So I did my first gold refinement. I put my gold in hcl and on low heat very slowly added increments of nitric acid until all was dissolved. I then filters it then melted it. I melted it in a potato. What is this hard plastic looking stuff?? And what can I do to fix it? This was a test run. I have a lot more to process and want to get it right before I do it all. Thank you in advance for any advice!
Please help, what is this?
- Thread starter bpcp7208
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Refine it again, but this time melt it in a meting dish instead of the potato.
Dave
Dave
etack
Well-known member
FrugalRefiner said:
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Sorry I had to read this a few times then phone a friend.
potato
Eric
Also you can only have 20 emojis in a post
etack said:
Sorry. :roll: A melting dish.
Dave
FrugalRefiner said:
Dave, I got excited and ahead of myself. I did it again correctly. Thank you! It only came out to 14k. I'm guessing I added too much SMB? The Au was mixed with Ni, will Ni precipitate if too much SMB is added? I'm going to read Hoke's book again, get better equipment and try another small batch and perfect it before doing a large quantity. I have roughly 10 ounces of 82% Au and 18% Ni then the harder task I have is, I have a lot of Pd, Au and Ni all mixed but I'm not messing with Pd until I have mastered this and fully understand the processes where Pd comes with added dangers. Again thank you very much! This site is amazing and I appreciate all you do. Hopefully I'll be giving advice in the future. I love this, I get more excited about the process than I do about the Au or money. Have a wonderful weekend!
Brandon
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etack
Well-known member
FrugalRefiner said:
No I didn't see that typo I was laughing at A potato as a melting dish. lol lol lol
Eric
bpcp7208 said:
That's odd. How did you determine it was "14K"? I'm guessing either "test acids" or an electronic tester. Please tell us more.
Gold refined even a single time should be far more pure than 58% pure. If you started with the material you mention later (82% Au and 18% Ni), it seems you took a step backward.
Not usually, and not in the kind of quantity that it would be 42%.
Studying Hoke's book will serve you well. Practicing on small batches is always advisable.
Is this solder / braze (nioro)?
Dave
I brought it to a local jeweler to have tested and priced. Did I get ripped off? I'm going to buy a test kit because I felt like it was too soft to be 14k. Any specific test kit preferred for checking purity?
My buddy and his dad do speciality brazing, its brazing scraps from them. They sold it to me cheap. I had to incinerate it first yo burn off the binder before dissolving it.
My buddy and his dad do speciality brazing, its brazing scraps from them. They sold it to me cheap. I had to incinerate it first yo burn off the binder before dissolving it.
Looking at the photo of your gold I’d say you were ripped off, I’d guess at 95%+ but I could be wrong :shock:
I agree with Nick, find a better buyer. You could even get a set of test acids and be better prepared to deal with low ball buyers. Find someone who has an XRF and have them test it, be honest and let them know your trying to purify the gold to a specific standard such as 995 or 999. Such conversations can lead to quite a good working deal, it did for me.
Geo
Well-known member
Yes, sadly. You were stolen from for sure. There is a buy and sell on the forum. There are many reputable members on the forum that will buy your gold and pay you 95% to 98% of spot on assay results. You send your gold to them and they test it with XRF and send you payment. They usually give options on payment as in ACH or metal exchange. Send in your refined gold or silver and they send you back minted metal. I deal with a couple that even pays through paypal.
alexxx
Well-known member
FrugalRefiner said:
Hilarious :lol:
Did you use borax when melting your gold in the potato?
If so, I would guess that you are seeing borax, and the color tells me that it is really pure gold. Any base metal in the melt would have oxidized and colored the borax black.
If you didn't use borax then I have no idea what it is.
And as people have said, use a melting dish. It's just a couple of dollars and you probably lost more in gold hiding in the cracks of the charred potato.
Göran
If so, I would guess that you are seeing borax, and the color tells me that it is really pure gold. Any base metal in the melt would have oxidized and colored the borax black.
If you didn't use borax then I have no idea what it is.
And as people have said, use a melting dish. It's just a couple of dollars and you probably lost more in gold hiding in the cracks of the charred potato.
Göran
