Does aqua regia just dissolve gold?

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prince

Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2020
Messages
10
Location
Bangladesh
Greetings and love to all
I have been working with some mobile boards, computer connectors, some RAM and some processors for the last few days.We heat them by mixing 1: 1 water and nitric acid.The gold plating is removed from there.I filter but some of them remain other metallic substances,Which I could not remove.I do aqua regia by adding 60 ml HCL and 20 ml nitric.I add other metals, including gold, to the middle of the aqua regia solution.Let's filter again,Then add some urea and add sodium metabisulfate,The result was that no drop of gold was worn and much more SMB was added and white powder was deposited under the beaker.
Later I found some black material by filtering with water,I tried to melt them but I couldn't find anything. It was like plastic.I am seeking the advice and opinions of the veterans.Hope i will benefit later. Thank you
 
prince said:
sodium metabisulfate,

This will not drop gold.

You need sodium metabisulfite.

To answer the question, yes, Aqua Regia will "dissolve" other metals as well. Copper, nickle and tin, just to mention a few.
 
Thank you for your reply.
I talked about some more problems there. I would have benefited a lot if that had been solved, I could have learned more.
 
prince said:
Thank you for your reply.
I talked about some more problems there. I would have benefited a lot if that had been solved, I could have learned more.

Did you ever stop to think that might not be your only reply to this question? Sometimes answers come in many parts and not just one big answer. Maybe he only knew a small part to contribute and not the whole answer! Much like you only know a small part and are seeking the answers..............

You seem to have an entitlement mindset like you are owed an answer. Your respect is weak! Why should we share our knowledge with someone of such little patience? Do you think that makes for a prudent student or a reckless problem looking for a future answer? Give people time to see it and respond according.
 
I'm sorry if anyone gets hurt by my words.I didn't say anything to hurt anyone.I thought he ignored the next article, that's why.I also want to learn something.Thanks everyone and my love.
 
Prince, I see you edited your original post twice, so now we really don't know what all you may have asked.

Do not edit your posts unless it is to correct an error. Then indicate what you've edited. Editing posts is against forum rules and could get you banned.

So what else do you want to know?

Dave
 
prince said:
I'm sorry if anyone gets hurt by my words.I didn't say anything to hurt anyone.I thought he ignored the next article, that's why.I also want to learn something.Thanks everyone and my love.

Not a problem sir!
The Goggle search bar above is available for you to query until someone comes along to help. It searches only forum post and returns results by keyword.
You would be surprised at what you can learn while you are in search of other answers.
 
Prince, some mistakes you made:
jumping in without knowing what you are doing.
Treating this material with nitric. Nitric is very expensive in recovery steps. And polluting. And creates metastannic acid from tin.
Mixing different materials toghether that should have been processed differently.
Never pre mix AR. You've made enough AR to dissolve 20 grams of gold. I doubt that much is there.

Some questions for you: (to ponder and investigate for your self as well)
How much material are we talking about?
Have you separated the components, magnetic parts and aluminum?
Did you leach any solder off before going to nitric?
Did you cut the ram fingers or put them in whole?
Did you test with stannous after AR?
Do you know what to do with the toxic waste?
Are you aware of the dangers of the toxins and gasses you are creating?

An answer: your gold is still there. You have only made it really hard to recover.

Some advice: STOP what you are doing, put this mess aside and study.

Here is a start:
Help where do learn this skills? https://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=28521

Oh :and FORGET YOU TUBE!!!!!
Unless its from a respected member here. Some videos are good, most are dumb, misleading, AND dangerous. You dont know how to tell the difference yet.

To help you understand your mess better, answer my questions and post some pictures please.

Martijn.
 
True, I made a short answer. But I still only see one direct question, and I answered that. I am sorry if it wasn't what you were looking for. I would need to ask several more questions and wait for the answers to them to give a more informed reply, and I just did not have time for that earlier today. I could make guesses and give answers but that wouldn't be much help either.



Greetings and love to all
I have been working with some mobile boards, computer connectors, some RAM and some processors for the last few days.We heat them by mixing 1: 1 water and nitric acid.The gold plating is removed from there.I filter but some of them remain other metallic substances,Which I could not remove.

If you only had a few boards you may have not had enough to even see the gold when it dropped. I don't use nitric to process boards, there are other methods that are cheaper for me and easier to obtain. Search for AP, or Copper (II) chloride. I don't remove boards from my AP until there is no gold left on them. And If other materials are trapped in your filter, try doing a "wash" just as should be done to your gold powders after your aqua regia drop is done.

I do aqua regia by adding 60 ml HCL and 20 ml nitric.

I don't mix Aqua Regia (AR) in a ratio, I use only enough Hydrochloric to cover the material and use nitric in small additions so I don't leave a large excess to be wasted later.

I add other metals, including gold, to the middle of the aqua regia solution.Let's filter again,Then add some urea and add sodium metabisulfate,The result was that no drop of gold was worn and much more SMB was added and white powder was deposited under the beaker.

With the aforementioned wash, you could reduce many metals and leave the gold much cleaner. I am not sure if it is a translation issue , but the metals can be added anywhere in the AR or even before the AR is added. And again, use sodium metabisulfite, just to reinforce the miss use or miss spelling. I am not sure which. I use sulphamic acid or heat to reduce any excess nitric when needed, I have never used urea. And it isn't commonly recommended on the forum for several reasons. Before you drop your gold, it needs to be thoroughly filtered for any residues that may remain. Once filtered, you can add the precipitant to drop your gold.


Later I found some black material by filtering with water,I tried to melt them but I couldn't find anything. It was like plastic.

Again no mention of cleaning your dropped gold before melting, this can be more critical when using other methods than those commonly recommended to beginners across the forum. This is commonly referred to here as "washing". Do a search of the forum for "getting your gold bright and shiny".

I am seeking the advice and opinions of the veterans.Hope i will benefit later. Thank you



This is the short and abbreviated way I would do small boards if I were still doing them. It does not list every step, but a quick overview....

Remove all item's from the boards.
Soak in AP until all gold plating is removed.
Filter out the gold and water wash until no acid is left.
Soak in HCl again.
Decant the second wash from the gold.
Dissolve the gold in AR.
Test for excess nitric by using sulphamic acid.
Add ice to cool or add water to drop silver.
Filter until perfectly clear.
Drop gold.
Decant the AR from the gold. Wash with water and hydrochloric acid alternating until the wash is perfectly clear.
Remove acids completely.
Dry the gold.
If color is good, melt the gold.
If not happy with the color, repeat the AR steps again.

These steps are NOT the only methods, but what pops to mind right off.
 
FrugalRefiner said:
Prince, I see you edited your original post twice, so now we really don't know what all you may have asked.

Do not edit your posts unless it is to correct an error. Then indicate what you've edited. Editing posts is against forum rules and could get you banned.

So what else do you want to know?

Dave

I sincerely apologize for not understanding the matter
 
Don't feel bad. We've all been there. No need to apologize, you just have a lot to learn. Read the comments and ask if you don't understand after searching and reading.
Martijn.
 
Just as you posted on my facebook group, you will not get a different answer here. Stop putting yourself and your friends and family in danger until you understand what it is you expect to happen. When you try to do something and you are not sure what to expect, how would you know if it happened correctly or not? Your gold is not gone and I doubt it is in the solution. I suspect that the gold is still in the solids. Didn't you post pictures on the facebook group? You can also post pictures here. When asking questions, adding photos will let everyone see what you have done and you will get better answers.
 
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