re-refining for residual gold

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Anonymous

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I am looking for assistance and direction. Im looking to re-refine furnance slag for residual gold. Im having difficulties with the terms commonly used in gold refinement processes...as Im new to this hobby.

From what I gather so far...I have dried out some of the slag ...then broke it down to a fine powder. I believe the slag is hardened molten chloride. The slag is said to contain a percentage of gold. I am unsure what method to use to seperate the residual gold from the other metals in the ore.

I would love some instructions on what method to use to obtain the gold. My chemistry background is basic. Is Aqua Regia something that would be effective for seperating the gold?
 
Start by following the Guided Tour Link in my signature below.

It will bring you up to speed on some of the basic terminology and safety.

Steve
 
where is this slag from? there was a seller on ebay selling slag from gold mining process, claiming it had gold in it, well if it did, some ole timmer made a mistake or was sleeping on the job, the ebay seller is a crook collecting this spent slag and selling to uninformed people.

do you have means to a furnace, you will need a flux, and a metal for a collector, it would probably be best to test just a sample (assay).
 
Generally recovering metals from slags is done by re-melting the slags unless there are visible metallics suspended in the slag, in which case the slags have to be crushed and the metallic pieces sifted out. This is usually not the case as visible metallics are rarely left behind. If the slags show value when assayed, they are usually re-melted in a reducing flux to allow the metals to return to a metallic state and be collected (usually with copper metal added to the melt) and poured into low grade bars which can be recovered by a copper smelter.
 
Thanks so much for the input folks... I am going to try and take photo of the furnance slag. lazersteve thanks for the link to the site...you have a great site!
I dont understand the post about adding metal (copper) ....do you add the metal to the molten metal? Or can I just use a chemical process to dissolve the gold from the slag? I can break down the slag into a powder....but Im trying to locate a good furnance/supplies to facilitate this process....any reccomendations? I read in other posts that alot of the ebay furnances are crap...are there companies to stay away from?

thanks for your time!
 
where is this slag from?
picture would be a good idea (someone may be able to help if they have seen it before)
and buying a furnace at this point in time is like putting the cart in front of the horse
first make shure you have values in your material (have an assay done )
 
eraseyourpast said:
I dont understand the post about adding metal (copper) ....do you add the metal to the molten metal?
Click to expand...
What you have been told is the slag is re-melted----and copper added, which acts as a collector. You also add more fluxing agents, so the volume grows. That's a pretty big move when I consider what you said in your first post " The slag is said to contain a percentage of gold". The moon is said to be made of green cheese, too, but I don't think it is.

Have you had an assay run on the material? Nothing will get you deeply indebted to a stupid idea faster than thinking it's something that it isn't. An assay will remove all doubts, and give you a sense of direction as to what course of action would be appropriate.

Or can I just use a chemical process to dissolve the gold from the slag?
Click to expand...
That is unlikely. Cyanide isn't in your future, so you can rule that out. If you think acid, the cost of acid will be prohibitive because it is likely to react with the flux, so consumption would be enormous.

I can break down the slag into a powder....but Im trying to locate a good furnance/supplies to facilitate this process....any reccomendations? I read in other posts that alot of the ebay furnances are crap...are there companies to stay away from?
Click to expand...
Any furnace you can buy on ebay isn't going to help you with a project like this. If you can't deal with flux by the ton, you're wasting your time. I'd like to comment, too, that if you don't understand the concept of using a collector, you really need to do more research instead of shooting from the hip.

Consider this: No smelter worth its salt would have discarded gold bearing slag-----they would have adjusted their process so it would be recovered. What little is likely to be found most likely won't be worth pursuing. You really should get a (fire) assay run on this stuff before spending a dime.

Harold
 
Harold, Thanks for your input...you are right when you say more research needs to be done....This is the reason for joining this forum, I appreciate the time and direction everyone has provided me...I will do some more research into the process and look into getting the material assayed. Ill let you know how it does...stay tuned for a photo...the slag is really old early nineteen hundreds...im assuming the smelting process has changed since then.
 
1800's was not that long ago, heck some of these processes have not change since the dark ages, those people were not stupid even back then, they found what worked and used it, today we think we are smart, well we may find them smarter than us, I have not seen any new pyramids for awhile. :p
 
Yep! What butcher said!
I have followed RCM for many years. On it there was a guy named Ted Edwards, from Canada. He's an elderly gent, older than I am. We were having a private conversation one day by email, and I commented on how bright people were long ago. His response was that humans have always been intelligent.

That may explain how the Romans could build aqueducts that would be a chore today. Not that we couldn't do the work, for surely we could----but they did it with almost no tools, and without the ability to lift huge loads without effort.

Humans have always been smart, but they haven't always had technology---which is likely the only thing that sorts us from them. Great scientists predicted the configuration of atoms long before we could see them---and navigated the earth when electronics weren't even a concept. Mathematics were conceived and perfected, what, 3,000 years ago? We're lucky to live in an age where we can talk to others on the other side of the world ----on a tiny box that isn't connected to the grid!

Harold
 
I feel with our modern ages, we loose technology, and the know how, some of the ancient ways are gone, that someday may help man survive. we should learn from elder's and pass to next generation, trouble is with Ipod's (Im not exactly sure what they are) and caculator's, or I already know everything, lack of interest, or thats too hard we have an easy way that do's the work for us, they may not learn anyway. Too bad.
 
butcher said:
I feel with our modern ages, we loose technology, and the know how, some of the ancient ways are gone, that someday may help man survive. we should learn from elder's and pass to next generation, trouble is with Ipod's (Im not exactly sure what they are) and caculator's, or I already know everything, lack of interest, or thats too hard we have an easy way that do's the work for us, they may not learn anyway. Too bad.
Click to expand...

I agree the ancient ways are gone....if they werent they wouldnt be called "ancient" . With that being said I dont have a calculator...or lack of interest...I if I didnt know anything I wouldnt have researched this forum...I understand the the a/m statement is not directed towards me but I feel that this forum allows the old bulls to teach the young bulls a thing or two...I had no clue about refining prior to going through my grandfathers old stuff left behind - he was an old miner. I find it facinating and I will agree I dont know much about refining but i want to learn. He had barrels of rocks or "slag" he called it and fine dust (im assuming left over from the refining process) He bought barrels from a gold refinery many many years ago....he always said they were valuable but never processed any of it due to his lack of mobility. I would like to try and finish what he started.
 
eraseyourpast,
you will succeed, were there is a will there is a way, and if you do not give up. and with the help of our elder's, thankful for them helping us, with their hard knock's. you will be able to determine just what is in those barrels, you may find in the end, the gold mine is in your grandfathers note's he left, and the time you had with him, teaching you from his expierience in this life.
 
If you want to finish what your grandfather started then your time will be best spent assaying the material as Harold said. There is plenty of information on this forum for assaying if you want to do it yourself or you can take a representative sample and send it to a lab. I believe GSP has set up an assaying lab and he can steer you in the right direction. I have seen people spend crazy money chasing for what they thought was gold, be sure first, it will be money well spent.
 

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