Very 1st time at this and I need muratic acid/ sodium hypochlorate clarification

[Gothica69]

My 2 friends have been experimenting with gold ore extracting but never seem to follow it through to the end. I've been interested in this for some time now. My question is I have swimming pool muratic acid with the principal functioning agent listed as Hydrogen Chloride 14.50%. I also have chlorinating liquid with the active ingredient listed as Sodium Hypchlorite 10%. Am I able to use these two chemicals to extract gold ore? If so what ratio would I use.
I've been reading up as much as I can and I think I understanding the process but I noticed that the percentage of active ingredients in both of these chemicals that I have are lower then the suggested percentage I finding online. Would I still be able to use these or must I purchase new? I'm hoping the only difference will be having to let my rocks soak 6 hours instead of 4 hours.
As I stated this is my very first time attempting this and I had absolutely no chemistry in school. Fortunately for me, once things are spelled out to me, I catch on fast. As soon as I become familiar with this new vocabulary that, at present, is all Greek to me I will begin to soak up a plethora of knowledge and information. But until then I need it explained in almost a Dick and Jane type manner. Lol. Ok, maybe not quite like that but not to far off either. So please be patient with me and forgive me if I just don't "get it" the first 10 times it is explained to me. But once it clicks everything else will fall in to place. Thank you

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Simple. See Dick and Jane add acids to an unknown ore. See Dick and Jane die because they didn't know their ore contained arsenic.

Sorry, I know that was snarky and condescending, but until you know exactly what is in your ore, adding acids to it is not a good idea. We've had several members who have poisoned themselves by doing just that.

If you're dealing with ores, my advice would be to get an assay so you know exactly what is in it and how to safely deal with it. Besides the possibility of having toxic compounds in the ores, many ores do not respond to simple leaching. An assay can help you sort some of it out.

Dave

 

[Gothica69]

Thanks Dave for your timly response. I found your Dick and Jane response very funny, funnier then you could ever imagine in a messed up not so funny way. Let me take a moment to explain.
Three years ago I purchased 20 acres in
Wittmann, Arizona. My property is about 10 miles away from Vulture Mine and there are other mines located near by me, some within a mile.
We did a lot of exploring when we first moved here and discovered many abandoned properties. Many of these plases were almost completely torn down. Ghost town is what came to mind. Mostly it was empty lots with garbage piles. My guess is most of thepiles were from illegal dumping.
One day we were looking through a garbage pile and my husband came upon some jars with unidentified material in it. One jar contained what appeared to be black sand with copper flakes in it and another jar contained finely crushed green rock. We brought both jars back to our home and I tested the one jar and confirmed it was copper but the seconed jar left me clueless.
Well my intelligent husband had this bright idea. He grabbed the blow torch, poured some of the green stuff onto a playe and proceeded to torch the material on the plate. I was sitting directly across from him with one of our small dogs sitting next to me. After about 20 minutes I finally convinced my husband to turn the torch off because since we had no clue what the stuff was we had know way of knowing if it was toxic. His atitude was it hadn't killed us yet and at first he was going to continue then changed his mind and decided to go to bed.
The next day we were planning on taking samples to the place we sell our gold and ask them to analyze it for us.
The next morning my husband woke me up early so i would have time to get ready but I found it almost impossible to get out of bed. I was so sick. Sick in a way that I couldn't describe. I really felt like I was going to die. Even my little dog wasn't feeling well. I really didnt want to go anywhere except back to bet or if I had medical insurance, the hospital. Instead I ended up going with my husband. We got to the place and handed over our samples hoping we would find it contained gold. The first sample confirmed what I already new a bunch of black nothing and copper. Then the green stuff

 

[Gothica69]

Then the green stuff was put in the machine and the guy asked his co- workers if they knew what this code it was throwing was because he had never seen it be for. The store maneger looks it up and yells "Arsenic!".
Yep that green crushed rock he was torching the night before was a plate of arsenic. I was sitting directly across from him so the current from the torch was blowing it all in my direction. Mine and my dogs. My husband wasn't sick at all. I on the other hand had acute arsenic poisoning. My dog too I'm sure. After we were told the results my husband finally believed I was sick and took me home so i could go to bed. No going to the hospital because he didnt want to look stupid.

 

[Gothica69]

Sorry that story was so long Dave, but you can see why I found your comment so funny.
But back to my original question. The reason I posted it is because my friend gave me some quartz that is suppose to be loaded with gold that came from a gold mine somewhere in Arizona. A friend of hers had given it to her years ago. It was from a mine the girl had inherited from her grandfather. It's a rather long story that is quite complicated and I dont quite understand it very well but the bottom line is that this was suppose to be high quality gold and it needs to be extracted from the rock. I will try and send some pictures if I can. The rocks are small but are super heavy. Definately not in proportion to their size.
Anyway this was my main purpose for my question. My friend asked me if I can try to extract the gold but before I try i want to make sure about the chemicals I have and the ratio. Thank you. I'm sorry I am not the best picture taker.

View attachment 2View attachment 2

 

[4metals]

Well the good news is you are alive and interacting on the forum. I appreciate the fact that you told us this story. Often a story told by one who has lived it drives home a message better than Dave's Dick and Jane analogy. It is a warning we give often, your story makes it more real.

If you plan to continue testing and dabbling, consider making a plywood hood with exhaust to carry any fumes up and away from you or your neighbors. Even your dog will appreciate it!

With the rocks you suspect are gold and your less than detailed photo's, I suggest crushing them to powder in a mortar and pestle and panning the powder in water. That will separate the denser metallics from the quartz. Then the suspected dense powder that remains can be tested in small quantities (as in milliliters) of acid and a standard stannous chloride test solution. All done in that plywood hood of course!

 

[Gothica69]

Yes I try to be very safty oriented. I have had extensive OSHA training and also have hazwopper certification. Because nothing is so important that it can't be done safely. My problem is trying to convince the people around me of this. But my question is are the chemicals I have suitable for this and if so what is the ratio i need to use. I only have a small amount of rock I am working with and it doesnt belong to me. I dont want to make a mistake that i cant correct.

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Gothica, thank you for sharing your story. I hope it will help others in the future.

I will again urge caution. Perhaps it's the fuzzy pictures, but your specimen looks eerily familiar to a couple of specimens I inherited from my parents.

The specimens I have are orpiment, an arsenic sulfide mineral. Put a piece on a piece of heavy steel and tap on it with a hammer. If it flattens out, it may be gold. If it breaks into pieces, don't dunk it in acid.

Dave