Non-Chemical Finger stripping

[Robkat]

OK, I am new to this end of the business. Years and years ago I was in the sales end of PC scrap. During that time I collected, purchased, and stocked concentrated scrap. Not knowing anything about the refining end of the business I did strip some parts with Nitric acid. From this I have a 2 plus lb bag of finger flake stored away. Also I have over 100 lbs of neatly trimmed Mil-Spec fingers ready for some type of process. Now that I am retired I am putting my toe in the water to check the temp. Should I start by reducing the finger stock to flake by nitric stripping? And if so at what dilution? Or should the finger stock be placed into a media that takes the Au into solution first?

After the finger stock is reduced into some form then the next question will be how to proceed with the exisiting bag of flake.

Thanks everyone. The posts in the archives are amazing.

 

[leavemealone]

I have a 2 plus lb bag of finger flake stored away

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
I think I just found my new best friend!!!!!l :mrgreen:
If you processed that much to end up with 2 pounds of flake then you obviously have a method that works.However in the words of our leader "theres always room for improvement"! If you just want to explore other methods.......you came to the right place.First of all you mentioned nitric several times so I will assume that you have at least a moderate knowledge of it.However most of us use muratic(Hcl) acid more than anything because of the effectiveness vs. price.It may be a bit slower than nitric however you can't beat the $5 a gallon cost.Here is a link to a website owned by one of our moderators steve http://www.goldrecovery.us/ .In there you'll find countless videos that he himself took showing hands on processes.It is Vital that you become familiar with the different processes and methods before you dive into that water you were talking about.It may look and feel comfortable,but hidden below the surface may be a few sharks looking for their next meal.I am a safety nut on here so you will hear alot about that from me.But all in all ,the idea is to have fun,and hopefully make a decent profit in the end.I advise you take the next week and read,learn,and absorb as much as you can before you think of touching the first chemical.In this endeavor it is imperative that you know exactly what the entire process is before you start.Ok gotta run,but you are in good hands.
Johnny

 

[teabone]

Of all the e-scrap gold fingers are probably the easiest to process , so your good in that regard. I always figure at least two grams of Au per pound for close cut fingers. Mil-spec will most likely be much better. Your gold flake from fingers will be even easier to process since you have already eliminated the base metals with nitric.
If you have access to nitric , its much faster at stripping the base metals then some of the work around methods and since your gold flake has already been processed with nitric you can go to Aqua regia to put your gold into solution and after neutralizing , precipitate with sodium sulfite or metabisulfite. I'm just giving you a general idea .
Definitely read up on all the processes on the forum and check out some of Harolds and Goldsilverpros posts. Hokes book will tell you most every thing you need to know about refining and well worth a read.