Ok so after browsing forum for a bit reading and learning prepping scrap,collecting materials and whatnot and it was time i got my feet wet and gave this whole thing a shot. Here are my processes and results.
So i started small just to practice with the processes and get a handle on what i was doing.
Initial material was:
234g of trimmed fingers
98.6g of gold pins from fiber CPU's
second run to again make sure was:
154g of trimmed fingers
I note this because i obtained .7 gram from first batch and .4 from second with less material, so i believe it shows improvement.
I proceeded using the following processes and steps:
1. processed the fingers in a mixture of AP and must have made a hot mix since they were completely stripped overnight, i was however anxious and kept shaking them a lot.
2. Filtered,washed and separated as per Steve's AP instructions to remove the foils. this was most of them, kinda bad pic but you get the drift.
3. They were then dissolved into a mixture of HC1/Clorox to make an Auric Chloride.
4. It was them precipitated with SMB pre mixed in water, i thought about just adding the powder but i thought it would make it disperse better in the solution.
5.Powder was then washed and dried again according to one of Steve's posts and it worked out very well.
CPU Pins:
Many ways were found on processing them and i decided to go with the way that was posted by Samauel and shown in the video he had on youtube or where ever.
1. Separated all the pins from the CPU's with a torch was a lot of CPU's to total 98.6g i forget the exact number.
2. All the pins were put into beakers with the corresponding amount of HC1 to boil off the foils and separate some base metals.
Then were brought to a boil
And then allowed to boil for about three hours
Until the solution became black.
It was then decanted and all the remaining pins were put back into a pot and boiled again to remove the rest of what ever was left in the mess at the bottoms.
3. The foils were then collected and separated. I was aware of the Tin that would be present in the mixture and really didnt want to deal with it in large quantities, with careful decanting i was able to leave MUCH of it behind in with the pins. After filtering the pins and mess completely i had a filter with a few gold specs and a ton of grey powder, i was willing to sacrifice that little bit of gold to avoid the tin at this point. It just went in my filter bucket and can be dealt with at a later time.
The poured off foils and liquid
4. Filtering and removing the foils was first then i put the solution aside as it tested positive on a stannous test for gold. i figured as long as i dont throw it away it will be there. more projects for later.
5. Again dissolved in HC1/Clorox
6. Precipitated with SMB in the same fashion.
So i had my dust and was ready to melt, i did however get ahead of myself and slack on the washings...This I will never do again.
I got a lump back from it. but it was not as i imagined, melting proved to be one of the most challenging parts of the whole process.
It just did not want to make a BB, I realize my errors now but that was part of the fun of the process the learning.
I have a good friend at a pawn shop and it scratch tested to 14k....i was a little disappointed but not ready to give in just yet.
I knew further refining was all it would need and thus what i did.
Weighed in at 1.1g on my scale at this point.
The second batch of fingers went almost perfectly as far as i can tell, no problems and will get it tested tomorrow, but here are my results
(still trying to get a better picture but getting a close up is a pain)
On my digital scale it shows 0.4 gram, based on what i have seen from yields this seems successful to me
I took the other lump i had made and redissolved it in AR.
then took the dust and washed with a bit of 70% nitric to to make absolutely sure in my mind that there was a minimal of contaminating metals in at that point.
Then 3 washes in HC1 and three in water.
and ended up with this:
The larger BB next to the one i made from the second smaller batch of fingers.
Weighed in at 0.7g, and considering the difference in amount of material and a final result of only 0.3g difference i know i lost values along the line of that first run through but it was a small price to pay to see the end result and at least say "I did it"
I would like to thank all the great people on this forum who have made so much effort to make this hobby available to everyone.
Also if anyone has any suggestions on steps along the way where i could change or make something easier please let me know.
I began this thinking it simple: just follow the recipe to the pot of gold.
Not by a long shot.
Bryan
So i started small just to practice with the processes and get a handle on what i was doing.
Initial material was:
234g of trimmed fingers
98.6g of gold pins from fiber CPU's
second run to again make sure was:
154g of trimmed fingers
I note this because i obtained .7 gram from first batch and .4 from second with less material, so i believe it shows improvement.
I proceeded using the following processes and steps:
1. processed the fingers in a mixture of AP and must have made a hot mix since they were completely stripped overnight, i was however anxious and kept shaking them a lot.
2. Filtered,washed and separated as per Steve's AP instructions to remove the foils. this was most of them, kinda bad pic but you get the drift.
3. They were then dissolved into a mixture of HC1/Clorox to make an Auric Chloride.
4. It was them precipitated with SMB pre mixed in water, i thought about just adding the powder but i thought it would make it disperse better in the solution.
5.Powder was then washed and dried again according to one of Steve's posts and it worked out very well.
CPU Pins:
Many ways were found on processing them and i decided to go with the way that was posted by Samauel and shown in the video he had on youtube or where ever.
1. Separated all the pins from the CPU's with a torch was a lot of CPU's to total 98.6g i forget the exact number.
2. All the pins were put into beakers with the corresponding amount of HC1 to boil off the foils and separate some base metals.
Then were brought to a boil
And then allowed to boil for about three hours
Until the solution became black.
It was then decanted and all the remaining pins were put back into a pot and boiled again to remove the rest of what ever was left in the mess at the bottoms.
3. The foils were then collected and separated. I was aware of the Tin that would be present in the mixture and really didnt want to deal with it in large quantities, with careful decanting i was able to leave MUCH of it behind in with the pins. After filtering the pins and mess completely i had a filter with a few gold specs and a ton of grey powder, i was willing to sacrifice that little bit of gold to avoid the tin at this point. It just went in my filter bucket and can be dealt with at a later time.
The poured off foils and liquid
4. Filtering and removing the foils was first then i put the solution aside as it tested positive on a stannous test for gold. i figured as long as i dont throw it away it will be there. more projects for later.
5. Again dissolved in HC1/Clorox
6. Precipitated with SMB in the same fashion.
So i had my dust and was ready to melt, i did however get ahead of myself and slack on the washings...This I will never do again.
I got a lump back from it. but it was not as i imagined, melting proved to be one of the most challenging parts of the whole process.
It just did not want to make a BB, I realize my errors now but that was part of the fun of the process the learning.
I have a good friend at a pawn shop and it scratch tested to 14k....i was a little disappointed but not ready to give in just yet.
I knew further refining was all it would need and thus what i did.
Weighed in at 1.1g on my scale at this point.
The second batch of fingers went almost perfectly as far as i can tell, no problems and will get it tested tomorrow, but here are my results
(still trying to get a better picture but getting a close up is a pain)
On my digital scale it shows 0.4 gram, based on what i have seen from yields this seems successful to me
I took the other lump i had made and redissolved it in AR.
then took the dust and washed with a bit of 70% nitric to to make absolutely sure in my mind that there was a minimal of contaminating metals in at that point.
Then 3 washes in HC1 and three in water.
and ended up with this:
The larger BB next to the one i made from the second smaller batch of fingers.
Weighed in at 0.7g, and considering the difference in amount of material and a final result of only 0.3g difference i know i lost values along the line of that first run through but it was a small price to pay to see the end result and at least say "I did it"
I would like to thank all the great people on this forum who have made so much effort to make this hobby available to everyone.
Also if anyone has any suggestions on steps along the way where i could change or make something easier please let me know.
I began this thinking it simple: just follow the recipe to the pot of gold.
Not by a long shot.
Bryan
