Thought I'd say hi to everyone.

[Recyclotrops]

Hello,

I've been lurking around for about 18 months, and reading, reading, reading. I still have a billion pages left to read, but I thought I would at least say thank you to everyone for helping me learn so much over the past several months. I am getting close to going through Hoke's book for the second time and possibly doing it with some acquaintance tests this time around. My first time was more of a get acquainted with the processes without actually doing them read through. This time I may venture into some droppers full of acids and some test tubes. It still all seems a little daunting, so I may just read for another 18-months, but eventually I will probably need to ask a question, so I didn't want to be a stranger when that day comes. So here I am.

Thanks again to everyone who takes the time to share your knowledge. Hopefully, I'll get started with some easy acquaintance tests soon enough and I'll be able to share the results.

Recyclotrops

 

[nickvc]

Welcome to the forum.
I wish more new members would take a small part of the time you have to do some reading before trying to get that gold...
You seem to have realised that recovery and refining isn't a five minute read and get stuck in process so I suspect that when and if you do decide to start you will be successful, knowledge is the key to success and there are no quick ways to get it.
I wish you luck and look forward to seeing your first button 8)

 

[bmgold2]

This time I may venture into some droppers full of acids and some test tubes......Hopefully, I'll get started with some easy acquaintance tests soon enough and I'll be able to share the results.

Recyclotrops

All of my experience with refining and dissolving gold so far has been done on a very small scale. Starting out with test tubes sounds like a great idea to me. It takes less chemicals, makes less fumes and waste, and still lets you get the practice and confidence to do larger quantities of materials. You may need to use a magnifying glass to see the resulting piece of gold depending on how much you started with and a small loss (like in the filter) can make a bigger difference when dealing with very small amounts.

More gold is always nice but you don't have to start out risking a lot of precious metals. My first bead is around a quarter gram and isn't perfectly pure but it was big enough to prove to myself that I can dissolve gold, precipitate it, and then ultimately get it back in metalic form.

You obviously have a lot of self-control to wait for over a year to make your first post. I expect your first attempt at refining gold will result in something you will be proud of no matter what the size or even quality. One other thing to think about. Many people like to keep their first piece of gold. If your first piece of gold is only worth a small amount, you won't be as tempted to sell it.

 

[artart47]

Hi Reclyclotrops!
Welcome to our forum. By the time you begin recovering you'll be armed with an understanding of what's going on and why. Your efforts won't end in failure. You'll be holding you first gold button in your hand and you'll then enjoy, having gold fever! I just wish all the new people who come here were of your mindset!
Have you been collecting scrap all this time? Hope so!
Good luck artart47

 

[Recyclotrops]

Hi Reclyclotrops!
... Have you been collecting scrap all this time? Hope so!
Good luck artart47

I was collecting, processing, and selling my scrap through the scrapmetalforum, which lead me here about 18 months ago. Then I stopped doing what I was doing and started reading everything I could here. I have been collecting some scrap, and have a little bit of everything I need to make some acquaintance tests, scrapwise anyway. As far as processing materials, tools, and chemicals I have been dragging my feet on obtaining, due to fear of killing my family, friends, neighbors and pets.

I will probably start with something simple like trying to inquart some karat gold with sterling silver. It won't require any chemicals, and frankly, it'll be exciting enough for me to make a 4-6k gold alloy and pour some cornflakes. Obviously, I'll have to deal with those cornflakes and refine it eventually. But, at least this way, I'll be prepping two materials at once and killing two birds with one stone. My next test may be to incinerate some flatpacks and IC Chips. Again, no acids involved, and I can get pretty far in the process with just heat and water. I can save the concentrate for whenever I am acid ready. The values won't go anywhere.

... You may need to use a magnifying glass to see the resulting piece of gold ...

I have a jewelers loupe and a couple of magnifying glasses. I can read the laser inscriptions on the girdle of diamonds with my loupe, so hopefully it'll show me the specs of gold in the bottom of the test tube when I get to that point.

Thanks for the warm welcome, and more importantly, thanks again for sharing the priceless knowledge and information.