gold powder dissolving???????

[Harold_V]

Hi Palladium, yes washing will be my next step. Im trying to decide if just to do a HCl or if I should add oxalic wash.

Will one of you guys clue him in on washing gold powder?
Oxalic acid wash? Am I missing something?

rotorpowa,
I hope you were just taking a shortcut when discussing that you added smb to your evaporated solution. Please tell me that you took it up with water, then filtered first.

Harold

 

[rotorpowa]

Yes Harold, sorry I took it up with water 3/1. Ok, I guess I have missread something (Oxalic) that is why I was asking, I could not find the post again. Have to go out back again will look for it later.
ps. Gold still on its way down might even leave it untill tomorrow.

 

[Geo]

if you precipitated with SMB, then thats all you need. you wont need the oxalic acid.the rinses and washes is to remove the last bit of metalic salts from your precipitated gold.first rinse in boiling water and decant. some salts will dissolve in hot water. next, rinse in hot hcl, bring the solution to a boil for at least 15 minutes. if the hcl takes on a green color, decant and rinse well with tap water.add fresh hcl and bring to a boil for another 15 minutes.repeat this step until the solution remains clear. rinse with tap water X2. add clear, plain household ammonia to a couple inches over your powder. bring this to a boil for at least 15 minutes.let cool and decant into a clean vessel.rinse powder with tap water X2. add a small amount of hcl and water and heat while swirling.after a few minutes decant and rinse powder with tap water X2.

back to the ammonia rinse.add hcl slowly until theres no reaction and fuming stops. if silver is present, it will precipitate out as a white chunky substance called silver chloride.

 

[rotorpowa]

Thanks Geo, I will follow your wash steps tomorrow, melt and post a pic of the button.

 

[rotorpowa]

Ok, I know its had as I didn't put the foils on the scales, but at a guess from the pic of the container of foils what would be the expected yeild?

 

[rotorpowa]

Well I was expecting 3 or more grams, and I must say Im very unhappy with the yeild. After adding 2 buttons at a 1.28 and.33 grams and all but maybe a few points was consumed the resulting button comes in at 2.17 its enough for me to want to give up.

 

[rotorpowa]

My sad little button.

 

[butcher]

Well done, do not give up, just do not set the expectation to high, looking at gold will always fool you, it always looks like more than it is.

 

[rotorpowa]

Thanks Butcher, Im finding it hard to see how it is worth the time and effort ATM even when I got all the material for free.

 

[Acid_Bath76]

Believe me, I too shared in this frustration. The content of PM's in e-scrap is a little misleading. You hit it on the head though, when you mentioned something along the lines of what your yield was compared to your time spent working on it. Well, with time your process will improve. One thing that can save you some time is simply using the right process for the material. HCL/Clorox is a great way to treat foils. Expunging the excess clorox is also much easier than nitric. HCL and a little heat will grab those foils right off. Just my two cents. Hang in there.

 

[butcher]

I must say, electronic scrap is probably more work than profit, but the little bits do add up.
It is good expierience,it keeps me busy, while I am trying to accumulate enough higher grade scrap to process.

 

[rotorpowa]

I still have ceramic 20+ and fiber cpus 30+ as well as the pins from all cards and moboards, oh and a few fully flashed cards. I will hang in to do that at the least, I have an offer to buy

Ceramic CPU's $74.00 per Kg
Mixed CPU's $39.00 per Kg
Ram $9.50 per Kg
Computer MB's $6.00 per Kg
Mobile Phones $4.50 per Kg

This is with heatsinks at battery's etc removed. Im now left wondering do I bother with them or just hunt them up for free.

 

[martyn111]

Im now left wondering do I bother with them or just hunt them up for free.

As Butcher has just mentioned, while you process the lower grade material keep searching for the higher grade materials that are available, the cheaper the better, FREE, even better still.
Joem's thread, My new advertising, should give you plenty of pointers as to how to accumulate material for free, well almost free, the cost of fuel for your vehicle to go and pick up the materials.

 

[Harold_V]

My sad little button.

Correction!

That should read "My button". There is nothing sad about it at all.

Well done! The color and surface are superb.

Harold

 

[rotorpowa]

Joem's thread, My new advertising, should give you plenty of pointers as to how to accumulate material for free, well almost free, the cost of fuel for your vehicle to go and pick up the materials.

Thanks Martyn111 I will take alook at it later.

I might also have my foot in the door at a large Hospital now that might be interesting. I have about 6 or so computer shops all said I can have thier old stuff, and around here it cost's you $10+ to take a computer to the tip, so a few signs for FREE drop off might do the trick.

Thanks Harold, and once again your right! just was a bit upset to see a small yeild. Superb 8)

 

[Harold_V]

Thanks Harold, and once again your right! just was a bit upset to see a small yeild. Superb 8)

I understand. So much so, that I have often commented that the guy that refines escrap with the idea in mind of making money isn't likely to be happy. It's a great hobby, and can yield value, but you earn it through manual labor. So long as you set your sights properly, it can be very rewarding, and, given the opportunity, profitable. There is room in any town of modest size for a small refiner---one who accepts waste materials from the jeweler's bench and returns pure gold. That worked for me, even when it was not my objective.

The best reward of all is the satisfaction of knowing that you have recovered values from waste materials that could have just as well ended up in the land fill.

Harold