I don't know why your response to my last post got put on another thread. Here it is.
Zanerosspalmer said:
I got it from a Non-Destructive testing company who do xray work and use this to work the film.
Judging by your reactions it seems likely that something is not right with thr eadings and maybe it can be explained as follows
The sample from which we did our test had been put into a crucible that had just been used for recovering other metals and then heated and baked hard. We used a piece of this to get our readings and it has given it a false reading.
The guy who sent the powder off to be recovered owned the machine on which we tested. He uses it to check his gold that he buys.
I will try and get a better reading on a new sample and then hopefully it still has lots of plat. in it.
I appreciate your answering my questions and it does seem that we're zeroing in on the actual situation.
From what you say, the samples you tried to melt are very possibly contaminated with PGMs (platinum group metals) and nickel (probably) from the dirty crucible. Since the sample didn't melt, the contamination is likely just on the surfaces and the Niton could easily pick up readings from there. Therefore, the numbers you reported are likely worthless, as far as the assay of the entire 12kg is concerned.
The only source of the metals dissolved in the fixer would be from the x-ray film that was processed in it. I mentioned before that I had never seen any x-ray film that contained PGMs. Therefore, the chances are slim to none that you had any PGMs in that fixer.
You somehow have to test a fresh sample of the remaining 12kg of material that has never been placed in the crucible. I assume it's in powder or black sludge form and probably wet. If so, I would dry a small sample out (not in the crucible!) and then, when cool, mash it up a bit and place it in a small thin plastic baggie. Get the sample in one corner of the baggie and shoot it through the plastic with the Niton. I would wager that it will show only silver and iron, with no PGMs.
Note: The film (used for non-destructive testing - welds, etc.) this originally came from is called Industrial x-ray film. I have run about 1 million pounds of that type film and, here again, have never found any PGMs in it. Of all types of film, though, there is a slight chance of some PGMs being in it for some very special critical applications, such as x-raying welds in a nuclear plant or on the space shuttle. So, I may be wrong in my assumptions. The dried-sample-in-the-baggie test I suggested in the previous paragraph should tell the story. Let us know the results.
