fantasy jewllery

[arthur kierski]

i strip rh and gold from fantasy jewllery---they are ussualy brass plated with gold and rh over it-----i use hno3 in a water solution and do it cold and overnight---sometimes 5kilos of jewellery becomes 20grams of rh +gold flakes---sometimes 5kilos becomes 200 to 500grams of a powder with the same flakes----
i would like to have help in the following:why 5 kilos leaves 20grams of flakes and other 5kilos leaves 500 or so grams of a powder +the20grams of flakes???
whem i add hno3 to copper wire plated with pm,all the copper dissolves and what remains is the pm flakes---
note:i process 5kilos daily (when i have material) and always have different results---- the difference is huge

 

[lazersteve]

Arthur,

I've never processed any 'fantasy jewelry' (?), but in my other refining experiences the consistency of the yields from nitric acid were mainly dependent upon the thickness of the plating.

Material that has a very thin plating will form a powder residue, while the more thickly plated items form flakes or shells.

Steve

 

[goldsilverpro]

Arthur,

Do you refine the residues - flake and powder. If so, what are the yields? The .4% flake you're getting seems high, but who knows?

The powder sounds like a metal alloyed in the base metal that is insoluble in the nitric. It sounds like it ate everything else from around the metal and left it behind, as a powder. If this is the case, is the powder dissolved by some other acid (after rinsing well, of course).

Is there any solid metal left? If so, it could be cementing something out that had previously dissolved, as a powder.

 

[arthur kierski]

the manufactureres of these jewellery send to me their jewllery that was not aproved by the quality control---i extract the rh and make new rh plating solutions---the gold which is in the jewllery i take it for me,as well as the silver whem (present)-
----------------------gsp asked if i purify the flakes and powders left after the nitric attack---yes i do;first ar to take the gold present---then nh4oh to dissolve any agcl in the powder-----at last sodium bisulfate fusion to extract the rhodium----and make the rh plating solution
the yeald of silver and gold varies from manufactures,but rhodium usually gives around 2grams for every 3kilos of jewellery------
as i said ,sometimes from 5kilos i get straight 20grams flakes--sometimes (most of the times)i get 400grams of powder with the flakes--alloyed base metals---but act the same way 1=ar---2nh4oh---3 nahso4