a few wonderings and a few questions

[samuel-a]

First, about AP waste, i know this sobject hade been chewed alot here, but it left me confused...
i have tested positive for Au in the leftover of the AP. WHAT should i do?

1.
a few days ego i dumpd some thin copper wire in 1gl jar of my AP waste in order to saturate the solution with copper, saw some setteling at the bottom, gray powder, quite a lot actually....
is that my gold ? is that my gold mixed up with some other stuff (zinc or lead maybe?)? how should i procces this powder in either cases?
Does soaking copper in all of my AP waste batchs should be a standard practice?
Heres a photo:
View attachment 2


2.
today i took some sample batch out of the main AP waste jar (this one on top), around 250ml, and throwed in periodically 3 grams of aluminum chunck out of heat sink. i realised that the solution didn't contained any dissolved gold (sorry, didn't tested it, i know i'm not allowed to make an assumptions... maybe i'll pay for this(?)... calculated risk) dou to the fact that the gold initially had been precipitated by the copper wire.
now, beside getting a very cool reaction with bubbling and heat, what should i get out of this practice?
half way through adding the aluminum , the solution gut a little clear, and after 3 grams it was very dark cloudy.
i'll let it sit over night and it will probably be clear whan everything will settle down. now what?

here's a picture half way through:
View attachment 1
and here's one after 3grams added:



3.
took another test batch out of my AP waste jar (around 100ml), which supposed to be without gold in it (again, didn't tested it), and hanged a piece of steel (at least i think it's steel) 2/3 way in the AP solution, i got a fairlly quick reaction, when the copper started forming on the steel surface, 2 hours to go, and the metal that was soaked coverd completely with pink/rust ish of the copper.... the solution was still quite sturated with copper dou to the fact that the color didn't changed to much and was still dark green, then i decided to add the other piece of metal (lie down beside the jar), and to my amazement, this piece didn't react at all....gave it some time but.... YOK...
Again, what should this procces provide me with?

here is the picture:
View attachment 3



the main reson for this query is to establish an organized working chain of process...
slowly slowly i'll present more info and more questions about the other process (nitric, Acid Cl etc...)


Thank you very much for your kind replays
SAMUEL

 

[Anonymous]

You can reuse the AP when the volume gets to large place in a large glass pan and evaporate it down
I also add copper and let it go until no more will dissolve.
The white is most likely copper chloride(I). Which I have read can be used to precipate gold from solution,
I have not got to try it yet, and most likely if not good if you are "refining" the gold, but me, I'm just recovering
it as cheaply as possible.

I think the ferric chloride could also have uses, one that I have been contemplating is
using it for feed mixed with sulfuric acid to distill of hcl and generate ferrous sulphate which will
precipate gold. You can do the same thing with the copper chloride.

Jim

 

[lazersteve]

Jim,

It's nice to see more members able to readily recognize copper I chloride.

Sam,

The gray powder should be collected and tested with HCl. If it dissolves (and I suspect it will) it is likely copper I chloride, a by product of saturated AP solutions. Any solids that remain after treating with HCl are candidates for PMs and should be redissolved in HCl-Cl or AR.

Aluminum will precipitate all metals below it in the activity series (chart in the document section of my website or wiki).

In my opinion it's best to continue to use AP until it is saturated with copper from scrap as opposed to using perfectly good scrap copper to cement out the very small amounts of dissolved gold. Scrap copper can be used for silver nitrate solutions if it has a large enough surface area and won't decay into tiny pieces as it cements the silver out.

It's very important use your test solution so you are not chasing unknowns, especially when dealing with residual values in spent solutions. You can waste a lot of time and valuable reagents trying to squeeze a dimes worth of gold out of a gallon of solution.

I'm very encouraged by your desire to properly dispose of your spent solutions and hope everyone is as conscientious about their refining wastes.

Steve

 

[samuel-a]

Thank you both for your kind answers.

james, this AP batches ware completely saturated, therefore i dropped the copper cable inside.

steve, i'll drain the jar in a day or two, just to keep safe the everything is beenig droped....
or should i wait some more?

anyway, i'll test the precipitates with HCL wash, if it is copper I chloride, according to james, this should be at some value to me for a future procces... isn't it?
how would i reclaim it from the HCL?
also check for residual PM from that powder....

about no.3 whay is that procedure any good?

Thanks again.

 

[lazersteve]

about no.3 whay is that procedure any good?

To clean the solution of poisonous base metals before disposal.

Steve

 

[samuel-a]

so, basically, the aluminium procces and the steel procces are giving us the same results?
i also don't want to pour of down the drain somthing that i shouldn't...


what kind of treatment should the HCL+Cl+SMB, after tested negative for PM should go through?

 

[Anonymous]

I just read in Rose's Metallugry of gold that hot ferric chloride will dissolve gold, wondering if that could be the new use for left overs after treating the copper from ap process with iron. I did not get to the part yet of how to get the gold back out.

Just food for thaught.

Jim

 

[patnor1011]

so, basically, the aluminium procces and the steel procces are giving us the same results?
i also don't want to pour of down the drain somthing that i shouldn't...


what kind of treatment should the HCL+Cl+SMB, after tested negative for PM should go through?

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=1300
http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1093

 

[samuel-a]

thank you pantor.
the links are very helpful.

i'm guessing from now on, my AP waste will go through that procces:
1. precipitating with copper the rest of the PM the had left.
2. precipitating with iron the Copper l Chloride.
3. neutralization of the solution with baking soda.
4. down the drain.

BTW, steve, you ware right, it was Copper l Chloride that have been precipitate in my AP waste jar, rinsed it with HCL, most of the powder dissolved, giving the HCL color of gray brown. what was left is a little bit of the same color powder and a few balck chuncks of... somthing...
they (powder & chunck) wouldn't dissolve despite the agitation....