# slug containing precious metals



## arthur kierski (Jun 26, 2008)

i got a slug (5tons) which was analised and have:330ppm of gold----210ppm of pt-----116ppm of pd and 480ppm of silver---------------------------------
how should i proceed to extract these metals? i have a ball mill which can pulverize 50kilos each time--------------------------------------------------------
thanks for any and all sugestions-------ps --it has copper too----when one breaks this slug , one sees the pm in small drops


----------



## Lou (Jun 26, 2008)

We need more details as to the nature of this material. What type of matrix is this in? By that I mean, is it all in a collector metal, like lead? Is it all in a fused bit of ceramic or glass? What is the nature of the precious metals, metallic state or oxidised?

I have some ideas, but we must know more about it.







I wish I were you though.


----------



## arthur kierski (Jun 26, 2008)

lou i honestly cannot answer all your doubts(questions) yet---i think that the persons who did this used a reverbatory furnace with the material plus borax and na2co3 and a copper collector---they hoped that the pms would come out in the copper colector , but the fluidness or the temperature were not suficient and this material got trapped in the slug(slag?)---
my son is getting tomorow 5 to 10 kilos of the material for me to study what to do------when i say i got 5tons is because i gave a blind bid and the person accepted(here i am used to do this kind of bid---it is so cheap that if i lose it will not hurt ---but if the analysis is correct i make good money
tomorow i will give you some more details


----------



## lazersteve (Jun 26, 2008)

Arthur,

At 10,000 pounds that's one heck of a 'slug'.

From my calculations you have:

3.3 pounds ( 1498.2 g = 48.17 ozT ) of Au,

2.1 pounds ( 953.4 g = 30.66 ozT ) of Pt ,

1.16 pounds ( 526.64 g = 16.93 ozT ) of Pd ,

and

4.8 pounds ( 2179.2 g = 70.07 ozT ) of Ag.

with the remaining 9988.64 pounds of other metals.

I think the PMs would be easiest to extract using electrorefining techniques.

Send to a trustworthy copper smelter/refiner and get credit for your PMs and the base metals.

If you have the facilities you could cast the slug into plates and electrolytically refine it yourself. Then process the sludge for the PMs. Even the copper and other base metals will bring good money on this scale so don't overlook the values in base metals with that big of a slug.

Steve


----------



## Lou (Jun 26, 2008)

Personally, if it were a mix of borax and carbonate, I would probably try and dissolve away all the borax and the carbonate using very hot water and strong agitation. If the metals are in the form of little beads, they will be easily separated by gravity and can be collected and concentrated at the bottom of the vessel. Once you have them collected, probably remelt with more carbonate and borax and some copper, then shot and go for a digestion. This is assuming that this whole thing is a glassy bit of material. If it has lots of metal entrained in it as well, then it would probably be best to separate the metal from the borax, then melt, and add more copper. Then electrolytically recover the PMs. I think that would be a lot of work, so Steve is probably right on track if you were to go to a copper smelter/refiner (if there is one in your country).



If I'm ever in Brasil, I will be sure to make a visit : ) I've got family there anyway.


----------



## arthur kierski (Jun 26, 2008)

i do not know of any copper -smelter refiner here---and if it is a glassy stone 
i think that will break into pieces whem i try to cast for eletrolitic extraction. 
at the moment i think lous idea of hot water and agitation might work, have to wait until tomorrow to see the real stuff and not the 300grams i have with me


----------



## Irons (Jun 27, 2008)

With the price of metals where they are, it pays to check out tailings and slag from old smelters. There are ghost towns near old mines that are good hunting spots.


----------



## flankdrive04 (Jun 27, 2008)

would be awesome to see a pic of the SLUG!

Cheers!


----------



## arthur kierski (Jun 27, 2008)

i cannot make a picture of the slag because i am not proficient in computers---i just write and reply---sorry
the slug is strongly magnetic and i tried to open with h2so4---nothing happened---with hcl ----nothing happened----with hcl+h2o2-----nothing hapenned------with hcl+clorox----nothing----with ar------nothing -----then at last with hno3(3:1) and started a very small reaction and the solution is going slowly green---them i went home and left the 43grams in the nitric----
before i tried to break this 43grams with a hammer and it did not break---i saw some copper coloured beads in this 43grams----monday i will see what happened with the nitric solution and will try to break 5kilos in my mill---
that is what i did today----


----------



## flankdrive04 (Jun 28, 2008)

Irons said:


> With the price of metals where they are, it pays to check out tailings and slag from old smelters. There are ghost towns near old mines that are good hunting spots.



Just want to clarifty exactly what you would do in this case?

Thanks!


----------



## arthur kierski (Jul 2, 2008)

i tried every possible chemical method to open this slag and did not have any sucess. so i sold to a person who is going to send to the refinery which he works steadily abroad-----it is not easy to make easy money
thanks anyway for the comments and sugestions given to me


----------

