Black Sand Samples

[alloy_II]

Samples from two different areas, once the weather improves - smelting will begin the top sample certainly shows promise, both by weight and microscope image.

For those interested in smelting the attached file is about the various flux's used and their purpose.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Family Maps of Hinds County, Mississippi, Deluxe Edition - Grab it through Amazon!

[alloy_II]

After a long day tabling extremely fine gold, panning samples with my plastic pan, don't really know how I should respond to you.
Good luck with the invisible gold experiments...
Gt....

Thanks.

Nano gold loves activated carbon.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Family Maps of Hinds County, Mississippi, Deluxe Edition - Grab it through Amazon!

[alloy_II]

Picked up the metal to make my crucible tongs today, also I'm tempted to smelt the 25.9 grams of dirty copper recovered from the motherboard.

In order to smelt the copper I'll need an oxidizer like potassium nitrate. This fluxing agent gives off oxygen which in turn makes the elemental copper into oxides to report to the slag.

As soon as the snow is gone, I'll pay a visit to one of the farms that raises animals. The video explains why.

For my purpose I do not need lab grade nitrates, anyone ever toss a cow patty as a kid.

An updated picture of the silver chloride, the jar sat outside in direct sunlight all day and the brown layer on the bottom has also turned black from the UV light.

Unfortunately I've fired the precipitate all I have at the moment is a better image of the brown layer.

Refining metals is rather repetitious, so I've added some spice for those who like to explore. on their own time.

Metal oxides are used as pottery glazes during the firing, oxygen is robbed from the oxide leaving the metal behind.

Metals used in early photography, carbon, mercury / copper, tin, platinum, palladium and silver. Silver is a crappy medium if an image is left in direct sunlight the image will deteriate from UV exposure. Platinum prints are unaffected by UV light once the image has been fixed and have a 200 year archival rating.

 

[Ohiogoldfever]

Picked up the metal to make my crucible tongs today, also I'm tempted to smelt the 25.9 grams of dirty copper recovered from the motherboard.

In order to smelt the copper I'll need an oxidizer like potassium nitrate. This fluxing agent gives off oxygen which in turn makes the elemental copper into oxides to report to the slag.

As soon as the snow is gone, I'll pay a visit to one of the farms that raises animals. The video explains why.

For my purpose I do not need lab grade nitrates, anyone ever toss a cow patty as a kid.

An updated picture of the silver chloride, the jar sat outside in direct sunlight all day and the brown layer on the bottom has also turned black from the UV light.

Unfortunately I've fired the precipitate all I have at the moment is a better image of the brown layer.

Refining metals is rather repetitious, so I've added some spice for those who like to explore. on their own time.

Metal oxides are used as pottery glazes during the firing, oxygen is robbed from the oxide leaving the metal behind.

Metals used in early photography, carbon, mercury / copper, tin, platinum, palladium and silver. Silver is a crappy medium if an image is left in direct sunlight the image will deteriate from UV exposure. Platinum prints are unaffected by UV light once the image has been fixed and have a 200 year archival rating.

View attachment 2021718

View attachment 2021717

Dang. I bet you light your foundry with flint you found in the back yard... lol Great stuff Alloy

 

[alloy_II]

My ceramic wool arrived the other day, this afternoon went to the landfill for a couple of propane tanks. Keeping one as a spare.

One tank was empty and one had a fair bit of gas, anyhow after cutting the brass valve off I'm left with a hole to guide the hole saw.

Most guys using ceramic wool leave it free standing, my plan is to insert the wool inside of the propane tank once the bottom has been cut off the furnace will be like a bell jar.

I'll be able to lift the bell jar free of the crucible, then have all the free space needed the lift it without making an additional set of tongs.

I suggest you make sure the tank is empty before cutting into it, better to be on the safe side.

 

[alloy_II]

A bonus for the scrap bucket.

 

[alloy_II]

The bell jar is ready for the ceramic wool, I cut the top half of the tank below the welded seam. The extra metal will give some strength.

For those that have never seen the inside of a propane tank the bottom image shows the valve and float that prevents over filling.

 

[alloy_II]

Maybe some gold in the float.

 

[alloy_II]

A bonus for the scrap bucket.

View attachment 2022837

Yesterday I purchased 6 inches of DOM ( drawn through mandrel ) heavy wall tubing.

I have this at the machine shop where Rob will mill in some slots that will fit over the flat spot located on the lower portion of the tank valve.

Once I have the machined DOM back in my possession May 5th, I'll weld a half inch impact socket to the top end, then my Milwaukee impact will do the hard part of removing the valves.

I often see dozens of these propane tanks at the lanfill, never bothered with them as they were a PITA to bring home, removed the valve then return the tanks back to the landfill.

Scrapyards won't accept them unless there's holes cut into them.

Removing the brass at the landfill and leaving the tank makes sense.

Once the socket has been completed will post a picture with measurements of the slots.

From a landfill in another RM, some e-waste, from the scrap yard some silver soldered copper for the parting cell.

 

[gold tramp]

We went from smelting black sand to invisible gold now we are Sanford n son, I thought this was a gold prospecting forum.
Maybe I'm just the odd man out here again thinking this is a bit weird for gold mining folks
I'm changing the channel .....

 

[southfork]

We went from smelting black sand to invisible gold now we are Sanford n son, I thought this was a gold prospecting forum.
Maybe I'm just the odd man out here again thinking this is a bit weird for gold mining folks
I'm changing the channel .....

Dumpster Diving for gold .

 

[alloy_II]

 

[alloy_II]

A bonus for the scrap bucket.

View attachment 2022837

Yesterday I purchased 6 inches of DOM ( drawn through mandrel ) heavy wall tubing.

I have this at the machine shop where Rob will mill in some slots that will fit over the flat spot located on the lower portion of the tank valve.

Once I have the machined DOM back in my possession May 5th, I'll weld a half inch impact socket to the top end, then my Milwaukee impact will do the hard part of removing the valves.

I often see dozens of these propane tanks at the lanfill, never bothered with them as they were a PITA to bring home, removed the valve then return the tanks back to the landfill.

Scrapyards won't accept them unless there's holes cut into them.

Removing the brass at the landfill and leaving the tank makes sense.

Once the socket has been completed will post a picture with measurements of the slots.

The DOM after machining, once cut in half will make two sockets.

 

[alloy_II]

The DOM after machining, once cut in half will make two sockets.

View attachment 2024747
View attachment 2024748
View attachment 2024749

 

[russau]

One thing to remember on cutting or welding on gas or propane tanks IF you are skeptical of blowing up when heat or flame is used.... and I used this method for car gas tanks and such , is to fill the tank mostly of water or foam like the Fire Department does and if using water keep a small air pocket up high close to where your going to weld or heat a tank. Even a old gas tank that has set out in a field for years has enough left over explosive force to ROCK YOUR BOAT into never never land !

 

[alloy_II]

One thing to remember on cutting or welding on gas or propane tanks IF you are skeptical of blowing up when heat or flame is used.... and I used this method for car gas tanks and such , is to fill the tank mostly of water or foam like the Fire Department does and if using water keep a small air pocket up high close to where your going to weld or heat a tank. Even a old gas tank that has set out in a field for years has enough left over explosive force to ROCK YOUR BOAT into never never land !

Never thought of using foam, very convenient and clean.

Or you can fill the tank with carbon monoxide from engine exhaust.

 

[Sean Au.]

Samples from two different areas, once the weather improves - smelting will begin the top sample certainly shows promise, both by weight and microscope image.

For those interested in smelting the attached file is about the various flux's used and their purpose.

Samples from two different areas, once the weather improves - smelting will begin the top sample certainly shows promise, both by weight and microscope image.

For those interested in smelting the attached file is about the various flux's used and their purpose.

View attachment 2011949
View attachment 2011950
View attachment 2011951

Samples from two different areas, once the weather improves - smelting will begin the top sample certainly shows promise, both by weight and microscope image.

For those interested in smelting the attached file is about the various flux's used and their purpose.

View attachment 2011949
View attachment 2011950
View attachment 2011951

Is the goal to separate fine gold particles from the sand ? Thats pretty cool!

 

[alloy_II]

Is the goal to separate fine gold particles from the sand ? Thats pretty cool!

Yes that is the objective, should be back on track early next week for completion.

Also need to melt these copper bits which have silver soldered joints, cast into an anode for the copper parting cell.

Between the black sand and the copper joints I'm expecting more value from the silver. A small gold bead from the sand would be nice.

 

[Ohiogoldfever]

I love playing in the creeks but most my gold comes from electronics. It can really add up fast if you find the right stuff. Once’s recovered and lots to process.

We only have flower gold around here. Any reasonable weight has to be russled up another way.

 

[alloy_II]

I love playing in the creeks but most my gold comes from electronics. It can really add up fast if you find the right stuff. Once’s recovered and lots to process.

We only have flower gold around here. Any reasonable weight has to be russled up another way.

Most of my gold also comes from electronics, if the black sand from Northern BC shows some promise. I know of a couple of people who have placer claims and over the years have saved buckets of this material.

But I'm not expecting any miracles, besides with fuel prices escalating on a daily basis, might be a wiser choice to stick with electronics.

Someone recently asked a question then retracted.

If i was keeping track of expenses, the answer is no. At my age chances of living long enough to recoup the money I've spent on chemicals and making equipment.

Is this science or a hobby, both. I'm retired and have my monthly pension on auto deposit. We live on two acres in a mortgage free home. I have a nice shop and plenty of yard space and no neighbors.

Eight landfills, all within a half hours drive from our home, this afternoon came home with a small load of propane tanks and half a dozen computer towers.

Now that the snow has gone, I'm waiting from the ground to dry out then I'll be making the rounds to the reservations buying catalytic converters.

My wife when she was alive would often comment, from feast to famine.

Took years to hook up with another good woman, her husband passed away. Art was self employed so she lived the life my wife knew.

No bar flies for me.

 

[alloy_II]

Smelting, I have some ideas that I would like to put into practice, if everyone plays nice I'll consider a dedicated thread.

Or I can keep my notes from my experiments private on my laptop.

When an experiment becomes repeatable it's no longer an experiment.

Pyrometallurgy is a branch of extractive metallurgy. It consists of the thermal treatment of minerals and metallurgical ores and concentrates to bring about physical and chemical transformations in the materials to enable recovery of valuable metals.Wikipedia