Bornite ore 20 percent worth working for gold and silver?

[Nountaineer]

Along with the platinum ore I have close to 20 percent copper ore as bornite. According to the Arizona copper rule, a predictable amount of gold and silver is recoverable from copper ore. Is this copper ore worth working on a small scale? I have not assayed that ore. Any copper knowledge Here?

 

[Deano]

There is always some level of precious metals in copper ores, these are usually recovered as anode slimes from the electro refining stage of copper recovery.
If you do not assay the ore you will never know if it would be viable to chase the precious metal values.
No reputable person would say anything more about the viability of working this ore without a series of assays to base their judgement on.
Deano

 

[Nountaineer]

The Arizona copper rule would provide guidance on the amount of gold and silver in it. I just don't remember the specifics and thought someone might know about it but apparently not.

 

[Yggdrasil]

The Arizona copper rule would provide guidance on the amount of gold and silver in it. I just don't remember the specifics and thought someone might know about it but apparently not.

Can you elaborate on this?
No law/rule can decide an ores content.
The only thing my search found was “the Arizona rule on Lead and Copper”.
And this decides how much Lead and Copper is allowed in the drinking water.
So can you be a bit more specific please?

 

[galenrog]

Bornite, also referred to as Peacock Ore is an iron copper sulphide. Typical copper content ranges from 40-65% copper sulphide, giving the rock its characteristic appearance.

Gold content can range from barren to as much as 1000ppm, or 0.1%. Silver content is similar. Both are recovered as part of copper refining as mentioned by Deano. Other precious metals are unlikely, but remotely possible.

The only “rules” I have heard of regarding precious metal content of ores is general ranges. If the source of the information is reliable, such as assay reports, then it may be close. If from any other source, I would regard it as questionable. Only the proper assay will tell the tale.

Time for more coffee.

 

[workly]

Bornite, also known as peacock ore, is a copper mineral that typically contains copper, iron, and sulfur. While bornite ore may contain some amounts of gold and silver, it is generally not considered to be a significant source of these precious metals.

In general, the economic value of bornite ore is primarily derived from its copper content, which can be extracted and processed to produce pure copper metal. The copper content of bornite ore can vary widely, but typically ranges from around 50% to 70% copper.

If you are interested in mining bornite ore for its copper content, it is important to consider factors such as the grade and size of the deposit, the availability of infrastructure and resources for mining and processing, and the market demand for copper. It is also important to comply with any applicable laws and regulations related to mining and environmental protection.

 

[Nountaineer]

Bornite, also referred to as Peacock Ore is an iron copper sulphide. Typical copper content ranges from 40-65% copper sulphide, giving the rock its characteristic appearance.

Gold content can range from barren to as much as 1000ppm, or 0.1%. Silver content is similar. Both are recovered as part of copper refining as mentioned by Deano. Other precious metals are unlikely, but remotely possible.

The only “rules” I have heard of regarding precious metal content of ores is general ranges. If the source of the information is reliable, such as assay reports, then it may be close. If from any other source, I would regard it as questionable. Only the proper assay will tell the tale.

Time for more coffee.

I will look it up. As I said, in Arizona there are predictable amounts of gold and silver in copper deposits.

 

[Nountaineer]

Bornite, also known as peacock ore, is a copper mineral that typically contains copper, iron, and sulfur. While bornite ore may contain some amounts of gold and silver, it is generally not considered to be a significant source of these precious metals.

In general, the economic value of bornite ore is primarily derived from its copper content, which can be extracted and processed to produce pure copper metal. The copper content of bornite ore can vary widely, but typically ranges from around 50% to 70% copper.

If you are interested in mining bornite ore for its copper content, it is important to consider factors such as the grade and size of the deposit, the availability of infrastructure and resources for mining and processing, and the market demand for copper. It is also important to comply with any applicable laws and regulations related to mining and environmental protection.

I am only interested in the pms, not the copper, it is too hard to convert. The gold and silver in copper deposits normally covers the cost of processing and the copper is all profit.

 

[goldshark]

To process Chalcopyrite, you will need to invest a considerable amount of money. Equipment, legal compliance, etc.. To not get an assay is complete foolishness. It is as foolish as investing all your money in the stock market, because you overheard somebody say something in a bathroom stall, without doing a little due diligence into wether it has some credibility. An assay(s) will be the best money you ever spent.

 

[Nountaineer]

I have been working on a shoestring budget so I use x-ray spectroscopy at about $10 per sample for basic identification of minerals. It is about $300 for assays in Tucson so I try to save money with x-ray spectroscopy.I have done my own basic assay with measured amounts of lead and ore then x-ray it. Just have been focused on the platinum ore as my best chance of processing on a small scale. I don't want to process the copper ore other than PM extraction.

 

[goldshark]

Spending $10 for an XRF "assay", is further foolishness, if the XRF does not have the soft ware for your needs.

 

[orvi]

I will look it up. As I said, in Arizona there are predictable amounts of gold and silver in copper deposits.

If you do not mine around the corner of the mine, where folks assayed, there isn´t any predictable rule. You can be lucky, or unlucky never certain. And mining isn´t the fairytale-BS what you can watch on Discovery Channel. If you do not have assay, you don´t mine - for sake of your own money.

I am only interested in the pms, not the copper, it is too hard to convert. The gold and silver in copper deposits normally covers the cost of processing and the copper is all profit.

Copper is in overwhelming majority of cases the element that justify the economic viability of the process. Also, I cannot imagine how you will process that ore just for silver and gold content. Sulfide gold is hard to recover by gravity. Flotation is used with sucess on many ores, but I doubt you have well setup fine crushing mill/ball mill combined with flotation unit - if you are hesitant to pay for one assay, and rather rely on some saying.

 

[Nountaineer]

Spending $10 for an XRF "assay", is further foolishness, if the XRF does not have the soft ware for your needs.

It is accurate. Think what you like Gold shark but my numbers have been verified so no further need to argue with you.

 

[Nountaineer]

If you do not mine around the corner of the mine, where folks assayed, there isn´t any predictable rule. You can be lucky, or unlucky never certain. And mining isn´t the fairytale-BS what you can watch on Discovery Channel. If you do not have assay, you don´t mine - for sake of your own money.

Copper is in overwhelming majority of cases the element that justify the economic viability of the process. Also, I cannot imagine how you will process that ore just for silver and gold content. Sulfide gold is hard to recover by gravity. Flotation is used with sucess on many ores, but I doubt you have well setup fine crushing mill/ball mill combined with flotation unit - if you are hesitant to pay for one assay, and rather rely on some saying.

If you were paying attention to my previous posts then you would know that I am only raising cash for a specific purpose and not interested in processing copper, only platinum gold ore but still need to raise the cash first.

 

[Nountaineer]

If you do not mine around the corner of the mine, where folks assayed, there isn´t any predictable rule. You can be lucky, or unlucky never certain. And mining isn´t the fairytale-BS what you can watch on Discovery Channel. If you do not have assay, you don´t mine - for sake of your own money.

Copper is in overwhelming majority of cases the element that justify the economic viability of the process. Also, I cannot imagine how you will process that ore just for silver and gold content. Sulfide gold is hard to recover by gravity. Flotation is used with sucess on many ores, but I doubt you have well setup fine crushing mill/ball mill combined with flotation unit - if you are hesitant to pay for one assay, and rather rely on some saying.

Just read why I need to raise cash , I have stated it multiple times!

 

[Nountaineer]

To process Chalcopyrite, you will need to invest a considerable amount of money. Equipment, legal compliance, etc.. To not get an assay is complete foolishness. It is as foolish as investing all your money in the stock market, because you overheard somebody say something in a bathroom stall, without doing a little due diligence into wether it has some credibility. An assay(s) will be the best money you ever spent.

It is foolish to listen to your negative comments any further. You are not valid!

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Nountaineer, I advise you to check your attitude and the way you respond to others here. Believe it or not, everyone is trying to help you. If you don't like some of the advice, simply ignore it and move on. But when you respond with snarky comments about members reading your past posts and comment that a member is not valid, you may find your stay here coming to an abrupt end.

No one has told you that you are not valid. It is not appropriate to respond to anyone else in that manner.

Dave

 

[jobinyt]

Nountaineer, it seems you are having trouble raising the money here that you want/expect. In such circumstances, in order to get a different result, it is usually true that a change in approach is necessary.

 

[Lou]

Here this should help.

Along with the platinum ore I have close to 20 percent copper ore as bornite. According to the Arizona copper rule, a predictable amount of gold and silver is recoverable from copper ore. Is this copper ore worth working on a small scale? I have not assayed that ore. Any copper knowledge Here?

1.) You don't have any platinum ore you will recover from home and make money at doing, so you can stop wasting your time with that. There is nothing you will be able to do on a shoe string budget to get platinum from Arizona soils unless you bought a metal detector and someone lost a ring.
2.) If you do have copper ore, focus your efforts on making a pile of it and sell it to a company as local to you as possible that processes it. It's not worth working on a small scale and you will not make money, just amounts of waste that that you will be legally compelled to deal with at some point in the near future. When they go to sample your pile, make sure a third party representative that does that sort of thing is there and if it turns out that there are large amounts of gold after a scorification and fire assay of the sample splits taken, then insist on getting some payment.

Nountaineer, if you were paying attention to others' previous posts, what people who know more than you were trying to tell you is it doesn't matter if you're interested in processing the copper--it has to be processed to get the gold, silver and perhaps, just maybe the platinum contained with the copper.

 

[kurtak]

Is this copper ore worth working on a small scale?

Short answer --- NO

I don't want to process the copper ore other than PM extraction.

Unless the gold is in the form of actual metal there is no why to separate just the gold from the rest of the rock

Because the metals (copper/gold etc.) in the rock (ore) are in the form of sulfides - you need to first reduce the sulfide (break the chemical bond that makes them a sulfide) to actual metal - the metals can then be recovered (smelting or leaching) from the ore --- the recovered metals will then be an alloy of copper/gold etc. - the metal alloy then needs further processing to separate the different metals in the alloy

On a small scale this is a time consuming & complicated process that will always cost more then you recover especially if the primary metal is copper

Kurt