low alpha lead

[Anonymous]

I saw a show on the discovery channel were some treasure hunters found a ship wreck with lead as the cargo, they had it tested to find if it was low alpha lead, I had never herd of this but it is used in computers and worth hundreds of times more than regular lead. The cargo was estimated at over 30,000,000.
Anybody know about this stuff what components it is used in?

Thanks
Jim

 

[jamthe3]

Hi James,

I did a Yahoo search and found this document, hope it helps.

Cheers,
John

 

[Platdigger]

There was a real good discusion about this, within the past year or so, on treasurenet.
Randy

 

[GeeDub]

As I look at that report through my rose colored glasses (my natural optimistic state) I think...
Hmmm... If we can get a list of products containing this super lead, we can refine it separately for better bucks.
My first question? How do you test alpha emissions? Geiger counter?

 

[goldsilverpro]

What does low-alpha lead mean? Does it mean it has a lower concentration of lead isotopes that emit alpha particles? If so, good luck in separating it cheaply.

 

[GeeDub]

Apparently it is fully decayed lead. I believe it was listed as 206(superscript) Pb, vs 210(superscript) Pb.

 

[qst42know]

That's a modern version of turning lead into gold.

Demand exceeds production and commands a high premium. From what Ive read so far you have three choices, laser refine at a high production cost, discover lead mines naturally low in isotopes, or find huge hoards of lead refined 200 or more years ago.

Something to keep in mind the next time I find a shipwreck :lol: