Gradual addition of nitric acid

[sayf]

assuming i want to dissolve gold foils in aqua regia
Ill start with adding the foils to hcl and heat it to a low temperature then ill gradually start adding the nitric acid drop by drop untill all the foils are melted
Here is my question :
assuming that the amount of nitric was exactly enough to dissolve the gold in the solution
in this case will there be any nitric acid in the solution
or all of it will be consumed in the reaction then no need to neutralize the nitric acid?
Forgive my noob question but am still new with gold chemistry

 

[Johnny5]

Since your heating the Hcl, add your nitric in small portions and give it time to work. Once all of your foils are disolved, you know that you don't need anymore nitric. This way you will have little, or no, extra nitric to neutralize. As you become more familiar with how your reactions are working, you will never have to add urea. As you reduce your gold, excess nitric attacks the powder, and "spends" the nitric. If it's a minimal amount of excess nitric, this will work fine, however if you have an abundant amount, you may want to add gold to your solution, as opossed to dumping a large volume of urea.