Does AR dissolve copper, iron, lead, organics? What can dissolve gold and gold alone?

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ForTheLoveOfGold

Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2023
Messages
9
Location
Arizona
Hi guys, this is my first post here, and i am a newbie. I've been searching here and didnt find an answer so I am posting this question to tap into the knowledge of those more experienced :) Thank you in advance.

I am searching for a way to dissolve gold out of crushed ore, which only dissolved the gold (and pgms are ok) but leaves alone iron, copper, zinc, lead, sulfur, etc. without roasting the ore.
I know roasting the ore is used to get rid of sulfur, I am not opposed to roasting. Just wondering about these questions:

1- Does AR dissolve anything besides PGMs? Does AR dissolve any iron, lead, copper, how about silver?

2- If the sample had organics in it, what does AR do to organics?

3- What other (affordable, this means not using iodine or gases, or even nitric acid) acids or combination of chemicals may I use that mostly would dissolve gold and nothing else?


Many thanks in advance for your help :)
 
Have you had your ore assayed yet ?
It's hard for anyone to give you a answer without knowing what the makeup of your rocks are.
If you have had an assay post the results and maybe you can get some ideas of how to proceed from some of the mining people that are members.
I can say that it's not a good idea to just put your rocks in acid without knowing the dangers that might exist.
 
Golddigger is absolutely right. You didn't mention if there was any arsenic, cadmium, mercury or other nasties in your ore. Until you know, dropping it in acid is not a good idea.

Dave
 
Thank you for the safety warnings. I will be careful and take full responsibility of any results from my actions, everything is done outdoors or under a fume hood. To answer you, no Assays were done. I am just walking around and collecting rocks that look promising that i'd like to experiment with and see if i can find any Au in them.
 
ForTheLoveOfGold said:
Thank you for the safety warnings. I will be careful and take full responsibility of any results from my actions, everything is done outdoors or under a fume hood. To answer you, no Assays were done. I am just walking around and collecting rocks that look promising that i'd like to experiment with and see if i can find any Au in them.
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Crush and wet gravity separation if your just collecting rocks that look good. That's what we do with great results.
 
Watching YT videos, i see some people roast and crush and gravity separate .. I also see people who roast then use acids to either dissolve the gold out or dissolve other metals leaving gold behind. That's why i am asking about the acid approach as it may capture more than panning esp the fine gold dust which I may lose while panning since i dont have a good shaker table or other mechanized approach to recover fine gold dust . Having said that, crushing and panning are the easier, safer, and most affordable option for sure. I just know i will lose the fine microscopic stuff while panning.
 
ForTheLoveOfGold said:
Watching YT videos, i see some people roast and crush and gravity separate .. I also see people who roast then use acids to either dissolve the gold out or dissolve other metals leaving gold behind. That's why i am asking about the acid approach as it may capture more than panning esp the fine gold dust which I may lose while panning since i dont have a good shaker table or other mechanized approach to recover fine gold dust . Having said that, crushing and panning are the easier, safer, and most affordable option for sure. I just know i will lose the fine microscopic stuff while panning.
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Maybe but it will not kill you if you hit some Arsenic, Cadmium or Mercury.
Acids may.

YouTube are not to be trusted for this kind of hobby/activities.
Except for a few recognized posters, most posts are at best not nearly detailed enough, and many are downright dangerous.
 
Oh no another I found rock post …. Why do you suspect any values ? Has there been mining activity ever ? What leads you to suspect values ? Does the area lead to suspect values ?
Get an assay and come back to us and we can help or advise.
 
ForTheLoveOfGold said:
Watching YT videos, i see some people roast and crush and gravity separate .. I also see people who roast then use acids to either dissolve the gold out or dissolve other metals leaving gold behind. That's why i am asking about the acid approach as it may capture more than panning esp the fine gold dust which I may lose while panning since i dont have a good shaker table or other mechanized approach to recover fine gold dust . Having said that, crushing and panning are the easier, safer, and most affordable option for sure. I just know i will lose the fine microscopic stuff while panning
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Mercury will capture / pickup the micro gold dust easily in your pan then picked up with a snuffer bottle. A retort will reclaim the mercury leaving the gold and making things more environmentally friendly.
 
Yes the area has gold found in it and a nearby mine. I also found some flakes by panning. However I just want to recover as much Au as possible hence my AR questions.
 
Going back to the original questions but condensing them into just 2 that I want to know the answers to could someone help with this:

1- Does AR dissolve any iron, lead, copper, manganese, zinc, silver?

2- If the sample had organics, carbon or sulfur, what does AR do to these?
 
ForTheLoveOfGold said:
Going back to the original questions but condensing them into just 2 that I want to know the answers to could someone help with this:

1- Does AR dissolve any iron, lead, copper, manganese, zinc, silver?

2- If the sample had organics, carbon or sulfur, what does AR do to these?
Click to expand...
1. Yes, AR dissolves almost anything except Silver, Rhodium and Iridium amongst a few others.
A short time on google would have told you this and an even shorter time on the search of this forum.

2. AR will decompose some organic compounds like filter paper and some plastics.
Not Carbon and I really do not know about Sulphur.

On the other hand no professional companies uses AR on ores, it is way to expensive and there are better ways.
 
ForTheLoveOfGold said:
By saying YT i also meant this forum, ive done plenty of reading on using acids here and have already used acids in the past ;-)
Click to expand...

Since when did we become a portal for random rants and videos on the net?
I find that particular remark quite offensive.
 
Thanks for answering the questions. I did google and i did search here and didnt find the answer that is why i joined and asked.
I meant to say that I have been using YT, google, forums etc.. to learn from. No offense intended. This forum is very helpful and essential.
 
ForTheLoveOfGold said:
Thanks for answering the questions. I did google and i did search here and didnt find the answer that is why i joined and asked.
I meant to say that I have been using YT, google, forums etc.. to learn from. No offense intended. This forum is very helpful and essential.
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I think that if you did not find this on Google or in the forum,
you need to study much more before you can start handling chemicals like AR.

I now see that you did not receive my standard welcome post, as I was on an away job.
Here are some quick links of what we recommend you to study:


1. Read C.M. Hokes book on refining jewelers scrap, it gives an easy introduction to the most important chemistry regarding refining.
It is free here on the forum: Screen Readable Copy of Hoke's Book
2. Then read the safety section of the forum: Safety
3. And then read about "Dealing with waste" in the forum: Dealing with Waste

Suggested reading: The Library

https://goldrefiningforum.com/threads/gold-refining-forum-rules.31182/
 
Yggdrasil said:
Since when did we become a portal for random rants and videos on the net?
I find that particular remark quite offensive.
Click to expand...
Commercialization. I have the feeling it's a new phenomenon since the forum was sold and now we get regular pleads to help to keep this forum alive. I see them as part of the same thing.

MONEY! More more more! Adds. Clickbait. Bought google top of the list results on ore identification?

Some have the goal of helping other refiners with knowledge and warnings to be patient and take their time. Some have new techniques to discuss, explore and develop.

Others may see it as a gold mine that needs to be exploited to the max.
Such an approach would not be considering the huge amount of free time members put in to help others.
Or the huge load this spam puts on moderators who need to weed through all that.

Need 'help' to keep the forum alive!! (And pockets filled) Become a supporting member! Where can I have a look at the flow of money and the salaries of the board before I donate?

Hang in there all mods, you do do a great job. But you can't catch them all.

Now another thing, I found this rock and I'm sure its full of rhodium.... nah, just kidding. 🙃
 
AR is for REFINING materials that are already in metallic form. It's awful to use with ores.

For ores, learn crushing, separation, and smelting techniques. Mount Baker Mining and Materials has TONS of highly detailed videos on those subjects and more, including many examples of known gold-bearing ores and what to look for.

Dan Hurd's channel also has a lot of info on prospecting, and he's collaborated with Jason from MBMM several times. They're the experts on prospecting and ores.
 
There are some non-toxic leaches out there you can use.
But once again you need to know what is in the concentrates your running.
If I remember correctly Action Mining sold one.
 
richoc said:
There are some non-toxic leaches out there you can use.
But once again you need to know what is in the concentrates your running.
If I remember correctly Action Mining sold one.
Click to expand...
That is slightly inaccurate.
The moment the leach has dissolved metals it is toxic.
 

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