Black Sand Processing Idea

DizzyDigger

Gold Member
Dec 9, 2012
6,391
12,978
Concrete, WA
Detector(s) used
Nokta FoRs Gold, a Gold Cube, 2 Keene Sluices and Lord only knows how many pans....not to mention a load of other gear my wife still doesn't know about!
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Hey all,

Been kicking this around in my head for quite some time, and
have decided it's worth running it by all of you.

My days out in the field are few, and I find much more satisfaction
in staying in my shop processing concentrates and pulling out
the smallest of gold with my Miller Table. I've also had some success
with freezing the black sand, and then tossing it into boiling water
which shatters it to pieces, releasing even more ultra-fine gold.

I'd wager that 99% of prospectors have a tub, bucket or other
container they've been saving their black sand in after panning
out all the visible free gold. True, or false?

Proposal is this: Ship that black sand to me and let me process
it for you. The medium and large USPS Priority boxes can hold
quite a bit of black sand, and it ships for a fairly low price.

Once I receive the package I'll classify and work that black sand
to get every bit of gold out of it.

Here's the best part...

Option 1: If the prospector wishes to donate the gold from their
cons, I'll place the entire amount in a "community vial", and at the
end of the year have it smelted and poured into a single bar. That
bar will be sold for the best price we can find, and the proceeds from
the TNet Prospectors will be donated to St. Jude's Children's Research
Hospital


Option2: If the prospector desires to get the gold back, I'll keep 25%
for the effort, put the remaining 75% in a vial and ship it back
at my cost.

St. Jude's has been saving children's lives for decades, and they
do so on a very small budget, and mostly from donations. No one
gets a bill from them. WE can help make a difference in these
sick children's lives.

I sit here in my shop night after night with very little to do.
THIS is something I can do. I'm not out for gold for myself;
the 25% I'd keep if you want your gold back is to help cover
my equipment costs, but aside from that every spec will either
be returned, or 100% will be donated to the "TNet Prospectors
Fund for St. Jude's".

GoldenMojo is credited with the first donation, as he recently sent
me a box of his left over black sand, and I was able to squeeze
1/4 gr. out of it. He told me to keep the gold and do with it what
I wished...and I wish to use that 1/4 gr. to get the "TNet Prospectors
Fund for St. Jude's" started off. Thanks Joe!

I'm more than willing to do the work needed to get that gold out,
but is this something you or your prospecting pals would be
interested in?

Whether the proceeds of your black sand are donated or not is
strictly up to the prospector, and I'd never pressure anyone to
donate their gold unless it was their choice. I'm more than happy
to ship the proceeds back to you if that's what you wish.

If people are willing to go to the effort of shipping that black sand,
by the end of the year we should have a pretty good poke built up
to donate.

I've gotten some good feedback already via PM, but it will take
more than just a couple folks to make a difference.

I'm very interested in your thoughts.
 

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Upvote 0
love it. St. Jude's is Great. When I get enough black sand I will send them your way
 

Thanks Joe..:occasion14:

My one concern is over gaining peoples trust, as you can't
do that over an internet forum...it has to be earned, and
by our nature most prospectors aren't all that trusting.

We hear about so many bad things going on all over the world,
and it would be nice to simply do something good...just because
we can.
 

Im in.
Pm me your addy and I will send out what I have either this Friday, or Monday.
Just let me know if or what they contain to see if there worth it.
I live in copper country.
Use mine for St. Judes.
 

I have a few people that send me large flat rate boxes of black sands. They can weigh over the 70lb flat rate limit. Anyone sending should have the box weighed before sealing the box as they may have to remove some or pay a higher rate.

I usually get from two to five grams from 70lbs. I got 3 grams from a 25lb box that was run twice thru a gold cube. Most of what is in the sands is not visible to the naked eye.
 

Mike I really like the direction you went with this. I will be shipping my black sand to you as I get it.

GM
 

Alex and I are in Mike, that is such a great idea and I know you are beyond trustworthy. Your a good man for not only using your equipment but more importantly your time. Very selfless and honorable! Please PM Alex or me with your address.
 

I have a few people that send me large flat rate boxes of black sands. They can weigh over the 70lb flat rate limit. Anyone sending should have the box weighed before sealing the box as they may have to remove some or pay a higher rate. I usually get from two to five grams from 70lbs. I got 3 grams from a 25lb box that was run twice thru a gold cube. Most of what is in the sands is not visible to the naked eye.
what method do you use which produces so well?

Oh, and Mike, I'm not sure we are going to be able to meet over Labor Day weekend, too much on the schedule to spend the three hours driving plus prospecting time, so I'll have to find a closer spot to take the nephews...not hard as they live right next to gold bearing waters in Issaquah! However, I will bring some black sands with me for you to pick up the next time you are in their area if you like? My stash of leftover concentrates is separated by magnetic and non-mag. Which have you had better luck with? Of course you should put all the gold from my material in the donation jar! (I would like to see a pic and a weight tho!)
 

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what method do you use which produces so well?

We use mercury in a cone/funnel with a vortex and a combination of ingredients that removes sulfides and oils from the gold and keeps the mercury from flouring. We also retort all of the mercury. We don't squeeze the mercury thru cloth. Gold finer than the cloth goes thru the cloth and remains in the mercury. The process also captures any silver in the mix and adds to the recovered weight.

It takes about 15 minutes to process 50 pounds. Retorting takes longer.
 

We use mercury in a cone/funnel with a vortex and a combination of ingredients that removes sulfides and oils from the gold and keeps the mercury from flouring. We also retort all of the mercury. We don't squeeze the mercury thru cloth. Gold finer than the cloth goes thru the cloth and remains in the mercury. The process also captures any silver in the mix and adds to the recovered weight. It takes about 15 minutes to process 50 pounds. Retorting takes longer.
ok, I'm impressed!
 

Alex and I are in Mike, that is such a great idea and I know you
are beyond trustworthy. Your a good man for not only using your equipment but more importantly
your time. Very selfless and honorable! Please PM Alex or me with your address.

Thank you Tom...means a lot coming from you. I'll shoot my address
off today, and next time you and Alex get a tub full of leftover black
sand just ship it on up.

This will be a year long project, and hopefully come Aug. '15
we'll have a nice chunk of gold to sell off to help those sick kids.
 

Are you interested in black sand, right from
the beach? Shovel and ship.......:laughing7:

I know you're joking OV, but if you want to concentrate
a few bucketfuls and then send that along, I could probably
squeeze enough gold out of it to make it worth the effort.

Maybe run an hour for the kids, and then the rest of the
day for your own poke? It's entirely up to you whether you
donate any cons, or not, and I certainly won't be judging
anyone, either way.
 

Oh, and Mike, I'm not sure we are going to be able to meet over Labor Day weekend, too much on the schedule to spend the three hours driving plus prospecting time, so I'll have to find a closer spot to take the nephews...not hard as they live right next to gold bearing waters in Issaquah! However, I will bring some black sands with me for you to pick up the next time you are in their area if you like? My stash of leftover concentrates is separated by magnetic and non-mag. Which have you had better luck with? Of course you should put all the gold from my material in the donation jar! (I would like to see a pic and a weight tho!)


Honestly Kevin, I've never found much difference in the end result
whether I run the magnetic stuff separate, or not.

No worries about Labor Day. If I'm up to it maybe I can travel
down your way, but otherwise I'd ask you to ship that black sand
to me, as it's very rare I travel down into the big cities. Too much
traffic and too many people for me.
 

Wow this sounds like a great idea. I never thought of saving my black sands after I was done with them but I will for now on. If we wanted to could we ship some gold?
 

I've just been informed that I'm in violation of the site rules,
as they do not allow anyone to solicit donations for any organization.

Unless we can get Admin approval to do this, we're shot down.

:sadsmiley:
 

Honestly Kevin, I've never found much difference in the end result
whether I run the magnetic stuff separate, or not.

No worries about Labor Day. If I'm up to it maybe I can travel
down your way, but otherwise I'd ask you to ship that black sand
to me, as it's very rare I travel down into the big cities. Too much
traffic and too many people for me.

Dizz and Kevin...

I live half way between Issaquah and Concrete. I regularly work in Oso (not too far from concrete) and would be happy to meet Kevin and hand the sands over to Mike next time I work up north (once every 2 weeks or so). I have some black sand to add as well, and naturally, its all gotta go to the kids!!! Work pays for the gas, so I would love to help if I can!


Cheers!
 

Didn't read your last post...PM on the way
 

I'm writing a note to the Admin's requesting a variance in
the site rules so we can proceed. If they do not approve
then there is no choice but to concede.
 

I'm writing a note to the Admin's requesting a variance in the site rules so we can proceed. If they do not approve then there is no choice but to concede.
good idea!
 

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