Color Change but No Drop

[CuO]

I've had a quart of mixed Nitric and Hydrochloric I used as my waste container to come back to when I would want to try to get out what I could. I'm guessing about a gram of gold was in there because I purposely put gold containing AR into it to give me incentive. One batch of Nitric I put in there had a gram of silver in it, which precipitated. I filtered that, washed it, and Melted it. Strangely my silver nugget is slightly gold colored. I just assumed it was from tarnish by waiting to quench it for over a minute.... and it very well could be.

Here's my issue: I try a smb drop on the quart of acids and quickly realize there is far too much nitric for it to work. I synthesized some copperas (iron sulfate) on my own and got some really clean crystals. I added a LOT of them to the acid, and only got a color change. There is no gold that seems to settle, even after an hour.

Pictures added.

 

[CuO]

Before


After

 

[Topher_osAUrus]

Hour is far too short of time. A day or two should suffice.

 

[CuO]

I see. Does it look like it reacted as it should have?

I forgot to mention I did a stannous test before precipitating, and had a strong positive. I just now performed the same test and the test paper remained clear, So the gold is no longer in solution.

 

[kernels]

What you are seeing is textbook for a dirty drop in a dilute solution, leave it for a day or two, siphon off the liquid and re-refine the powder.

 

[anachronism]

You mentioned that you had a lot of Nitric still there. If the small jar of Ferrous Sulphate is what you called a LOT of crystals then in reality it isn't a lot. Can you re-test the solution with stannous please and see if it's now clear or positive?

 

[CuO]

The amount you see in the photo is approximately 1/5 of the amount I added. I do not know the exact weight because the crystals were still wet when added. Yes, by volume there is little gold. I was just concerned as our lawn is mowed by someone else without notice. I didn't want a lawn care task end up ruining my waste that contains gold.

 

[CuO]

A second, and maybe third drop is in my schedule. Only with minimal nitric for dissolution and smb as the second drop.

 

[rickbb]

The amount you see in the photo is approximately 1/5 of the amount I added. I do not know the exact weight because the crystals were still wet when added. Yes, by volume there is little gold. I was just concerned as our lawn is mowed by someone else without notice. I didn't want a lawn care task end up ruining my waste that contains gold.

I would worry more about the lawn care person getting a serious acid burn not knowing that it was acid waste. Medical and legal bills could quickly be more than a few ounces of gold. Forget about ruining your waste containing a gram of gold.