Need help please

[J0ker]

Obviously,i am new to the forum.. So hello to everyone.

I have been processing finger boards in hci,then disolving them in hci\bleach. I have been using this process successfully,for about 2 yrs now.
So believe me when i tell you i have looked\searched.

My issue is that i came across an unfamiliar source. I mistakenly disolved it in hci\bleach. It turned dark.. Which suggests copper was also in the source. I know that i should have disolved that first. But is there anything i can do now?

Thanks

 

[jeneje]

Drop the gold with Ferrous Sulfate, let settle, filter, rinse well with hot water and re-refine for purity.

Ken

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Obviously,i am new to the forum.. So hello to everyone.

I have been processing finger boards in hci,then disolving them in hci\bleach. I have been using this process successfully,for about 2 yrs now.
So believe me when i tell you i have looked\searched.

My issue is that i came across an unfamiliar source. I mistakenly disolved it in hci\bleach. It turned dark.. Which suggests copper was also in the source. I know that i should have disolved that first. But is there anything i can do now?

Thanks

J0ker, welcome to the forum. You can find answers to all your questions here, but it will take some study.

There is no such think as hci, or hci\bleach. I assume you mean HCl. It is important to get chemical formulas correct here, as a mistake could cost someone their life.

If you've been processing fingers for 2 years, you really should have some idea of how to handle minor problems by now. Since you're new here, I am going to assume you haven't had the chance to do all that looking and searching here.

You say your solution turned dark, but you don't say what color. Why do you assume it's copper? Many metals could cause a solution to turn dark, some of them quite valuable.

I suggest you start with my Tips for Navigating and Posting on the Forum thread. Follow all the links. It will help you understand how this forum works and get you off to a good start here.

Dave

 

[J0ker]

Thanks Ken,i will give that a try.

I was suggesting that i was familiar with the same method over 2 years. Relatively problem free. Mainly fingerboards and dishes.. This time i have come across gold leaf.. So i dissolved a little. Didnt see green. So i disolved the rest in HCL and bleach also. I saw it turn greenish,until ultimatly darker.. I can still see yellow in the solution when stirred. I think it is copper based on this..
Had i disolved it in HCL/h202 first..like i normally do. I wouldnt be having this issue? Unless you think otherwise? Thats where i stand.

 

[J0ker]

Ken, i tried that in a sample. It yielded a white to yellowish powder. I am unfamiliar?please advise?

 

[butcher]

The gold leaf may not have been gold.

Did you test solution with stannous chloride?
If you still have a sample try testing it.
If it tests positive giving you a violet reaction, I would cement with copper, which will displace metals from solution that are below copper in the reactivity series of metals.

If the solution tests negative with stannous chloride, be sure you remove the oxidizer and retest the solution, if still negative the gold leaf was most likely not gold.