Auric Tidings!

[Anonymous]

I am a research scientist recently bitten by the bug... I started by breaking off connector edges from circuit boards and disoving the contacts off using a straight nitric bath. After several wash and rinse cycles, I took the washed thin, light flake and smelted it directly using a small electric kiln and a carbon crucible. I used plain borax (Boraxo) as my flux. After some work I got my first small nugget, and have been going gangbusters ever since.

I still use a nitric bath to remove gold plated copper contacts from boards, but now pour the first melt into pure water and then using aqua regia on the shot to make a higher purity sponge for my final smelting. I'm getting >98% purity. Still having trouble with Plattinum though; my buyers don't seem to mind, but I'd like to get it seperated

Peace!

 

[goldsilverpro]

Welcome to the forum,

It would go faster and you might get a better yield if you just directly dissolved the gold residue from the nitric leach in a minimum amount of aqua regia and eliminated the melting/granulation step. From this, you should easily get at least 99.95% purity if you do things right.

Where is the platinum coming from? I've never seen it on fingers, if that's what you are talking about. I don't think I've even seen it on connector pins. What method did you use to determine that the gold was 98%?

 

[lazersteve]

I am a research scientist recently bitten by the bug... I started by breaking off connector edges from circuit boards and disoving the contacts off using a straight nitric bath. After several wash and rinse cycles, I took the washed thin, light flake and smelted it directly using a small electric kiln and a carbon crucible. I used plain borax (Boraxo) as my flux. After some work I got my first small nugget, and have been going gangbusters ever since.

I still use a nitric bath to remove gold plated copper contacts from boards, but now pour the first melt into pure water and then using aqua regia on the shot to make a higher purity sponge for my final smelting. I'm getting >98% purity. Still having trouble with Plattinum though; my buyers don't seem to mind, but I'd like to get it seperated

Peace!

You should check out my web site

http://goldrecovery.us

I have lots of free videos and I also sell supplies and DVDs to help you with recovery and refining. One of my DVDs is titled Fundamentals of Platinum and Palladium and will help you learn to separate the two from Rhodium. In the video I use catalytic converter material as the source for the metals.

Welcome!

Steve