Clarity from Clouds.

[GotTheBug]

Okay I was feeling "creative" on the subject line. Part of what I have been up to is taking depopulated boards and putting them into the stock pot to dissolve solder, and maybe one day recover the silver from it. I know, hardly worth the time, but well worth the experience. Here's the thing, I'm ending up with some white floaties, presuming some AgCl, and a bit of black(ish) precipitate in the bottom of the pot, presuming antimony from the solder.

Ideas? Any are appreciated. The boards, by the way, have been most completely depopulated (mechanically) with the odd exception of missed MCC's.

Thank You guys, the search goes on, and the brain gets bigger...

Paul.

 

[Palladium]

When you cement one metal from solution another one has to replace it. If you have gold in your stock pot and put solder in it it will precipitate the gold on the board and the solder will go into solution. Then all you gold is stuck to the boards and can't totally be wash free from it. The black may be your gold. Bad idea in my opinion.

 

[GotTheBug]

Unless significant gold made it to the stock pot to start with, doesn't make sense to me that the precip would be gold. The boards put in were depopulated, and gold bearing material has been separated by "nature" according to type of piece (fingers, pins, flat chips, etc.), so I can't imagine that amount of black powder being gold. If it were I would take us all out to dinner, as there is easily more than a couple ounces (1/4 in covering the bottom of a 5 gallon pail).

Am I on the right track thinking antimony from the solder?

Paul.

 

[Palladium]

It's not a point of significant gold being in the stock pot, it's any gold! You do understand what a stock pot is? Were not talking about what is in there now from what you have done, who knows? I'm talking about the theory of what a stock pot is and how it should be utilized. What your talking about just doesn't make since if you have studied enough to understand the stock pot and the chemistry that exist in the stock pot environment..

 

[AndyWilliams]

As I understand it, the stock pot is where the spent and unspent acids are gathered by the refiner, is that correct?

 

[Geo]

the way i understand it is, a stock pot is used to consolidate any precious metals that happens to make through the precipitation. so only spent solution from precipitation should go in the stock pot. Harold said he used a 1 gallon ice cream container (keep in mind that Harold precipitated from a concentrated solution). i use a 1 gallon pickle jug. as a final measure, these spent solutions go into a 55 gallon drum. when it gets close to being full, i plan on concentrating it further and cement again just in case. if you place all used solution in the stock pot, your wasting space and time. if you know for sure the solution contains PM's, reclaim them. the stock pot is for what you MIGHT have missed.

 

[AndyWilliams]

Thanks for the distinction Geo, I hope to know someday if my solutions have PM's I have missed! :lol:

 

[GotTheBug]

Ah I did miss the meaning then. Thank you for the clarification. I was actually referring to the 5 gal pail with "other" in it. Sorry for the confusion, I promise to do it again sometime.

Paul.

So, that having been said, ideas on the black powder primarily from solder?

 

[MysticColby]

i use a 1 gallon pickle jug.

from Costco? I use the same! It's handy because it's tall, so things settle and it's easy easy to decant

 

[Geo]

i use a 1 gallon pickle jug.

from Costco? I use the same! It's handy because it's tall, so things settle and it's easy easy to decant

actually, theres quite a story about the pickle jars i have. theres a large tract of land close by that was up for public auction. theres no way i would have won but went anyway. it had an old dilapidated house with a large storage shed. after the auction i spoke with the winner and asked about a large volume of coal that was stored in the shed wanting to know what he would sell it for. he said to take whatever i wanted that it was going to be bulldozed anyway.there was at least 4 tons of coal. the real find was a stack of canning jars boxed up. 6 boxes of 4 each 1 gallon small mouth pickle jars and about a dozen boxes of Ball quart mason jars. that was three years ago and i have a total of three 1 gallon jars left. the rest gave the ultimate sacrifice making nitric acid. i guard these last three like they were made of gold.

 

[awbrew]

GEO, Coal is bringing around 200 a ton for the big boys shipped out of here., But some Small Private owend mines that sell to the locals is around 80 a ton... Hope this helps...