stripping with cyanide

silversaddle1 · Sep 11, 2009

I am NOT going to do this at home!

Now my question.

I have a box that contains about 1800 pounds of computer cable ends with gold pins in them. Just about any type connector you can imagine is in there. I was told by our local scrap yard that they would refine these and give me back 70% of the gold values. They said they would strip in cyanide. How does that work? Also, how do you get all the cyanide out of the connectors after they strip?

Interesting.

They have a company that does the stripping up in Milwaukee, I think he said.

Any imput would be great!

Harold, what say you o fearless one of mass knowing! :lol:

Harold_V · Sep 12, 2009

My experience with cyanide is somewhat limited, unlike that of GSP. I used it for stripping some things, such as watch bands, but otherwise it was used exclusively for processing a gold ore. There were a couple of exceptions, however.

I had the good fortune to acquire a 50 pound container of a commercially prepared cyanide stripping compound, which was buffered so it could be used for e scrap. I processed something like 180 pounds of clean wire wrap pins and accompanying waste material with excellent results. That was immediately after selling my refining business. The project had been on hold for years. The pins were purchased for a modest $500, which was a fair price at the time. I would recommend the product, but I have no recollection of its name, or the maker.

If cyanide is used quite dilute, it is selective, taking only the values. It must be buffered when used for stripping e scrap, otherwise you dissolve base metals along with the values, often leaving behind values instead of accomplishing a clean extraction. This is were GSP will shine, for he used the process and understands far better than I do.

Of one thing there is no question. Cyanide is, hands down, one of the best possible choices for recovering gold, depending on circumstances. Cyanicides can create problems that are difficult to address, but when they are not present, a ton of ore can be processed for cents. I imagine the same thing would apply for e scrap, with consumption determined by the amount of gold present. Chris will verify if that is so.

I used cyanide in conjunction with electricity in stripping watch bands. I found that to work well, although it required a considerable amount of cyanide. In my opinion, it is one of the best possible ways to process what is, otherwise, very difficult to process without a large amount of manual labor.

Harold

Lino1406 · Sep 18, 2009

Nice to know, but leave that for the experts,
as well as the after cleaning (cyanide destruction)

DNIndustry · Sep 20, 2009

First step. Do NOT send it to Aura II or Natl Prec Metals.
Also be careful most people may look like they will process the materials but will outsource it.

Getting screwed is the nice way to put it. My friend flat out starred in his own porno. He lost $10K.
What is your experience level with chemistry and what equipment/environment do you have available to use.

silversaddle1 · Sep 20, 2009

DNIndustry said:
First step. Do NOT send it to Aura II or Natl Prec Metals.
Also be careful most people may look like they will process the materials but will outsource it.

Getting screwed is the nice way to put it. My friend flat out starred in his own porno. He lost $10K.
What is your experience level with chemistry and what equipment/environment do you have available to use.

None on either question. These two companies you mention, both in Wi.? I really don't want to mess with these connectors any more than I have to. We used to just leave them on the cables and sell them right along with the cables for around $1.00 a pound. I thought it might make sense to clip them and save them once to see what the yield would be. So, if the gaylord weighs 1800 pounds, then I'm in them for $1800.00 already. Hope there is enough gold in them to recoup that!