Non-Chemical How much loss is there

[goldnugget77]

When the refined gold is turned to liquid for better pureness
it is then precipitated
How much loss is there
I am not able to make tests because i don't have the means
Also what happens if there is a lot of tin and lead

 

[goldsilverpro]

When the refined gold is turned to liquid for better pureness
it is then precipitated
How much loss is there
I am not able to make tests because i don't have the means
Also what happens if there is a lot of tin and lead

There is never a true loss. It is always there somewhere. If you know what you are doing, you do the right things to assure that you get as much as you can and the rest will all come out in the wash. To try and get everything the first time is a fool's errand and can cost more in time, labor, and money than it is worth.

When you say "loss", however, I assume you mean such things as the traces that are left in the solution, the gold stuck to the filter paper, the tiny beads in the slag or on the crucible, etc. The amount of these sorts of "losses" depends on the knowledge and skills of the operator. Over the years, I've learned to minimize them, as I'm sure Harold, Lou, Steve, 4metals, and others have done also. After you learn the basics, there are many 100s of tricks to learn and neither of us will ever learn them all. Many of the tricks are posted on this forum but they can only be learned by experiencing them firsthand. You will also learn your own tricks.

If I were to re-refine a 100 oz bar of 9999 gold, I might hang up a gram, or two - .03% to .06%. If I only re-refined 1 oz, it could be as much as, maybe, 1/3 gram - 1%. These numbers can be less, depending mainly on the equipment I have and how much I want to screw with it. Here again, I will eventually get it all.

The tin will end up in the filter. So will the lead if you added a little sulfuric to the solution before you filtered.

 

[goldnugget77]

Hi goldsilverpro
Thanks for your help
What you are saying is that I will definitely have a loss the first few times
It too bad I can practice this thing right now

 

[dick b]

What he's saying is don't throw anything away till you are absolutely sure all of the PM's are recovered.
That means solutions, filters and anywhere else PM's can get trapped.
Read more on the forum and you'll get answers. It's all been covered.

 

[Harold_V]

As a matter of curiosity, I re-refined an ounce once, to see if there were substantial losses. The recovery was complete, so much so that my limited equipment was not able to detect a loss. I spent considerable time washing down the filter until if was devoid of any color, and that's likely where the majority of losses would occur, assuming one evaporates properly.

If proper work is applied to gold, unlike platinum or palladium, it's normal to recover the metal totally, such that any traces left in solution are not detectable by normal procedures. You need not fear leaving anything in solution, assuming you follow prescribed procedures. That is true of gold in acid solution, not true of cyanide solutions.

The greatest losses I found to come from filtering heavily contaminated solutions, where the filter trapped a large volume of material, which, in turn, held a larger amount of gold. As GSP alluded, you can spend only so much time trying to be honest with a procedure, then it becomes a losing proposition. Washing large volumes to remove all traces of values simply isn't wise. You are far better served to incinerate the wastes, which will reduce any gold that is present. It can then be recovered by furnace, where silver chloride and other metals will act as a collector. In the end, losses are minimal, assuming you have good work habits and don't toss anything that makes contact with the values.

Harold