it. Disney may want a royalty. It could cost you an arm and a leg (well maybe an ear).

Nice looking button (buttons).

Tom


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## rfd298

I like the Mickey buttons! Nice.


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## philddreamer

I also found some gold plated articles like mice, creamer & jewelry @ the second hand store. I'll do some on the sulphuric cell & experiment with HCI-CI on the mice since they are ceramic.


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## goldenchild

May these golden rays fill your gray skys.


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## HAuCl4

That top ingot in the weight scale shows very beautiful "casting rings". Very nice.


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## philddreamer

Beauuuuuuuuutiful! :lol:


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## shyknee

goldenchild
Now that is the kind of pile of sunshine I like to see from our members :lol: :lol: good job
gold nuggets are nice but their is nothing like gold refined by ones hands :mrgreen:


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## skeeter629

Here is my addition to the gallery.


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## rfd298

Skeeter629,

What's the weight on that button?


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## skeeter629

It weighed 33.16 grams.


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## Noxx

Thanks for the upload Skeeters


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## goldenchild

HAuCl4 said:


> That top ingot in the weight scale shows very beautiful "casting rings". Very nice.





philddreamer said:


> Beauuuuuuuuutiful! :lol:





shyknee said:


> goldenchild
> Now that is the kind of pile of sunshine I like to see from our members :lol: :lol: good job
> gold nuggets are nice but their is nothing like gold refined by ones hands :mrgreen:



Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.


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## samuel-a

samuel-a said:


> here, my own mickey mouse



mickey mouse sold.
83.6% off spot as of today spot dou to the small amount of fine gold (6.2g) this was the best offer i got...


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## philddreamer

Just wanted to add to shyknee's "art" collection a pic of my 32.4gm "Golden Eye". 

What a Gallery!!! Keep them coming!

Thanks!


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## goldenchild

You beat me to it philddreamer! I had a new one for this morning too


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## philddreamer

Magnifico!

They look like the "eyes of a chameleon"! :shock: 

Good job goldenchild!


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## Barren Realms 007

Very nice looking.


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## goldenchild

A little cube of goodness. This one is for sale. PM me.


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## Barren Realms 007

Very nice looking. 8)


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## philddreamer

That's a beauty Mario!!!! 8)


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## goldenchild

philddreamer said:


> That's a beauty Mario!!!! 8)



Its no golden sphere but thanks.  Just in case it wasn't seen in the post with the pics I would like to reiterate that it is for sale. Anyone interested PM me.


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## Barren Realms 007

Here is some more eye candy. 8)

About 67.65g


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## philddreamer

Beautiful, Barren!!! 8)


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## goldenchild

Nice. They are like golden mentos. "The fresh maker!"


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## MiltonFu

A golden object came forth.


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## Barren Realms 007

UMMMMM....What is that? 8)


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## joem

what the?........
a dried papaya??


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## dtectr

samuel-a said:


> here, my own mickey mouse


is "Mickey's" head happy to see me?


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## MiltonFu

Barren Realms 007 said:


> UMMMMM....What is that? 8)


Thats over 3 ounces of gold recovered from ICs. It was squeezed by hand to remove moisture and then roasted dry. It usually breaks into powder as it dries, but this one held together.


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## Barren Realms 007

MiltonFu said:


> Barren Realms 007 said:
> 
> 
> 
> UMMMMM....What is that? 8)
> 
> 
> 
> Thats over 3 ounces of gold recovered from ICs. It was squeezed by hand to remove moisture and then roasted dry. It usually breaks into powder as it dries, but this one held together.
Click to expand...


You don't have a tourch to melt it? You are going to refine it aren't you?

Some nice weight there.


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## Claudie

Impressive :lol:


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## MiltonFu

Barren Realms 007 said:


> MiltonFu said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Barren Realms 007 said:
> 
> 
> 
> UMMMMM....What is that? 8)
> 
> 
> 
> Thats over 3 ounces of gold recovered from ICs. It was squeezed by hand to remove moisture and then roasted dry. It usually breaks into powder as it dries, but this one held together.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> You don't have a tourch to melt it? You are going to refine it aren't you?
> 
> Some nice weight there.
Click to expand...

Have a few more batches to run and then the melt. Will post pics when I melt.


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## goldenchild

Some goodies I will bring Fournines on Fri.







943.1 grams Ag
56.7 grams Au


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## MiltonFu

To be re melted and poured into equal sizes.


MiltonFu said:


> Barren Realms 007 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MiltonFu said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Barren Realms 007 said:
> 
> 
> 
> UMMMMM....What is that? 8)
> 
> 
> 
> Thats over 3 ounces of gold recovered from ICs. It was squeezed by hand to remove moisture and then roasted dry. It usually breaks into powder as it dries, but this one held together.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> You don't have a tourch to melt it? You are going to refine it aren't you?
> 
> Some nice weight there.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Have a few more batches to run and then the melt. Will post pics when I melt.
Click to expand...


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## HAuCl4

Very nice ingots!. 8)


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## goldenchild

Excellent outcome. Are those 419g & 352g or 41.9 and 35.2 gram ingonts?


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## MiltonFu

goldenchild said:


> Excellent outcome. Are those 419g & 352g or 41.9 and 35.2 gram ingonts?


Thank you. You have nice ingots there as well.
419g and 352g.


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## hfywc

MiltonFu said:


> goldenchild said:
> 
> 
> 
> Excellent outcome. Are those 419g & 352g or 41.9 and 35.2 gram ingonts?
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you. You have nice ingots there as well.
> 419g and 352g.
Click to expand...


great job! what's the source of your gold?


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## MiltonFu

Ceramic ICs.


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## goldenchild

hfywc said:


> MiltonFu said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> goldenchild said:
> 
> 
> 
> Excellent outcome. Are those 419g & 352g or 41.9 and 35.2 gram ingonts?
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you. You have nice ingots there as well.
> 419g and 352g.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> great job! what's the source of your gold?
Click to expand...


Wow. Thats just short of 25 troy ounces. How many ICs did you process to get that much gold!? Thats worth over $32,000


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## MiltonFu

goldenchild said:


> hfywc said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MiltonFu said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> goldenchild said:
> 
> 
> 
> Excellent outcome. Are those 419g & 352g or 41.9 and 35.2 gram ingonts?
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you. You have nice ingots there as well.
> 419g and 352g.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> great job! what's the source of your gold?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Wow. Thats just short of 25 troy ounces. How many ICs did you process to get that much gold!? Thats worth over $32,000
Click to expand...

Please take it easy with the numbers. This is a hobbyist forum.
I am not exactly sure as to the total quantity of ICs that was processed.Besides, there were many different types.
I am just happy that I was able to cast those ingots with the crude mould and oxy acetylene torch.


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## hfywc

hi milton.

seeing how successful you were, would you be kind enough to share how you processed these ceramic cpus? it doesn't have to be a step-by-step procedure.
i have also a lot of these and to be honest have no clue on how to start? i have close to a hundred pentium pros, several pounds of pentium, amds, sun sparcs, and other single and double gold plated cpus--all ceramic types.

i hope you would.

thanks,
alan


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## MiltonFu

hfywc said:


> hi milton.
> 
> seeing how successful you were, would you be kind enough to share how you processed these ceramic cpus? it doesn't have to be a step-by-step procedure.
> i have also a lot of these and to be honest have no clue on how to start? i have close to a hundred pentium pros, several pounds of pentium, amds, sun sparcs, and other single and double gold plated cpus--all ceramic types.
> 
> i hope you would.
> 
> thanks,
> alan




Alan,

The ceramic ICs were reduced into small pieces and the kovar plates were separated. The broken chips were then immersed in diluted nitric to remove base metals and possibly silver. These were then washed and diluted AR was added and the remaining metals were dissolved. I used butyl diglyme to recover the gold chloride from the AR and oxalic acid to recover the gold from the butyl diglyme.
The kovar lids were immersed in dilute nitric and the gold foils were recovered. These foils were dissovled in AR as well and the gold recovered as mentioned.
Silver was recovered from the initial nitric solution using table salt and all residual liquids were sent to a laboratory for retrieval of any other precious metals and subsequent safe disposal.
The above mentioned chemicals are toxic, corrosive and hazardous to our health and the environment. Please employ all necessary precautions and handle all products in a safe and responsible way.


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## escrap

Man I hate to have just sold that 150lbs of my ceramic CPU's. Have you guys ever found any yields from the ceramic EPROM chips. I can never get a price on them.


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## jimdoc

Thrifty bits pays $3.10 per lb.
I don't know what they yield.

Jim


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## hfywc

MiltonFu said:


> Alan,
> 
> The ceramic ICs were reduced into small pieces and the kovar plates were separated. The broken chips were then immersed in diluted nitric to remove base metals and possibly silver. These were then washed and diluted AR was added and the remaining metals were dissolved. I used butyl diglyme to recover the gold chloride from the AR and oxalic acid to recover the gold from the butyl diglyme.
> The kovar lids were immersed in dilute nitric and the gold foils were recovered. These foils were dissovled in AR as well and the gold recovered as mentioned.
> Silver was recovered from the initial nitric solution using table salt and all residual liquids were sent to a laboratory for retrieval of any other precious metals and subsequent safe disposal.
> The above mentioned chemicals are toxic, corrosive and hazardous to our health and the environment. Please employ all necessary precautions and handle all products in a safe and responsible way.



thanks for sharing milton!


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## HAuCl4

MiltonFu said:


> I used butyl diglyme to recover the gold chloride from the AR and oxalic acid to recover the gold from the butyl diglyme.



Did you use a manual approach with the BDG or some type of homemade mixer-settler, etc?. I haven't seen any setups that I completely like in this process.


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## MiltonFu

HAuCl4 said:


> MiltonFu said:
> 
> 
> 
> I used butyl diglyme to recover the gold chloride from the AR and oxalic acid to recover the gold from the butyl diglyme.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Did you use a manual approach with the BDG or some type of homemade mixer-settler, etc?. I haven't seen any setups that I completely like in this process.
Click to expand...

Not exactly sure as to your question, but I would have to say that I used a manual method and it included the use of stirring equipment. If one is careful with this method, 99.9% is possible initially. Besides, using this method with correct measurements, ph and molarity, it is almost impossible to lose any gold relative to other known methods. IMHO.


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## HAuCl4

MiltonFu said:


> HAuCl4 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MiltonFu said:
> 
> 
> 
> I used butyl diglyme to recover the gold chloride from the AR and oxalic acid to recover the gold from the butyl diglyme.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Did you use a manual approach with the BDG or some type of homemade mixer-settler, etc?. I haven't seen any setups that I completely like in this process.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Not exactly sure as to your question, but I would have to say that I used a manual method and it included the use of stirring equipment. If one is careful with this method, 99.9% is possible initially. Besides, using this method with correct measurements, ph and molarity, it is almost impossible to lose any gold relative to other known methods. IMHO.
Click to expand...


I was curious as how exactly you did it and what equipment you used. I have tried this BDG years ago, with very small quantities (10 grams) and shaking it up in a separation funnel with my hands. Nothing that can be escalated. You did much higher amount.


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## goldenchild




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## Barren Realms 007

Very nice looking.

Can I add my 2 cents that I finished tonight. 8)


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## philddreamer

Beautiful gentlemen, beautiful!!!

May I add mine??? I finished it last night, 32g. 8)


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## Barren Realms 007

philddreamer said:


> Beautiful gentlemen, beautiful!!!
> 
> May I add mine??? I finished it last night, 32g. 8)



Very nice. 8)


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## goldenchild

philddreamer said:


> Beautiful gentlemen, beautiful!!!
> 
> May I add mine??? I finished it last night, 32g. 8)



Funny how all three of us finished and posted on the same night. Its the cycle of nature.


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## HAuCl4

8)


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## goldsilverpro

Addicting, isn't it? When I cast my 1st bar on my own, I was hooked for life. After 40 some years, I still get exited about things.


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## HAuCl4

goldsilverpro said:


> Addicting, isn't it? When I cast my 1st bar on my own, I was hooked for life. After 40 some years, I still get exited about things.



Absolutely!. My first "experience" was watching a nerd friend at high school dissolving some 22k coin he had, and then precipitating the brown mud. I was closely paying attention, and watched him (in complete disbelief!) apply the bunsen burner to the dry mud and when the mud turned yellow, I was hooked!. 8)


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## stihl88

Just finished my purest button yet, it weighs in at 7.6g and was a result of refining some other dirty buttons in AR.
It was my first AR batch ive ever run and it was a huge learning curve to say the least... 

Thanks to all the forum members for your outstanding guidance here in the gold lounge 

I might get rid of my Nose picking avatar and swap it with a picture of this button


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## Harold_V

stihl88 said:


> I might get rid of my Nose picking avatar and swap it with a picture of this button


Good idea! 8) 

Harold


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## goldenchild

nice button!


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## HAuCl4

So shiny!. 8)


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## butcher

stihl88 , what a pretty avitair. good job.


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## stihl88

Thank you Gentlemen, i hope to increase the girth of that button very soon...


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## goldenchild




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## philddreamer

Bravo, Mario, bravo!!! 8)


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## Barren Realms 007

I agree nice looking.


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## stihl88

That's a beautiful square loaf! I love the ripples on the surface.


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## lazersteve

Looks like a golden chunky bar!






Steve


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## 61 silverman

can I join in on the FUN !!!!


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## adam_mizer

Nice button heaven there Mark.
Mark do you have a nice picture of that Mickey posted? 

And that loaf Mario! (Chunky)!

This is a good button thread guy's.


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## 61 silverman

adam_mizer said:


> Mark do you have a nice picture of that Mickey posted?


 here is a picture of when I was working on MICKEY,,


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## HAuCl4

That's awesome!. 8)


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## adam_mizer

Wow, just love it!
Million dollar Mickey.
It's seems to me this is a one of a kind.

Thanks for posting the pic hope, had to save it. Will have to show this to some friends, its awesome to say the least.


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## DesertDave

Here's a few pics of my nuggets recovered from side-braze ICs and 3-leg transistors similar to T05 type. 

For the ICs, I crushed them, separated the plated Kovar lids and processed the crushed pieces directly in AR with no problems. The lids were soaked in heated nitric (some in full strength 68% and some in dilute - not sure which worked better) until the foils peeled off. The foils were separated by using a magnet on the outside of the beaker to hold up the partly dissolved lids and a squirt bottle to separate the foils.










I spent a lot of time with the transistors. First, I snipped the wires off and soaked them in nitric to dissolve the base metals. That took a long time, like 2-3 days. Then the heads were soaked in full strength nitric to remove the caps and then in dilute to dissolve the base metals which also took a long time. I used Lazesrsteve's two-bucket method from his AP video to do these.


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## copperkid_18

Here's my .3g button.. Came from 7 ceramic cpu's. Had BarrenRealms 007 process em' for me. I have another one coming next week.


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## Barren Realms 007

DesertDave said:


> Here's a few pics of my nuggets recovered from side-braze ICs and 3-leg transistors similar to T05 type.
> 
> For the ICs, I crushed them, separated the plated Kovar lids and processed the crushed pieces directly in AR with no problems. The lids were soaked in heated nitric (some in full strength 68% and some in dilute - not sure which worked better) until the foils peeled off. The foils were separated by using a magnet on the outside of the beaker to hold up the partly dissolved lids and a squirt bottle to separate the foils.
> 
> I spent a lot of time with the transistors. First, I snipped the wires off and soaked them in nitric to dissolve the base metals. That took a long time, like 2-3 days. Then the heads were soaked in full strength nitric to remove the caps and then in dilute to dissolve the base metals which also took a long time. I used Lazesrsteve's two-bucket method from his AP video to do these.



The 2nd picture is you best looking button he others look like contaminents in them. Good job on the processing. You are getting there.


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## goldenchild

Thousands and thousands of dollars worth of Nestle Chunky and Mentos


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## goldenchild

Where's the gold?


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## Claudie

Very nice! :mrgreen: 
"Where is the Gold?"
Gold is where you find it!


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## goldenchild

A 5 ozer(just short).









Some of the scrap that helped create this bar.


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## maynman1751

goldenchild said:


> A 5 ozer(just short)


Very Sweet!


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## BAMGOLD

WOW, can I ask how much money of "input costs" it took to output this, what scraps are they and where from?


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## lazersteve

Mario,

Your bars are looking really great! I've found that if after casting the bar you withdraw your torch to 8-12 inches from the bar before it begins to harden you can virtually eliminate the surface ripples. I like the look of the ripples myself, but the smooth surface makes stamping the bars easier and more readable. 

As for getting the bars to the correct weight I typically pour the gold as shot and then dry it. I then weigh out the correct amount of shot into a clean dish and cast the bar. 

Great job!

Steve


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## glondor

Here's one I made this week. 112.5 g xrf @ 99.93%.


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## jmdlcar

glondor Now that one nice big button


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## goldenchild

BAMGOLD said:


> WOW, can I ask how much money of "input costs" it took to output this, what scraps are they and where from?



I roughly doubled my money. The gold filled is where I really made my money. There was more than pictured.


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## goldenchild

lazersteve said:


> Mario,
> 
> Your bars are looking really great! I've found that if after casting the bar you withdraw your torch to 8-12 inches from the bar before it begins to harden you can virtually eliminate the surface ripples. I like the look of the ripples myself, but the smooth surface makes stamping the bars easier and more readable.
> 
> As for getting the bars to the correct weight I typically pour the gold as shot and then dry it. I then weigh out the correct amount of shot into a clean dish and cast the bar.
> 
> Great job!
> 
> Steve




I agree on all counts Steve. I actually prefer the ripples too and so do most of the people I show the bars to. Shooting all the gold is also very good advice. I find it almost impossible to get precise weights when melting the powder all at once. Even if the powder is 100% dry there is air trapped in all the crevices. The fact you can put much more shot into a crucible than powder proves this.


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## rich_2137

Dang you got to love this thread, more more more!!! :lol:

Watch the language Rich
Oz


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## stihl88

goldenchild said:


> lazersteve said:
> 
> 
> 
> Mario,
> 
> Your bars are looking really great! I've found that if after casting the bar you withdraw your torch to 8-12 inches from the bar before it begins to harden you can virtually eliminate the surface ripples. I like the look of the ripples myself, but the smooth surface makes stamping the bars easier and more readable.
> 
> As for getting the bars to the correct weight I typically pour the gold as shot and then dry it. I then weigh out the correct amount of shot into a clean dish and cast the bar.
> 
> Great job!
> 
> Steve
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I agree on all counts Steve. I actually prefer the ripples too and so do most of the people I show the bars to. Shooting all the gold is also very good advice. I find it almost impossible to get precise weights when melting the powder all at once. Even if the powder is 100% dry there is air trapped in all the crevices. The fact you can put much more shot into a crucible than powder proves this.
Click to expand...


The powder may be missing it's God Particle until melted :mrgreen:


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## goldenchild

Another 5ozt'er(+)


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## rshartjr

What is the make and model of that induction coil hot plate under your melting dish? I would love to get my hands on one. It sure looks handy.

Scott


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## goldenchild

Its extremely useful in melting. With it I was able to melt this 5+ ozt with a mapp gas torch in a very short amount of time.

http://www.pelletlab.com/

While you're there take a look around. They have some useful stuff for good prices. The 10 piece beaker set is a bargain 8)


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## lazersteve

Goldenchild, 

As usual your bar looks stellar.

If I had to critique it for something I would have to mention that you should always verify your mold is level before casting the bar as you will get bars that are thicker on one end as the 165+ g bar in the above photo.

Love the heater under the dish idea!

Steve


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## rshartjr

Thank you, goldenchild. I have been trying to locate something like that for a little while, now. I have been thinking about using that and a reducing (hydrogen) flame in order to pour smoother bars in cast-iron mold. (Consider it a 'wish list' as I haven't finished reading Hoke and have not even started to stand up a 'lab.')

Scott


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## philddreamer

Nice folks at PelletLab! 
I buy most of my labware there. I met Steve and the rest of the crew.They're about a 4 hour drive from me, in Bingen, WA.


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## rich_2137

rich_2137 said:


> Dang you got to love this thread, more more more!!! :lol:
> 
> Watch the language Rich
> Oz



Hi oz not to sure what I said wrong but sorry about that!


Rich


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## Smack

Really? Dang is not allowed on the forum? If this is the case then I am going to need a list of unacceptable words so I don't screw up and get banned.


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## Geo

i believe the offensive word was edited by OZ before he gave the warning. think about it, whats a common word used instead of DANG.


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## artart47

this is the result of my first ap batch. mostly fingers and some wire end connectors.


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## ericrm

that a real beauty... better than mine i think

edit : lol no for sure it is better than mine 
2 edit : this is a FANTASTIC button,


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## goldenchild




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## glondor

That is...........Priceless.


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## butcher

Now I see what makes turtles grin.


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## its-all-a-lie

butcher said:


> Now I see what makes turtles grin.



a bandanna wrapped around their knees? :mrgreen:


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## joem

Raphael - named after Raphael Sanzio
You should repaint the bandanas gold, rename as Dorato, and use this in all your pictures as your signature.


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## RoboSteveo

Love the Ninja Turtle pic. Truely priceless!


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