Sim cards results disappointing

[denim]

I recently processed one pound of sim cards using nitric. After very thorough rinsing I dissolved foils using HCL and adding small amounts of sodium nitrate until gold was dissolved. Then I checked for excess nitric using urea, while acid was still a bit warm, and found the urea to fizz slighly. Added urea until acid fizzed no more. I then let the mixture cool down then filtered, then dropped using smb. The resulting brown powder was far less than I expected as compared to similar batches I have recently done including one using Razor phone antennas. Is the gold on sim cards some very low karat stuff resulting in low yields? I tried adding more smb to no avail. Anyone got any ideas as to how I can get any more gold out of this solution? Thanks in advance.

 

[etack]

what was the result that you got? Its hard to say it was low if you don't tell us what it is.

I think on the board is a thread on results .75-1 gram I think

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/search.php?keywords=%22sim+card%22&terms=all&author=&sv=0&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

Eric

 

[denim]

Thanks etack- I have not processed the powder yet but as you can see in the picture of the beaker with a small amount of powder in it that it probably will be a very small amount. I did read on the forum that others have experienced .75-1.0gr/lb of sim cards. I very much doubt that what is in that beaker will be anywhere close to that. Regards-

 

[denim]

what was the result that you got? Its hard to say it was low if you don't tell us what it is.

I think on the board is a thread on results .75-1 gram I think

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/search.php?keywords=%22sim+card%22&terms=all&author=&sv=0&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

Eric

As I thought- I got only .2 grams from this one pound batch of sim cards. I must have not killed all the nitric after dissolving. Next time I will evaporate it down further and hope for better results. Thanks.

 

[g_axelsson]

If you still had gold in solution after dropping the gold, you should have been able to detect it easily with tin chloride.
If you have a stock pot you will have the rest of the gold in there.

/Göran

 

[etack]

As I thought- I got only .2 grams from this one pound batch of sim cards. I must have not killed all the nitric after dissolving. Next time I will evaporate it down further and hope for better results. Thanks.

An easy way to tell if you have nitric in solution after you have precipitated is to a a bit of HCl and warm if you se NOx or bubbles you have free nitric. This is hard to tell with a dirty solution but if you cover it the NOx will collect.

Eric

 

[butcher]

You may not see the free nitric acid in solution if it is dilute as the NOx gases are not driven off but diluted into solution, Nitrous oxide (NO) a NOx gas is a clear gas and you cannot see it coming off solution Unless it converts to NO2 the red solution easily seen, there are other NOx gases that are clear also, I would not count on my eyes as a detector of whether free nitric was in solution or not, by if I see gases, although sometimes it is obvious by sight when we see the red vapors fume off, the solution may contain nitric we cannot see fumes from, or be dilute in solution , or even in the precipitate as nitrate salts (depending on what we are working with), sometimes a prill of urea and watching for fizzing is used as an indicator of free nitric acid in solution, but even this test I find is not always conclusive.

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Just for clarification:

Nitrous Oxide = N₂O
Nitric Oxide or Nitrogen Oxide = NO
When exposed to oxygen, NO is converted to Nitrogen Dioxide = NO₂

Dave