Keep reading
HCL/Peroxide refining
- Thread starter J.Najam
- Start date
Help Support Gold Refining Forum:
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2023
- Messages
- 217
Over the weekend I used the HCl/H2o2 technique to dissolve some impure old powder and IC bonding wires.
I used about a total of 78 ML HCl and 104 ML H2o2.
Below is the log I created during my process. The end result, Some dark grain powders remained on the filter paper, (Even IC wires went in solution) not really sure what they were even though it took around 2 1/2 hours to call it an end. Will share a picture of the filter paper.
Would love anyone to give in any feedbacks, better suggestions on what I could have done to ensure complete dissolution in a rather shorter time than it took.
P.S. After melting and cooling, what can be seen on the piece is dark green and not black. Not sure what that is too. And there is some borax still stuck onto it. Has been left in distilled water for now.
My first official harvest
I used about a total of 78 ML HCl and 104 ML H2o2.
Below is the log I created during my process. The end result, Some dark grain powders remained on the filter paper, (Even IC wires went in solution) not really sure what they were even though it took around 2 1/2 hours to call it an end. Will share a picture of the filter paper.
Would love anyone to give in any feedbacks, better suggestions on what I could have done to ensure complete dissolution in a rather shorter time than it took.
P.S. After melting and cooling, what can be seen on the piece is dark green and not black. Not sure what that is too. And there is some borax still stuck onto it. Has been left in distilled water for now.
My first official harvest
Attachments
Not bad, but it seems it has been a bit to cold to melt properly.Over the weekend I used the HCl/H2o2 technique to dissolve some impure old powder and IC bonding wires.
I used about a total of 78 ML HCl and 104 ML H2o2.
Below is the log I created during my process. The end result, Some dark grain powders remained on the filter paper, (Even IC wires went in solution) not really sure what they were even though it took around 2 1/2 hours to call it an end. Will share a picture of the filter paper.
Would love anyone to give in any feedbacks, better suggestions on what I could have done to ensure complete dissolution in a rather shorter time than it took.
P.S. After melting and cooling, what can be seen on the piece is dark green and not black. Not sure what that is too. And there is some borax still stuck onto it. Has been left in distilled water for now.
My first official harvest
For pure Gold powder, borax is not needed.
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2023
- Messages
- 217
Yep, I really struggled to melt it. Going to try and use other DIY methods, pick up some more useful information around here and try and make sense of the best method that could be brought into play here.
Per the bold print - Thanks for that, but it was was my only way out, otherwise the molten gold was stuck at the bottom of crucible and it was a pain to detach it from the surface. It could only be done while the torch was on, and I had to detach it in the middle of the burning process.
The borax wouldn't melt easily neither from the gold nor the crucible. And I'm pretty sure there's a small flake under the borax stuck on my dish.
Also I'd still like to know what that impurity is attached to this piece.
Do you have a picture of the crucible after the melt.
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2023
- Messages
- 217
Yes. Please find below.
Attachments
You took way to much borax.
If your flame is too weak, you won't be able to melt that much borax and the gold.
From the pictures, I fear there's more gold stuck in the borax on the bottom of your crucible.
Sorry, I meant to say melting dish. I was hoping to look at the color of the flux left behind in the dish. It would kind of give us an idea of/if there was any contaminates in your gold.
Something tells me you're due for a new crucible though.
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2023
- Messages
- 217
Yes sir this is indeed very true, I first used a coal burner but that didn't function for the same, maybe I was making some mistake. Then I moved to a butane gas torch. I'd left an opening in the duct where I inserted the nozzle end of the torch and enforced a fire circulating motion in the furnace. It worked better than the burner and as I mentioned earlier, the gold would get stuck onto the bottom and would be impossible to pry it out. Thr borax addition was the only option left to pull it out.
Well yes, i did use too much borax here. What is the best suggestion here to get rid of it to try and recover whats buried down there?
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2023
- Messages
- 217
Without a doubt
Ah yes I did, after leaving the gold in distilled water and constant stirring for 2 days. It cleaned up pretty much by itself. It's weight eventually came down to 0.48g. still has some left onto it, but I'm more concerned about the borax left on my crucible for any value underneath it
I'd try to put the whole crucible into diluted sulfuric acid (5-10% at 30-40Ā°C).
It will take a while but it should dissolve the borax and liberates the gold.
After everything came out of the crucible, decant the solution, dry the gold and melt it.
As long you don't dispose anything, the gold is still thereā¦ I guess, you'll able to recover 0.3 to 0.4 grams.
Good luck!
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2023
- Messages
- 217
Thankyou so much for the clear direction, will give it a try this weekend inshaAllah.
Inshaallah Habibi!
Last edited:
We have a no politics and no religion rule in here, so please drop your religious referenses.
Please use a polite language in here, no need for mocking.
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2023
- Messages
- 217
Yes sir, I'm aware of the no political or religious rule here, but no offense here its just a way of saying "by the will of God", nothing more nothing less. I don't see anything religious in this. Anyone can say it, no harm
But if it could cause any stirs around here, I won't use it
Hi Yggdrasil,
It wasn't meant religious in any kind.
Beside "by the will of God" it may interpreted as "good luck!".
The correct translation of "Habibi" is "my dear". In youth slang it means "friend" or "brother".
It wasn't meant religious in any kind.
Beside "by the will of God" it may interpreted as "good luck!".
The correct translation of "Habibi" is "my dear". In youth slang it means "friend" or "brother".
Ok, good.
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2023
- Messages
- 217
Laziness can sometimes be a blessing too.. I wanted to clean this crucible with the dilute sulfuric solution as suggested by @BlackLabel, but instead of hopping to the market to fetch some sulfuric, I tried this little cleaning experiment with a 50Ml 5M citric acid (aq) solution. It worked great. I dipped theb crucible in a 100 ml beaker and poured the solution over it slowly and instantly there was a reaction. I dont know what caused it to do so. But here we are 45 minutes later... With frequent swirls of the beaker throughout and observing carefully if any more was needed. I added the solution in parts, like 30 Ml then 10 then 10. It worked magic. This process detached the borax and dissolved some of it though not all... But unfortunately there was no gold under there. Maybe a tiny speck that I couldn't see, I wasn't too sure of it.
Attachments
Looks like you are using graphite crucible for torch/open fire melting. These two does not combine well as graphite burns in the air
Get silica melting dishes, they are cheap on Aliexpress. And if you melt only metals in them, they last very very long. Just pinch of borax to glaze them and you are good to go.
Get silica melting dishes, they are cheap on Aliexpress. And if you melt only metals in them, they last very very long. Just pinch of borax to glaze them and you are good to go.
