Strange Precip

[rusty]

Started with incinerated chips, milled then leached out base metals and silver, added ar, then filtered out the liquor cementing everything down with copper pipe.

Took a bit of the mud back into AR, denoxed via evaporation, tested with a prill of urea, then added 3 parts water before adding SMB, solution turned pitch black then after an hour these white looking crystals started falling like snow.

The solution nearest the top is now pea green slowly progressing more towards the bottom as things settle out, I will test the remaining liquor in the morning with stannous and DMG, anyhow the silver crystals is not what I was expecting and wondering if anyone has an idea what went wrong with this precipitation.

Again in the morning after I decant, I will do a series of tests on the crystals. The crystals dropping have a metallic glitter as they fall and drop very quickly.

Edit to add information, I stirred the solution bring the crystals into motion, after I quit stirring the majority fell to the bottom within 30 seconds.

Ideas.

Regards
Rusty

 

[butcher]

Could be a mix of salt NaCL and silver chloride, although falling out of solution quickly (precipitating), doe's not sound as silver chloride acts.

With the starting stock I assume you will have some silver in solution.
I think cementing may have converted some of AgCl to elemental silver also.

Silver in strong acid like aqua regia can form Ag2Cl, diluting the acid precipitates silver as AgCl, members state cooling the acid will also work.

edit: look also for some lead chloride.

 

[rusty]

Could be a mix of salt NaCL and silver chloride, although falling out of solution quickly (precipitating), doe's not sound as silver chloride acts.

With the starting stock I assume you will have some silver in solution.
I think cementing may have converted some of AgCl to elemental silver also.

Silver in strong acid like aqua regia can form Ag2Cl, diluting the acid precipitates silver as AgCl, members state cooling the acid will also work.

edit: look also for some lead chloride.

Thanks butcher, yes the crystals did start dropping after the acid cooled, what gets me is the speed of which the precipitate drops out of solution. From past experience silver chloride takes forever.

Here is a short video showing just how quick they drop out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlQejqFYFjU

Regards
Rusty

 

[Barren Realms 007]

Could be a mix of salt NaCL and silver chloride, although falling out of solution quickly (precipitating), doe's not sound as silver chloride acts.

With the starting stock I assume you will have some silver in solution.
I think cementing may have converted some of AgCl to elemental silver also.

Silver in strong acid like aqua regia can form Ag2Cl, diluting the acid precipitates silver as AgCl, members state cooling the acid will also work.

edit: look also for some lead chloride.

Thanks butcher, yes the crystals did start dropping after the acid cooled, what gets me is the speed of which the precipitate drops out of solution. From past experience silver chloride takes forever.

Here is a short video showing just how quick they drop out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlQejqFYFjU

Regards
Rusty

I would siphon the solution off and boil the settlement in water, I think you have some form of salt's there.

 

[samuel-a]

Hi rusty

The solution nearest the top is now pea green

My guts says you precipitated CuCl with the gold.

HCl will dissolve it a once to give yellow solution.
Ammonia will also dissolve it at once to give royal blue solution.

 

[lazersteve]

Definitely looks like copper I chloride: Insoluble in water and saturated copper solutions, soluble in HCl.

Good call Sam.

Steve