Clemhz said:
I have so far burned the mercury off with a torch on charcoal blocks and am left with 25 buttons of various sizes [11 oz. total].
I trust you didn't do this inside, where you could breath the fumes. If you did, see your doctor immediately.
I would like to melt these all together into one mass. Since I do not have a crucible I'm thinking of melting this with a torch in a heavy cast iron mortar. My question is, will this work and what kind of flux do I need to further clean this up. What do I need to do to separate any silver or other metals to make this mass pure gold? Thanks to anyone who can help with this. Clem
It will work alright, but you'll probably lose the mortar (cast iron does not like getting heated unless you do it uniformly. It will most likely crack if you do it with a torch).
Now that we've cleared the air on the mortar breaking-----let me tell you why it's a really bad idea.
Assuming you are successful in melting the material, using a flux (which would be borax), what you'll do is form a bond with the vessel, assuming it hasn't been rusted or otherwise oxidized to the point where the flux can't overcome the oxide coat. In essence, you'll have soldered the material to the vessel. A very bad idea, one that should not be done.
One does NOT melt metals in metallic vessels, not without a refractory wash, and even then it's not a great idea. Such material should be melted in a melting dish, which is typically made of clay. The dish would be coated with borax after being pre-heated, so the charge will not stick. The alternative is a crucible, which can be made of graphite/clay or silicon carbide. I don't like using the type used for assaying because they tend to have a limited lifespan. Crucibles are best heated in a furnace, not by torch, although that can work if you have a large enough tip for the torch (rose bud). Melting dishes are cheap, easy to handle, and have a considerable lifespan, assuming you buy those of decent quality (made of white clay) and season them properly before use.
Extracting the values isn't easily done unless you understand refining procedures. To give you step by step instructions isn't reasonable when the information is available in a form that will provide all that is necessary (in the way of knowledge) to permit you to process the material properly. My advice to you is the same advice I offer to anyone that wants to refine, but hasn't a clue. Buy Hoke's book. Not because I have an interest in the book. I don't. Don't have an interest in the sources, either. I simply understand the power of the book and know that it is a single source that will teach you the things you should know in order to process waste materials to extract values.
The subject you broached has been beat to death on this forum----and my answer remains constant. You can get a lot of helpful information here, but in order for it to make sense to you, it really helps if you have a basic understanding of refining procedures. That's what the book is for. It is also a kindness to those of us that try to help others. It keeps us from repeating the same information over and over when all it takes is for readers to meet us half way
by learning the basics before taking the plunge.
Assuming you procured the book, it's entirely possible you'd have no questions once you understood what it teaches you. It is written in plain English, in language that permits even a person with no chemical education to understand what to do, and how to do it.
My advice for the moment is one of two things. Sell them as they are, or buy the book. Do NOTHING until you've made a decision about what you'd like to do with them. That way you won't do stupid things that can place you in harms way, or do damage to the material that will complicate the recovery of values.
Harold
edit: corrected typo
