Starting over. Black mud

[oldtimmer]

I am starting over from a couple of batched, newbie learning curve jobs. I have read as much as I can find on this process. I used Al to drop everything in solution. I initially started with Nitric acid before I found this forum. So here is what I have done to this point:

I have disolved the copper in AP and all I have left is an oily looking black mud. I have taken a small sample and washed with hot HCl followed by water rince two times. I still have a fair amount of the black oily mud left over. I then disolved it in HCl+Cl and got some to disolve. I heated the solution gently and perhaps got some more to disolve. Problem is that I still have most of the black mud that will not disolve. How do I deal with it. In testing the HCl+Cl solution with Stanus Chloride, I get an immediate brown color that is followed by a light purple coloration on the outer edge of the test sample. And yes, my Stanus Chloride is good when testing with my AgCl test solution. So, I have recovered some gold as indicated by the purple coloration. Brown is perhaps Pt?

Question is how best to continue.

Thanks in advance, dave the oldtimmer

 

[Harold_V]

Were it up to me, the first thing I'd have done is incinerate the entire lot, before any acid treatment. You would have eliminated anything that could be troublesome. If I had the material to process, I'd do just that, even now. I'd start by recovering everything I could with zinc or steel, then incinerate the solids after removing any free steel. Next I'd boil in nitric, to remove copper and other alloys, incinerate once again, then boil in HCl. I would then rinse well and dissolve the remaining solids with AR. By following this procedure, you'd eliminate virtually all of the non-metallic substances, and virtually all of the base metals. I would suggest checking the wash solutions for values, especially palladium, assuming you have reason to believe you had any present.

Harold

 

[oldtimmer]

Harold, thans for the informaatio.

As I have never done any incineration id this fashion and with this process. I have looked around but can not find any details or instructions.

Can you please post some brief instructions to get me started?

Thanks,

dave

 

[Anonymous]

Harold, thans for the informaatio.

As I have never done any incineration id this fashion and with this process. I have looked around but can not find any details or instructions.

Can you please post some brief instructions to get me started?

Thanks,

dave

Search the forum there's plenty of information regarding incineration, and fume hoods.

 

[jamthe3]

Look under "other processes."

You'll find a a thread titled "Incineration."

It's authored by someone I believe you'll recognize and already appreciate. He's a member who "posts quite regularly and always harps on the merits of incineration...gee, I wonder why" (think that's at least close to a quote of his.)

Cheers,
John

PS: 2/3's the way down (or so) on pg 2

 

[oldtimmer]

Got it.

Best narative was under Build your own equipment and then Sweeps Burner-Details wanted.

I should be able do it now. Just need to make a trip to Salvation Army or other second hand store and get an old s/s frying pan. My wife would bean me if I were to try and use one of her old ones that she does not use. Perhaps if I gave her the first gold bead that I were to produce, things might be different.

Thanks again,

dave

 

[jamthe3]

Do yourself a favor...spend the little extra now & get her a brand new one & use one of the old ones......the lecture later on down the line when you use one of hers anyway in haste or immediate need will be a lot less brutal her thinking a new one is soon to replace it.....which we both know you'll end up purchasing anyway if & when it happens.

Just a heads up, lol :wink:

Cheers,
John