# After the gold is harvested.



## Cjeweler (May 29, 2016)

I am a jeweler, for the last ten years I have AR processed my rich drawer sweeps. I have saved the solutions after dropping the gold for the platinum group metals of minor amounts remaining. I have five gallons.

For the last 3 years I have been, as careful as possible, separating the metals. I just got 66 grams of nearly pure gold fro 200 grams of 14k and 18k bench pan sweeps. I still have 60 grams of platinum dust to process or continue to add to.

I have a couple of questions .
1) Is there a smart way to process my platinum metals dust and these metals from my 5 gallons of saved solution at the same time?
2) If I just continued to collect the Platinum stuff for later processing. What is the simplest way of concentrating the 5 gallons of platinum & palladium bearing solution for later? I am considering evaporating it down to less than a gallon in the hot Arizona sun this summer and saving it. 
3) On the last batch, I used Nitric to pull the silver, is cementing out the silver from that decanted solution the easiest way to recover it from that solution?

thanks for the help
cjeweler


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## FrugalRefiner (May 29, 2016)

Welcome on your first post, though you've been a member longer than I.

I recommend just recovering any platinum and palladium from your solutions. The best way to accomplish that is by cementing them out with copper. 4metals made some great posts on the subject with drawings, but the keys are using some large pieces of copper and using an air bubbler in the solution to circulate it. In his design, he used a large piece of PVC, with openings at the top and bottom. The bubbler goes in the bottom of the PVC, and the copper is above it. Those posts may be in the Library section of the forum.

Once you've recovered them, I recommend sending them to Lou for refining. Platinum salts are very toxic and dangerous. I discourage most members from trying to refine them.

Cementing is very effective with silver in a nitrate solution. 

Dave


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## Anonymous (May 29, 2016)

FrugalRefiner said:


> Welcome on your first post, though you've been a member longer than I.
> 
> Dave



Dave you have always been more tolerant and kinder than me. I like and respect you for that. To the OP. You've been a member for years and now you ask for our help when you need something without contributing anything at all. You're not top of my list, and that's being kind.

Jon


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## Cjeweler (May 30, 2016)

My first comment is that we all come from different places. I have no idea why I feel compelled explain myself, perhaps to make it evident that I have not held back contribution, I really have not had anything to add to the discussion of all you more knowledgable gentlemen. By telling my story perhaps someone might find I am a resource for them. My position has simply been to keep quiet and learn.

I am a jeweler and jewelry designer. I have been in the business since the mid seventies. My first experience with refiners was with Herarus during a period in the late 70's refining gold and silver scrap from our 20 silversmiths making jewelry for department stores. We use to have the smiths put the scrap in a large cardboard refiners bucket in the back of the shop. All was routine till silver became the Hunt's bubble. We had a lot of 40 lbs of scrap in the que to be refined for months as silver rose in price. One day out of the blue we got paid an enormous settlement at what turned out to be the top of the market. I used to joke that I was the only one that I knew that got paid at the top of that market. Lots of lots sat in ques as the market went up and then down. Herarus was always great with our metals and sweeps. That was all I knew. When they were bought up, we had become a smaller gold and platinum fine jewelry store no longer manufacturing except for our retail operation. I could not meet the minimums, but i remember the yields still. 

After years of bad experiences I found a way of assuring I was being treated fairly with most of my refining needs with two exceptions. 

The first is the processing platinum group metals which I have had 4 hard lessons that have taught me to expect quarters on the dollars and to not to know what was true of what I would be told. The most recent lesson was last week. I am pleased to have Lou's name. I will contact him when I finish this.

The second and worse nightmare was sweeps. With Herarus, we just mixed everything in to a bucket and send it off once a year. I was totally spoiled. After that the yields went from bad to worse. I began to pay some attention. Began segregating the floor sweeps and the bench sweeps straining for metal bits and gems. I decided to try to refine after reading the Shore propaganda, afraid of the acids, I bought a simplicity system which proved to be another misadventure. In frustration, I scoured the web for information and discovered this forum and a rare source for solid information on this subject. I tried AR. My trial an error lead me down the road of too much nitric and the mess of urea. Stumbling around the process, I began to understand why the whole metal waste processing project is called refining. I do everything I can to preserve what is clean metals and keep separate what must be chemically processed. I have reread Harold's posts till they made sense. I rediscovered my enjoyment of my school chemistry. After all these years of working metals, I have found a far still deeper connection and understanding of the materials. This Last batch, the first in three years, was a joy. 

That all being said, I hope, I have contributed my experience which hopefully illustrates the importance of treating one another openly and honestly. Our businesses are sealed black boxes. My jewelry customer rely on my open honest process as do jewelers rely on the same with refiners. Many in our fields have lost sight of this in this post truth world.

Finally, thank you all for sharing your Knowledge and the help I have received today

Chris


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## nickvc (May 30, 2016)

With your platinum lemel or dust if you use cold weak AR it should leave the Pt alone and remove any Au, Pd and base metals, if you have silver it will convert to chloride which you could remove with ammonia, always re acidify it after, the solution may take up a little of the Pt so after precipitating any gold put it with the rest of your PGM solutions. This was Hokes method for people like yourself who work on the bench, I'm not sure it would refine the Pt to pure but it should leave you with just Pt dust which you could re use although it's not easy to melt properly.
With your waste solution as Dave said simply cement it with copper, the chances are you will have gold in there as well so you could use AR to dissolve it again precipitate any gold and cement again.
If you have silver based solutions from your dust the chances are you will also have some PGMs in that solution, convert the silver to chloride, filter and cement the PGMs.
With all PGM solutions take extreme care they are nasty and toxic so work with safety in mind.
Again I have to agree with Dave collect all your PGMs and send them to Lou, he is the man for them.
With your sweeps they are fairly easy to refine once you know the process, if you decide to do them post your thoughts and we will try to help.


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## Lino1406 (Jun 2, 2016)

Silver nitrate solution is simply precipitated as silver oxide with soda caustic, washed and melted to silver


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