How to extract silver from gold and platinum?

[Harold_V]

Probably the greatest mistake made by those new to refining is too much nitric no matter the procedure or source.

I can not improve on that comment.

Harold

 

[Oz]

Not making life harder for myself as I’m not the one doing it, just gave a brief outline of what (I thought) might possibly be the route to take.

A valid point, but if you are going to post something as a procedural outline you should be clear that you have no experience with the process you just posted, but are only speculating.

The OP suggested there was Au in the alloy as well as Pt/Ag, dissolving in Nitric would take the Au out of the alloy and leave it in the bottom of the Nitric, leaving just the Ag and Pt to separate via silver cell.

Yes, what you are suggesting is true, but still a waste of time and chemicals (in my opinion) as the silver cell will recover gold as solids as well as platinum. When using a silver cell the most important contaminates to watch are those that will go into solution and contaminate you silver crystal if allowed to get too high in concentration. The second most important thing is to keep your insoluble elements in the anode under about 3% in total or you will be scraping anodes. If you let the insolubles build up on your anode you will (in effect) have an inert anode that will deplete your electrolyte of silver causing the impurities in your solution (that otherwise would be safe in their grams per liter concentrations) to plate out on/with your silver at the cathode.

 

[dcurzon]

thanks Oz. Every day is an education

 

[Oz]

I hope you do not feel that I was trying to shut you down or sound hard.

Trust me, I am still learning myself, and I am a newbie compared to some of the guys we have on the forum. You will never learn it all, and that is the fun of it!

 

[dcurzon]

I hope you do not feel that I was trying to shut you down or sound hard.

Trust me, I am still learning myself, and I am a newbie compared to some of the guys we have on the forum. You will never learn it all, and that is the fun of it!

not at all. there is so much to learn and such a vast combined knowledge here that i'm proud to be a learning member

 

[butcher]

"Trust me, I am still learning myself, and I am a newbie compared to some of the guys we have on the forum. You will never learn it all, and that is the fun of it!"
OZ

The more we learn, we find the more we need to learn.