Boiling down AR

[Buzz]

Hi Folks,

I now have accumilated about 4 litres of Gold bearing AR.

The coffee pots i use will only hold about 1 litre.

Can anyone think of a reason why i shouldn't boil down say half a litre to 50ml and then top up with more AR, boil down again...etc until my 4 litres has boiled down to maybe 50ml or so before diluting with water?

Regards
Buzz

 

[dogger brian]

hi 4 litres of AR isn't that enough for 1 kg of fine gold ?

 

[Buzz]

Hi,

Maybe if it was saturated but this lot was given to me by someone
who processed lots of seperate batches over a period of time and combined them into a 5 litre container.

He's given up refining due to ill health.

I've tested with stannous and the cotton bud goes jet black instantly.
I've got a 50/50 cut with the gold i can drop but want to make sure i'm doing the right thing by adding AR to my boiled down AR to reduce the amount of solution i have.

I don't really want to do 8 x 1/2 litre batches unless i have to.

Regards
Buzz

 

[dogger brian]

does nitric weeken over time in ar ? can you test the ph of the ar you may be able to drop as is without boiling down if not looks like you will have to boil down it will take some time though and you will have to add hcl to the mix so the nitric will evaporate better im shore there's a lot on boilling down on the forum

 

[Buzz]

I've no problem with the boiling down bit, i do it regularly with my own AR.

It's just that i've never added fresh AR to my boiled down AR.

I can't think of a reason why i shouldn't but i thought i might ask first anyway

Buzz

 

[dogger brian]

how much gold is in the ar? is it fine gold? if not it may pay to drop the gold with copper and start again dont add to much copper at once it may boil over

 

[leavemealone]

It's just that i've never added fresh AR to my boiled down AR

Buzz If youre adding AR to your reduced AR then you are defeating the purpose.
I think you mean adding HCl to boiled down AR.But I wouldnt recommend that.You would be better off to boil it down in completly different sections rather than continue to add spent AR to it.If you boil it down and continue to add spent AR to your boiled down AR,by the time you are adding the 4th installment then you would be "tying up" 200 ml of space in the pot.I recommend boiling down 1 liter at a time,just start with your temp below the boiling point so it doesnt splash,then pour off the concentrated solution into a clean container that can be used to dilute and drop your gold from.Neutralize your ph and dispose of the acid and do it over again.ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS make sure you try to reclaim from a test sample first if you are not 100% confident in your recovery method.
Johnny

 

[lazersteve]

Buzz,

Since you want to get the PMs out, adding solid metallic copper is the way to go.

This will force all the PMs out as a powder.

Once you siphon off the liquid, test it with stannous to be sure it's barren, then wash and process the powder as per usual.

Steve

 

[Buzz]

Cheers Guys,

Appreciate the advice, as always.

Regards
Buzz