What have I done now?

[niteliteone]

Hello all,
Here with my first process snafu and hope you can help out.
Here is the process step by step. Any questions will be answered and help greatly appriciated.

I started with 25 P4 processors and 6 black fiber Celeron processors.
I removed all the pins, Celerons were a b!*ch.
Soaked in 300 ml HCL, stirring occasionally, for about 2 hours. Then decanted and rinsed.
I then added 300 ml HCL and 25 ml 3% peroxide and set on a hotplate at about 160 degree F. I kept a watchglass on at all times except while stirring.
24 hours pass and HCL is very dark but still many pins not dissolved, so I decanted and added another 300 ml HCL and 25 ml peroxide then placed back on the heat.
Took 3 refills before I finally got a fairly clear liquid. So 4 soaks total using 1200 ml HCL total.
Decanted and rinsed with RODI water I make myself for my fish tanks. All pins have dissolved and have foils and dark powder mixed in beaker. I assume the powder is from gold dissolving and reprecipitating.
I then added 200 ml HCL to the foils (color stayed clear for 30 minutes) and 50 ml 10% pool chlorine and everything started to dissolve into a nice yellow as expected.
Then I started to notice a faint white precipitate on the bottom of the beaker with a little dark particulate matter mixed in. This I assumed was that I missed a few resistors or capacitors. So I covered the solution and let it sit overnight.
Now today I am met with a surprise. My yellow liquid has turned green and still has a thin white precipitate with dark particulate matter on the bottom of the beaker. Sorry no pictures to this point.
I filtered off the liquid and before I could get my camera 20 minutes tops I noticed it looks like my gold is precipitating out of solution. Liquid is cloudy except for at the top and starting to accumulate on the bottom as a fine gold colored powder.
Picture 1 and 2
I added 5 ml chlorine and the powder quickly disappeared.
Picture 3
Now I’m stuck.
I know my gold is in solution and I have lost no values yet, but what has caused the green solution? PGM's from the capacitors?
What would be the best way to separate the gold from ??
Can I do it without dropping everything and starting from scratch?
But if whatever is dissolved this time, how will I stop it or remove it when I refine again?

edit: spelling

 

[niteliteone]

Here is the filter residue
a few resistors, some glass from the processors, the dark sludge and a little white precipitate?

 

[Anonymous]

First of all you need some stannous chloride,so you can see where your gold is at any time.Check your solution and see if it is positive.If it is,then add about 100ml more of fresh Hcl,and about 20ml of that chlorine.Make sure to add the chlorine very slowly,and make sure you have your mask on.Next stir the contents slowly and check with stannous again.It should be positive.If you still have a white precipitant,add about 50ml of water.Next set up a filter with a rolled up charmin "plug" in the bottom.The solution after filtering should be completly clear with no particle contamination in it.Then precipitate the gold.After you let it settle out,redisolve it,filter,and reprecipitate.Then wash the powder with fresh Hcl,and rinse with distilled water.You should be good to go.......however you should know that the yield on everything you processed is going to be quite low.

 

[niteliteone]

Sorry I should have mentioned the stannous test
Here are the results.

Just trying to figure out what I did to cause all the green so I can avoid in the future
Tom C.

edit: spelling

 

[Geo]

i have worse than that on a regular basis. ive dropped gold from solution that looked like used AP. the gold is very dirty and needs to be refined several times to make it pure.

 

[niteliteone]

Thanks guy's
So basically this is fairly normal? :shock:
I should go ahead and process as normal? :?:
I was not expecting the brite green color, I've had yellow from finger foils and a redish yellow fron some karat jewelery, But green :shock:
Any idea what caused this, or something I forgot to do?
I have written the entire process I did up to this point. the solution is clear as vodka just green.

So should I finish with the process; drop with smb, decant, rinse with RODI water 3 times, rinse HCL, Boil HCL, rinse HCL, then rinse and boil with RODI water a few mor times.
Then start the dissolution process all over again.

Thanks
Tom C.

 

[Anonymous]

You are fine.We have all experienced that......and much worse.

 

[niteliteone]

Thanks again.
Just didn't want to complicate something that could be straight forward. :shock:
And yea I know these processors will have a very low yield. Just wanted to get them out of the way. Have about 15 ceramic ones to do next. :shock: I know another low yield but they will be done.

Tom C.

 

[Geo]

green is normally copper depending on the hue,steel looks green but not as fluorescent. i would skip all the washes and just go straight to the dissolution again. save the washes till the final process unless your trying for four 9's. every time you dissolve you leave impurities behind.

 

[Harold_V]

green is normally copper depending on the hue,steel looks green but not as fluorescent. i would skip all the washes and just go straight to the dissolution again. save the washes till the final process unless your trying for four 9's. every time you dissolve you leave impurities behind.

My normal procedure was to do a single wash and rinse on gold recovered from the first refining. All of my gold got a second refining, which assured purity. Not washing after the first precipitation isn't the smartest thing you can do, especially if the gold comes from very dirty solutions. You eliminate a huge portion of the junk in the first wash, more or less assuring the second precipitation has limited garbage present, which can be dragged down upon precipitation.

Harold

 

[niteliteone]

Thank's for all the information.
the clarification about the washes will really help to speed up my working time with the material. 8)
yes getting four 9's is the goal. :shock:
My buyer looks for the pipe on the nugets
Here's a pic of my first 3 tries.

 

[butcher]

good job, looks like all that studying is leaving you with some heavy yellow metals.