Greetings everyone!
I wanted to share an experience Ive had that taught me a good lesson in extraction efficiency that others may find helpful when they discover that they have the same attitude towards crushing and grinding your ore that I once did, which is what this is all about...
ATTITUDE...
In Astrophysical terms, attitude isn't just a state of mind but more importantly a state of position that a spacecraft possesses when calculating orbital insertion. In simple terms, WRONG ATTITUDE, GAME OVER...
Our attitude towards our process when metallurgical extraction is concerned can be explained in exactly the same manner. A disrespect for the chemicals we use, the tonixs involved, and the temperatures required can spell a GAME OVER scenario for us as well.
The attitude towards GRINDING our ores not just can BUT WILL make an important difference in how much gold one will see a result of when milling.
My process used to be pan down the crushed ore (-20 mesh + -), roast it to powder, then separate the iron with a magnet...
Then my partner came along and showed me a big step I was skipping which showed me a better return on the gold extracted from the roast, which is the REGRINDING of those roasted concentrates...
When Ive finished roasting my concentrates the roast took the -20 mesh refractory concentrates Ive worked down to about a -100 + - mesh as the hot ore will further break down the covalent bonds the sulphides arsenides and tellurides my ores possess.
I roast my ores in an iron gold pan, mixed with uniodized salt and several 9" iron nails. Iron is important in the roasting process but something that isn't spoken of much is the encapulation iron oxides will do with the micron gold content. The iron will encapsulate those gold particles and then keep ahold of that gold when magnetically separating the roasted concentrates.
Many of the publications and patents Ive reviewed regards industrialized processes include REGRINDING the roasted cons again... and in a different part of their process lines again and again!!! I ignored that feature ... Believing chemicals will take care if that for me, which they will BUT THAT COMES AFTER THE GRIND AND THE ROAST... The magnetic separation of the iron is the important part being discussed here, and REQUIRES that the roasted concentrates be ground again beforehand, so that the oxides that have encapsulated the gold will be properly broken back down and the gold free to remain behind when running that magnet through the roasted cons.
This grinding is critical, and this is the method my partner showed me he uses to perform this regrinding of roasted concentrates...
I call it the "Simes method of regrinding iron- encapsulated roasted gold concentrates". Thats a process I will cover in more detail soon. The important thing to take from this is that a method that specifically gives a process necessary to achieve best results shouldnt always be ho hummed like it was with me, because there's a reason why its mentioned there...
Regrinding ore seemed so time consuming and like an unnecessary step but it isnt, which we find out later on down the line. Its a good thing I saved those concentrated roasted iron oxides Id separated with a magnet... I will eventually return to them and regrind them...=)
I wanted to share an experience Ive had that taught me a good lesson in extraction efficiency that others may find helpful when they discover that they have the same attitude towards crushing and grinding your ore that I once did, which is what this is all about...
ATTITUDE...
In Astrophysical terms, attitude isn't just a state of mind but more importantly a state of position that a spacecraft possesses when calculating orbital insertion. In simple terms, WRONG ATTITUDE, GAME OVER...
Our attitude towards our process when metallurgical extraction is concerned can be explained in exactly the same manner. A disrespect for the chemicals we use, the tonixs involved, and the temperatures required can spell a GAME OVER scenario for us as well.
The attitude towards GRINDING our ores not just can BUT WILL make an important difference in how much gold one will see a result of when milling.
My process used to be pan down the crushed ore (-20 mesh + -), roast it to powder, then separate the iron with a magnet...
Then my partner came along and showed me a big step I was skipping which showed me a better return on the gold extracted from the roast, which is the REGRINDING of those roasted concentrates...
When Ive finished roasting my concentrates the roast took the -20 mesh refractory concentrates Ive worked down to about a -100 + - mesh as the hot ore will further break down the covalent bonds the sulphides arsenides and tellurides my ores possess.
I roast my ores in an iron gold pan, mixed with uniodized salt and several 9" iron nails. Iron is important in the roasting process but something that isn't spoken of much is the encapulation iron oxides will do with the micron gold content. The iron will encapsulate those gold particles and then keep ahold of that gold when magnetically separating the roasted concentrates.
Many of the publications and patents Ive reviewed regards industrialized processes include REGRINDING the roasted cons again... and in a different part of their process lines again and again!!! I ignored that feature ... Believing chemicals will take care if that for me, which they will BUT THAT COMES AFTER THE GRIND AND THE ROAST... The magnetic separation of the iron is the important part being discussed here, and REQUIRES that the roasted concentrates be ground again beforehand, so that the oxides that have encapsulated the gold will be properly broken back down and the gold free to remain behind when running that magnet through the roasted cons.
This grinding is critical, and this is the method my partner showed me he uses to perform this regrinding of roasted concentrates...
I call it the "Simes method of regrinding iron- encapsulated roasted gold concentrates". Thats a process I will cover in more detail soon. The important thing to take from this is that a method that specifically gives a process necessary to achieve best results shouldnt always be ho hummed like it was with me, because there's a reason why its mentioned there...
Regrinding ore seemed so time consuming and like an unnecessary step but it isnt, which we find out later on down the line. Its a good thing I saved those concentrated roasted iron oxides Id separated with a magnet... I will eventually return to them and regrind them...=)