Non-Chemical Help with smelting Ore

[Anonymous]

Hi, I am new to this forum and refininggold in general.

I have some family property that I recently found an ore deposit on. I am trying to figure out the steps to smelt gold ore, which contains also silver, copper and platinum, into something I can sell.

The ore has been assayed @ 60 ounces per ton of the above metals. The concentrations of each vary but the breakdown is approximately as follows:
Silver = 23oz/ ton
Copper = 9oz/ ton
Gold = 19 oz/ton
Platinum = 7 oz/ ton
The remaining is made up of other metals like palladium.

My problem is I have no idea what to do in order to get the metals out of the talcum powder ore that I can extract. Under a microscope I can see the tiny flakes but in water it looks like glitter floating around and when I heat it up to 1900 F all I get it black slag.

Again I know nothing about this stuff. Any help would be most appreciated. Especially a step by step process for smelting.

(BTW - I have used a induced gas flotation device to float the glitter out into a meal type or wet flour like concentrated ore minus the rock but just can't melt it.)

Thanks - NBM

 

[Barren Realms 007]

There are not a lot of places your results would be so high in values. Are you sure your figures are correct?

 

[Anonymous]

It was assayed by two separate agencies and the location is in colorado. The land has been owned by my family since 1800's and only ever used for farming and cattle until a recent camping trip with my son two years ago and we found a black rock with what looked like glitter in it on a cliff face. My son who was studying geology in school made the comment about gold and I said what the heck and sent it to be assayed.

I don't want to ruin the land and I know I could probably open a serious mining venture and get partners but I just want to see what I can do on a small scale and who knows.....

 

[Barren Realms 007]

There are people here that can help. Be paitent.

 

[Anonymous]

I appreciate that.
My initial thought was to just try and sell the corn meal type ore I get from removing the rock to someone who does this in bulk but after some soul searching thought maybe if I figure out something small I can get little ingots or whatever with then teach my son it would be something he could have to as a fall back in case of hard times...

My fear is that the wet ore I get from flotation of the glitter type particles is only part of it and that there is still gold in the rock at the bottom of my tank. Since I know nothing about chemistry, I would be afraid to try and dissolve the mud like stuff and get more out of it because I wouldn't know how to get it out of the acid.

 

[Barren Realms 007]

If it is already in a flour type state you have a lot of the work done for you. You might want to look at flotation as a way to seperate some of your material.

Flotation search:
http://www.goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/search.php?keywords=flotation&terms=all&author=&sv=0&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search


Rick the Rock Man thread, he has the most knowledge about ores. Post a question in his thread and he will get with you on it.
http://www.goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=5588&hilit=ores

A picture of what you are working with will go a long way in getting you help.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info.

I will re-post my original post in the rock Man thread.

The company I work for deals alot with flotation and I have acess to buy and flocculant I need and probably have quite a few in hte lab at work.

(My company builds mining and oil/water separation flotation units)

 

[Barren Realms 007]

You already know more than me about it probably then. Not really a need to post this in another thread it will be read and answered.

 

[butcher]

ore with values that high, I think I would go in partners with big mining company, they have the equiptment. let them go through the hassel of extraction, you would be busy enough at the bank.

 

[Anonymous]

I would do that except I cannot do anything that might lead to me having the land change ownership. It is family land and it is setup so that I can live there but I can never sell it or risk it. Besides its really beautiful and the mining would make me rich but destroy it for my kids and their kids etc.

 

[butcher]

after you concentrated the heavy metals, try roasting the fine powder, this will oxidize the metals less nobel, and will drive acid out from the ore, do not breath fumes, sulfides and arsenic is possible (or other gases) getting it red hot and holding the temperture at least an hour and greater than 750 F degrees, here I would most likely try a wet chemistry extraction to see what values I can get out.

or you can try smelting the ore with good flux, If PGMs as you suspect add some silver 10 times the weight of the PGM, I know your ore is supposed to contain silver but the addition of more may help extract the PGM, the furnace will need to be hot enough long enough and a flux to get melt liquid so that the fine metal join together, and a cone mold to pour melt into so button forms at bottom.

if you did not pre roast the ore before smelting, then you may not have done more than melt volcanic rock and let it cool back into the same volcanic rock.
if high sulfide mineral maybe add some nails to the melt. If the metals are there it may take some expirimenting to get a flux suitable.