Eureka! - I have found it.

[tallship]

State motto, actually (I couldn't resist).

I'm happy to be here, and I'm following the suggestion by @Nugget (a bot?) to come and introduce myself.

My father made some aspects of gold a hobby of his, and although he never involved himself directly in refining I think it's a rather fascinating activity.

I literally stumbled over a log, well, a couple of videos by "Sreetips" at YouTube, actually, and was inspired to come here after reading that he himself stumbled onto this forum himself in 2010.

I left what most people think of as social networking platforms about ten years ago, although I'm actually deeply involved in the development, deployment, and advocacy of social networking systems and free software on a daily basis - just not the ones everyone I grew up with use; so it's refreshing to see a dedicated community on a traditional forum instead of someplace like Facebook or Twitter, etc.

I took a break from a career in information technology for a few years to study biochemistry at UCSD, but alas, did not continue afterwards to pursue a career in oceanography at Scripps Institution, and returned to the world of computers, data centers, and technology instead, but I am a sailor and an Underwater Instructor with the County of Los Angeles and NAUI.

I did have an old highschool friend (before he passed) that at one time was in the business of scrapping mainframes for gold, but that's about as close as I've come to anything of this sort until now.

I'll probably just do a lot of reading, learning, and lurking, so I hope that doesn't count against me.

I look forward to learning about the fascinating topics and activities here and perhaps I'll take up a couple of simple projects in due time.

In the meantime, I'm happy to be here, and thanks for having me!



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[nickvc]

Welcome to the forum.
You are entering a vast area of study where I doubt anyone knows it all , we strive to push safety and responsible practices that do not cause damage to our self’s, family, pets, neighbors or the environment.
If in your reading you find something doesn’t make sense feel free to post for clarification and I will suggest you download a copy of Hokes book free from Frugalrefiners tag line which will get you up to speed with the language and some of the chemistry we use and refer to.

 

[notehunter494]

Excellent bio, sounds like you have had an interesting life.
Ms Hoke's book is a must and before you go out and buy like a ton glassware and "stuff" like you see in Sreetips videos start out with a spot plate and test tubes and disposable pipettes and an alcohol burner and do the reactions she suggests in the text to get a handle on their speed, the colors, the way they behave hot or cold etc.
In my mind refining and recovery can be grouped into three areas:
1) finding a source of PM's to work with
2) SAFETY. Learning how to handle the materials used in recovery and refining.
3) SAFETY. Learning proper waste management and designing/constructing a good fume hood and scrubber system for the fumes.
As you get a handle on what you will be starting with as a source read the forum and as you find applicable "nuggets" of knowledge you can capture them and keep them organized in a folder on your computer. It is easy, for me anyway, to get lost on this forum so I try to drag and drop what will help me as I come across it. This is a never ending learning experience. Have fun be safe.