# Computer Gold Recovery



## socronaut11 (Apr 21, 2015)

Hello all. I am roughly new to this topic. Very interested in doing it correctly. What is the correct mixture of HCL and Hydrogen Peroxide? I have bathed some boards with fingers in 3-HCL/1-Hydrogen Peroxide. The last few times I have done this, the solution turned emerald green as it should. This time, it turned a very deep green, yet yellow color??? Anyone know why? Can this solution be precipitated? How, if so?????


----------



## nickvc (Apr 21, 2015)

I suggest some more reading and less trying to recover values.
If you don't understand the basics your chances of losing values is very high, if you have material keep it safe you can't lose the values unless you throw them out!


----------



## patnor1011 (Apr 21, 2015)

socronaut11 said:


> Hello all. I am roughly new to this topic. Very interested in doing it correctly. What is the correct mixture of HCL and Hydrogen Peroxide? I have bathed some boards with fingers in 3-HCL/1-Hydrogen Peroxide. The last few times I have done this, the solution turned emerald green as it should. This time, it turned a *very deep green, yet yellow color*??? Anyone know why?



What is it then? Deep green or yellow?



socronaut11 said:


> Can this solution be precipitated? How, if so?????



Yes, very easy. If you suspect there is dissolved gold in your AP just keep using it. Any dissolved gold will be eventually pushed out in form of super fine dark powder.


----------



## socronaut11 (Apr 22, 2015)

Thanks for your answer Patnor. As for the color, it started out withing a half a day as the deep emerald green. It's now very deep dark color and when I stir, the remnants on the glass has a orangy-yellowish color. I was just wondering how to precipitate this solution once you may or may not discover it has some gold in it.


----------



## jeneje (Apr 22, 2015)

socronaut11 said:


> Thanks for your answer Patnor. As for the color, it started out withing a half a day as the deep emerald green.  It's now very deep dark color and when I stir, the remnants on the glass has a orangy-yellowish color. I was just wondering how to precipitate this solution once you may or may not discover it has some gold in it.


You are getting way ahead of yourself here. From what you have wrote, you need to read hokes book, learn how to make some stannous chloride and learn how to use it, Learn how to make up some standard test solution and how to use them, 

Take the time to test different types of base metals and see the reactions and test colors so you can tell what you have in solution. Learn the different types of precipitants and when to use one verses the other. Asking one question after another is only going to confuse you. All of this is here on the forum, but you must read the forum to find it. 

You really need to have a basic knowledge of the process from start to finish, to do this you first must know what it is you want to accomplish and how to get there. This is a great place to start but asking questions without understanding what is told to you does you know good.

Read, read, and read some more.

Good luck Sir.

Ken


----------



## Anonymous (Apr 22, 2015)

Woah wait up guys before you wade in. Look at the question that's been asked. 

A solution that's deep green but has a meniscus that's deep yellow is often a sign of gold in solution. The clue was in the first post. 3:1 HCl to H2O2. Think about it.

To the OP if you are using a 3:1 mix then the likelihood is that you may have dissolved gold into your solution. It's not 100% certain however I would suggest 3 things.

Firstly read up and learn how the H2O2 is in fact a catalyst to the reaction and a TINY amount is required. Also read up and learn how an excess of H2O2 can lead to dissolving gold in AP. Finally, read up on testing for gold in solution. Stannous Chloride is a good start as a search term.

I hope that helps as a starting point to your journey in this wonderful world. The guys here like people who help themselves- so do look up the things I have suggested.

Regards

Jon


----------



## jimdoc (Apr 22, 2015)

This guy apparently bailed, and saved the forum and moderators some hassle this time. 

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=22115&start=20#p231343


----------



## Anonymous (Apr 22, 2015)

Well he's got a point. There's way too much angst and self importance around here lately. Far too many arguments and pompous behaviour.

I'm surprised anyone new dares to ask any questions. 

Has everyone forgotten that they had to start somewhere or what? Before anyone starts accusing me of being disruptive think about it. Then think about it again. Without this forum most of you wouldn't know the difference between AP and AR. Some of you still don't have a clue after years of being members, judging by the daft questions that three year old members ask yet you feel like it's ok to chew every new person a new hole for asking stuff.

I know I wouldn't have known the difference if I hadn't been here, and I'm grateful so have some damned humility and behave like grown ups.


----------



## Barren Realms 007 (Apr 22, 2015)

spaceships said:


> Well he's got a point. There's way too much angst and self importance around here lately. Far too many arguments and pompous behaviour.
> 
> I'm surprised anyone new dares to ask any questions.
> 
> ...



*THANK YOU FINALLY SOMEONE AGREES WITH ME.*


----------



## Geo (Apr 22, 2015)

I don't know guys. There is two sides to everything. How do you fight the good fight for someone who will not fight for themselves. The first time I posted pictures, I was told that it was a pig sty and they would be ashamed to be my neighbor. I didn't get angry and say nasty things or storm off in anger. I believe it has to do with having thicker skin than that. I don't need approval, I needed information. I was thankful for that information and am still grateful. It would be hard for someone here to actually make me angry as I'm much too easy going for that. Stop coddling people who want instant answers and make them earn the information. Is it too much to insist that someone read about the process they want to try before asking questions? This forum is huge. If I left today and never returned, the forum would move right along and that goes for every member here. If you get angry and leave, no one will remember you after awhile. If you stay and learn and then pass along that information, people will remember you for a long time because you have touched many in a positive way.


----------



## patnor1011 (Apr 22, 2015)

(spaceships)
Well you are correct but there is other side to it too. Think about good few members or people who came here, did not asked anything, spent time reading, researching, testing... and then showed with button of their own. I dare to say that there are people out there who read this forum without ever contributing in form of posting anything. Not because they are afraid but because if you spend *enough time* searching and reading in here you will find everything you are looking for. 
Sadly, with forum growth we see people who feel somehow entitled to answer just because they joined more and more often. That cause that you see more and more posts where people are asked to read more. It is not new thing, as far as I remember every new member with questions were pointed to or asked to read more. It is only that more people join now than before and you see this request being made more frequently. It is not self importance or pompous behavior. It is simple mathematics. 10x more members mean 10x more questions and 10x more of "Please read more" answers. There is nothing impolite or pompous in that. 

Suggestions about reading Hoke, about testing with stannous are appropriate when directed to member who ask question without introducing himself first. Without introduction where he can mention if he is experienced in this field everyone would presume that he is not testing or he do not know what he does. Hence directing him/her to do more reading is the first respond to his/her questions. I do believe that AP is one of the most covered topics here and he would get his answer in few minutes perhaps hours by just going through few threads.
No pain, no gain.

OP did not went in much details like how much solution and what amount and type of material was processed. Not even concentration of acid or oxidizer. So there may be gold in it or there may not be any. Yellowish stain on edges is not bullet proof indication of gold in solution. It may be many different things. OP did not offered much details and responses about testing were appropriate - how else do you find if there is gold in or not at all.


----------



## Anonymous (Apr 22, 2015)

I hear you guys. I just think we could sometimes remember a little more of where we began, and at least give the benefit of the doubt before lecturing instead of helping.

Yes we do get some prime muppets joining I agree. Let's at least weed the wheat from the chaff instead of assuming the worst right away. Good new blood is great for the forum.


----------



## patnor1011 (Apr 22, 2015)

In my 7 years being here I noticed one thing. There are about 20-30 guys who frequent this forum daily, I would say several times of a day. Those are people who answer most of the questions and majority of answers are to the point. 
However, sometimes answer is just "Read Hoke or Search and read more" and it is mostly when question is one of those which can be answered by just going through Guided tour Steve put together. 
How does one help somebody who does not want to help himself? I mean OP stated he is new, he is interested to get to know this process right. Every response to him was polite and suggested what he should do. He simply lost it in unrelated thread. 
OP posted question roughly 8 minutes after joining. No need to say more.


----------



## Barren Realms 007 (Apr 22, 2015)

I'm not saying that some don't come here with the wrong attitude, there are those that do and generally they can be spotted real quick. 

But sometimes maybe a little more help can be given than to tell someone just to read. It was alot of information to go through 6 years ago and I can't imagine being someone new trying to find out something by searches now and trying to put processes together now when they have no idea of what they are looking for.

Maybe just a little more guidence from members would help some people find what they are looking for.

My best way that I learned was helping answer members questions and being corrected when I was wrong.

Overall I do feel everyone does a good job. Maybe we just need a little more patience.


----------



## FrugalRefiner (Apr 22, 2015)

I see both sides here. I think _sometimes_, members are a little harsh here. I *don't* think that was the case this time.

Some people refuse to listen and learn, even when the answer is given to them. Look at the first, third, and fourth posts in this thread.



In his first post said:


> Can this solution be precipitated? How, if so?????





Pat resonded directly when he said:


> Yes, very easy. If you suspect there is dissolved gold in your AP just keep using it. Any dissolved gold will be eventually pushed out in form of super fine dark powder.





In his next post said:


> Thanks for your answer Patnor. As for the color, it started out withing a half a day as the deep emerald green. It's now very deep dark color and when I stir, the remnants on the glass has a orangy-yellowish color. I was just wondering how to precipitate this solution once you may or may not discover it has some gold in it.


Dave


----------



## Pantherlikher (Apr 22, 2015)

Nice... Same old argument about how much to spoon feed a new person that joins and askes how to get out of a mess with just a simple quick answer....Same ole same ole.

I could do that with everything I try/ do but I don't have to. It's hidden in the forum and a quick search finds all with great reading from those that fumbled about before.

Just today I decided to put some crap gold plated/colored necklaces in a Pyrex pot with some spent solution from HCL+bleach.
Cringe now cause it's aluminum with plating on it. Guess what happened...

I poured most of the solution right back out because the reaction was way too fizzy and working up to the top to over flow.
Now, I'm adding a little solution at a time to drop everything out of spent solution and dispose of the necklaces to get something out of it.
Must of been 30-50 necklaces tangled in a bunch. 

So...what am I ta do...Ask for help? Certainly not. A simple ALCL search should bring me loads to read through on what's happening, why, and what to do.

SO...Back from the story to the point at hand...How should newbie questions be handled.
How about we nicely state what the best answer is... Tell them how to safely stop and store. Then direct them to the needed place in the forum to learn the process as well as state the reasons for not being able to "just give a simple answer".

Is this rocket science or something that eludes my simple mind? How difficult is it to welcome and give direction to learn? Like a Librarian welcoming people to the library of learning. She answers questions with directing to the location for the answers.

What am I missing here?

B.S.


----------



## patnor1011 (Apr 22, 2015)

You are not missing anything. OP got exactly that kind of answers. All normal, polite and with explanation of what he should do. He simply lost it in unrelated thread.


----------



## bswartzwelder (Apr 23, 2015)

Even lately I have noticed the forum members are way to quick to spoon feed newbies an answer to their questions. Yet, on another thread, a young guy asked what processes he would need to perform a certain action. It was vague, like; What processes do I need to do in order to get gold which is in computers?. The thread was locked before I could answer, but I would have told him depopulate the boards (mechanically, chemically, or using heat), separate the different types of values, use AP on some, use AR on some, and incinerate or pyrolyze some. Those are the processes and the answer to his question. The burden of learning which process to use on which type of scrap would still have been on him.

Admittedly, he said he didn't have time to study because he was in high school. That should have been a red flag for us to politely tell him to study or else no questions would have been answered. This mentality of "you owe me an answer" is really annoying.


----------



## 4metals (Apr 23, 2015)

For a time I used the approach of give them a taste of what they ask for just so they know we are genuinely here to help with the hope they could follow up with reading and study. 

For that I was bombarded with PM's requesting personal assistance. I am of the opinion that helping someone privately by PM does little to help other members of the forum. I always encouraged them to post their questions in the public forum where the answers could benefit all. 

Sad to say we live in a Me Me Me! world. Help me now! It gets old, as many have said all of the answers are here on the forum and any new questions that warrant a response are answered giving either a direct solution or a path to finding the proper answer. 

On one hand we don't want to discourage new members but on the other the new members have a way of discouraging old members. The very people who have demonstrated the willingness to help others. A difficult choice has to be made to deal with this. One that I hope is coming in the near future. Time will tell.


----------



## Truemagnum15 (May 14, 2015)

I am a fairly new member. You are all right from every point of view. When I read the replies to this post, they did not strike me as rude or harsh in any way. On the contrary the replies reflected more of a coaching air if you will.
Obviously the person had not researched the forum before asking questions. 
I cannot speak for anyone else, but when I register on a site, no matter the type of site, the very first thing I do is research it.
Just thought I would throw that out there.


----------



## nickvc (May 15, 2015)

In my reply to the OP I gave him in my opinion the best advice I could, stop and read.
We can give him answers but will he understand or get in even more of a mess or possibly hurt himself.
He admitted he was new to this and was processing using chemicals and a process he had no idea of the likely outcome or what was happening or why.
I refuse to help someone hurt themselves and not understanding will cause injury at some point or the person will lose heart because of constant failures.
It's not angst or self importance that makes me reply in the manner I do but the wish that any new member has at least a basic understanding, especially of the dangers, of the chemicals and processes we use.
If other members wish to encourage complete newbies to continue on their way stumbling in the dark not understanding the basics I cant stop them, I learnt the hard expensive way with no knowledge of Hoke or even a chemistry background, if I can show others an easier route to gain that knowledge I will show them it, and that route is here and it's free, you just have to read and study.


----------



## AugieDoggie (May 29, 2015)

spaceships said:


> Well he's got a point. There's way too much angst and self importance around here lately. Far too many arguments and pompous behaviour.
> 
> I'm surprised anyone new dares to ask any questions.
> 
> What he just said  ^^^^^^^


----------



## nickvc (May 30, 2015)

AugieDoggie said:


> spaceships said:
> 
> 
> > Well he's got a point. There's way too much angst and self importance around here lately. Far too many arguments and pompous behaviour.
> ...




We encourage questions that's what the forum is here for but we do require members to at least study the subject so they can understand the replies.
Harold's simile of deciding to buy a grand piano and the next day expecting to be able perform a public concert is a good one, without study and plenty of practise it's not going to be very good.
Recovery and refining is a complex area of chemistry that I suggest no one knows it all.
If new members wish to just buy chemicals and make a toxic brew with values perhaps included because they can't be bothered to take advice, ie read and study, then let them carry on because I for one don't have the time or get paid to continually keep answering questions that have been covered many many times before.
If though a new member has started to read and study but can't understand a point I and many others will answer as best we can or point them in the right direction for them to discover the answer to that question and probably many more they didn't even know they had.


----------

