Collected Copper with Steel before Stannous Chloride Test

[Akureyi]

Quick Scenario: First time recovering gold from eWaste and while my gold fingers were separating in my AP, I learned that with heat even the Hydrochloric Acid and Peroxide can dissolve gold into solution similar to AR. I was curious if my solution contained gold, but I did not have access to Stannous Chloride solution so I left it in my waste bucket for the time being.

Then I watched this video and thought it would be fun to see the copper get pulled from the waste with a plain steel bar. Now I have fairly clear liquid with a bunch of copper clinging to my bar, and I just got my Stannous Chloride testing solution. I did a quick test at the top of the bucket and it was negative, but would that identify if any gold was in solution, maybe at the bottom with the copper that's fallen off the bar?

 

[Shark]

If any gold remains it dropped with the copper. Cement waste to copper first and remove it. If any valuable metals remain they will cement to the copper, usually a a black looking powder and can contain other valuable metals beside gold. Then cement the remains after a stannous test to iron.

Search for a post “dealing with waste” there are further good tips in the found posts.