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EVO-AU

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 19, 2007
Messages
198
Location
E. Flat Rock, NC
Okay, gents and ladies:

What is the process for cleaning leached ore and raw ore with HCL for a better ppt route ? And which would be better - before leaching or before ppt or after ppt ? I've got some strange ore and it is creating disaster in my poor-befuddled brain ! Even my dog gives me strange looks when I emerge from the lab !~

EVO
 
Ore can be made from acids like in a volcano, and can be salts of these acids (I lack a better discription), these rocks should be roasted to drive out these acids, like sulfuric or arsenic or chlorides, without roasting you can have all kinds of problems with leach and recovery chemistry's.
As far as cleaning leached or raw ore I am not sure what it is you are asking, if you mean to refine, and some of this would be easier to answer if we know what chemical or mechanical process you have used so far, and what state your ore is in.
 
The idea of refining ores with acid isn't generally acceptable. The reason is simple. So much acid is required to eliminate unwanted substances that it renders the operation undesirable, if for no other reason, expense.

Do not confuse the extraction of values from metallic scrap with extracting values from ores. The combinations of elements in ores dictate that one process rarely is applicable to another. There are compounds in ores that demand considerable research and experimentation in order to determine an effective extraction procedure. It may be beyond the ability of the home refiner, but most importantly, it is likely not economically viable unless the assay indicates very high concentrations of values.

While high grade ores are known to exist, the average ore being processed for gold is usually well under one ounce per ton. The sheer volume of material that must be handled to make a profit pretty well eliminates a small scale operation, particularly one pursued at the hobby level.

Cyanide is used with success for one reason that stands out. The material with which it is used does not interact with, or destroy the cyanide, or destroys very little. It is for that reason that extremely low grade ores can be leached---the only expense being piling the ore on a heap for leaching.

My advice to anyone that has intentions of processing ores is to lose the idea unless the assay is extremely high. That's particularly true if you are unable to process anything but miniscule volumes at any one time. You'd be far better off to get a minimum wage job and buy gold with the proceeds.

Harold
 
Butcher: Okay, may just be I am not sure of what it is I read. Somewhere on this forum somebody said to boil the leached ore in a mix of 3:1 HCL to H2O for several minutes. Watch for the curdy of Ag and test for Pb or Hg. That is all I have and I cannot remember where I read about this process. Any ideas ? Please

I sent Twigg a button about a year ago and a jeweler friend of his said it was about 90 % pure. So I know that this ore is rich. Or like I told Randy, I've probably got a bunch of pockets rich and nil. By the way, that button, about 3 or so grams came from a total ( before processing ) of about six #'s or ore.

I always get at least a tiny bit from every batch. But if this HCL washing, boiling or whatever can improve my results - so be it !!!

Anybody else have anything to offer ? Phill
 
HCl would help to precipitate the silver as chlorides the white curdy you speak of, also lead or mercury are insoluble as chloride's, the water is needed to dilute, as in strong acid they can be soluble.
but this still would depend on what leach you are using.
lead lead insoluble as sulfide so sometime a few drops of sulfuric can help there,
but much of this can also depend on what the leach was and were you are in the process, are you trying to refine concentrated gold? give us some information of what you are doing and where you are with this and we can give better advise, sometimes it may be better to incinerated and then reprocess, but without knowing what you are doing the advice we may give is not going to help much.

are you asking about harold washing prceedures? for washing the Gold powder after Aqua regia?for high purity?
 
Butcher: Incinerate what ? I do heat my ore to create magnetism so I can pull any iron out. If there is any. I've tested about every fourth batch chemically for iron. But if I get a gram per five gal bucket, that is a lot.

Maybe it was one of Harolds' posts about using hcl for washing. But I am not doing electronic scrap, just native ore from the ground.

I just came across one of my diddly-squat notes, wdhich reads:

After precip, wash the ore in 3:1 - hcl/h2o to disolve any remaining metals not pm's. Now does this make any sense to you guys ? Phill
 
Platdigger: Randy, ole' buddy - you hit the nail on the head. That is exactly what I had read somewhere, but couldn't remember the syntax. That is what I am after. Now then, is the ratio of 3:1 h20 to hcl correct ? Also, does it make any difference whether it is regent HCL or store bought muriatic. I have both and am aware of the possibel iron content in muriatic.

Also, to Butcher as well, if I take store bought ammonia and simmer it down would I get a decent solution of ammoniam hydroxide ?

ONe more thing, if you gentlemen do not mind - what is the ratio of stannous chloride crystals to HCL to h2o. I picked up a test kit from Action few years back, ran out of both solution mixes and ordered some stannous chloride crystals, but then lost the mix ratio.

Oh yeah, Butcher, I thought incinerate had to do with removing PM's from boards and such. Another notch in my network of brain cells.

Ain't I dumb ? Thanks, Phill
 
EVO-AU said:
Also, to Butcher as well, if I take store bought ammonia and simmer it down would I get a decent solution of ammoniam hydroxide ?
Click to expand...
If you "simmer it down" you'll end up with water, and nothing else.

- what is the ratio of stannous chloride crystals to HCL to h2o.
Click to expand...
Hoke is your friend.

Harold
 
Ammonium hydroxide, as far as I know, is nothing more than ammonia that is dissolved in water----so when it's heated, you drive off the ammonia. I stand to be corrected if I'm wrong.

Assuming I'm right, I expect that water will dissolve only a given amount, at which time the solution is saturated. Distilling it off may work, but you'll have to rely on information from those that know and understand chemistry----I do not.

Harold
 
from my limited knowledge of this, ammonia hydroxide can be purchased as 28%, and can be made industrially to about 35% catalyticaly N2 & H2 at high temperatures and pressures, if you had 28% and heated it to
100 degF. you would end up with 23%, now take this 23% and heat to 150 deg F, you will have 10% in solution, now heat that to 212 deg F you have water left. If I understand this Harold is right on the money here.
 
Okay Butcher, I get the message. I bow to those with more superior knowledge. Holy cow !

And to you, as well, Harold .

Randy, I have an experiment from Ammen in regards to iron, but unless it is right in front of me, I can't rmember it. I'll look it up tonight and see what gives. That is why the ammoniam hydroxide. Phill

Anybody ever hear of substituting bismuth for mercury in pulling Au out of the gangue and such ? Can't remember where I saw that little gem.
But if it works, well !!!!!!!!!!!
 
Randy - Butcher :

I was just browsing thru Ignatz61 's posts and wonder ----

could I just take the 30 mesh ore and simmer it in the 3:1 solution of H2O and HCL to disolve out the base metals to make a cleaner ore for leaching ? Is this feasible ?

P.S. You ever delve into Alchemy . Interesting !!!

I just came across the Chicks process of removing plated Au from china, etc. Yes, I bought her little prospecting book about store and sales, etc. Most informative. That was about ten years back. Anyway, the process call for simmering the broken china and stuff in a nitric acid solution. Wonder, would that maybe work on board fingers and stuff from old telephones ? Bunch of this stuff sittin' 'round. Phill
 
Hi Phill, the problem with using hcl/peroxide to remove the base metals from an ore, is the fact that this will disolve gold also.
Especially fine particals.

If you leave it long enough, the available base metals will start to drive the gold out of solution.

But, knowing at what stage you are at in the proccess would take a lot of experimenting.

As for using nitric on gold plated fingers and such.......of course.
Randy
 
Randy, I believe he was asking about using dilute HCL to remove base metals first, this is were inceneration can be important, as Randy stated they can make your gold disolve also, and the Ore is a rock usually formed from acids like in a volcano which could be sulfuric, arsenic carbolic Etcetera, inceneration to drive away these acids from rock is very important to the chemistry later, once incenerated (Roasted) yes base metals can be leached with Hcl, and then if you use Hcl in process to recover the gold(with Oxidizer), you will not need to incenerate them between these two steps.
although unless you have some awlfully rich ore this seems can get very expensive doing tons of this would generate alot of chemical waste and money out of your pocket, for small concentrated amount may be ok.
 
Randy: I missed the boat somewhere. Where did peroxide come from ? I was referring to hcl and water. Phill

And how in the world would Au disolve with hcl ?
How did that ore work out ? Idle curiosity.

Randy: I thought you had the t-6 manual. I'll copy the revelant pages and get them to you...It's different.

Randy/Butcher: Did you guys see Turbos' bit on Iodine reclamation ? Wow !
 
Sorry Phill, didn't pay close attention there.

But, if there are any oxygenating minerals in the ore, you will still have gold being disolved into hcl.

I believe manganese oxide (or is it dioxide?) would be one of them.
Randy
 

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