How much should I pay for reclaimed mercury?
- Thread starter Snarkie
- Start date
rebel003
Full Member
Unless you’re planning on building a new thermometer you should pass. Take years you learn and the right equipment to be safe. Besides wrong type anyway.
just my opinion..
just my opinion..
AUDuke
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As long as its clean there is no differences between Tstat mercury and any other kind. Look on the commodities to see what it is selling for, the price is for a 76 lb flask.
Hoser John
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Jason in Enid
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rebel003 said:
Wrong type of WHAT? Mercury is an element.
apothecaryjames
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Jason in Enid said:
they like the old therm. that go up your ass haha
rebel003
Full Member
I was refuring to charged mercury for gold recovery, from what i have been told that thermostat mercury is not charged. below is from someone else more versed in amalgamation. here is the link to the site also; http://webpages.charter.net/kwilliams00/bcftp/docs/mercury.htm
First thing is that I don’t like the term "charged mercury" but since I can’t think of a better one, we will use it. Now we all understand amalgamation, right? We also understand that gold is not the only metal that will form amalgams with mercury. Mercury will form an amalgam with two other metals of interest. Sodium or potassium. Doesn’t matter which, they are very similar and for our purposes it doesn’t matter which you use. "Charged mercury" is nothing more than a mercury/sodium amalgam. The trick is how do we make it? O.K., you could just take some sodium metal and drop little chunks of into hot mercury. However, there are two things wrong with that procedure. First, dumping anything into hot mercury is a little hazardous since it tends to make little mini-explosions. Second, sodium is a metal, white, very soft, can cut it with a knife, it would be a little hard to lay your hands on. It’s not a common material. Also, you would have to store it under oil or kerosene because water vapor in the air will cause it to burn. It reacts violently with water and can cause explosions. Not to worry, there is a better way. There are many ways to skin a cat. The problem is that first you must catch the cat. We got him! Actually, a gentleman/scientist named Faraday caught the cat for us. If I can paraphrase Faradays Law it states in effect that for every 28.6 ampere/ hrs of current you can deposit 1 mole of metal (in the case of sodium, 23 grams) from solution onto the cathode of an electrolytic cell. Well that certainly is impressive. So, what does it mean to us? It gives us a way to produce all the sodium amalgam that we want cheaply and easily. This will be discussed in detail later. What can this "magic mercury" do for us? Sodium amalgam is one of the strongest reducing agents known to science. If you take a metal oxide such as common rust (iron oxide) and you "reduce" it you will end up with metallic iron and oxygen. Sodium amalgam will cause this reaction to occur. It is the absolute best rust remover that you could ever devise. It will also reduce other materials such as zinc, magnesium, manganese, sulfides, etc. This ‘charged mercury" or mercury amalgam will always be mirror bright and shiny with no yellow film of mercuric oxide floating on the surface. In order for mercury to amalgamate with gold the two metals must be able to come in contact with each other. If either the mercury or the gold has a coat of anything on it you will never get it to amalgamate. It’s like the gold is enclosed in little plastic bags. They just can’t get together. Now the mercury surface is perfectly clean due to the reaction of the sodium with the water. When this stuff touches a particle of gold which has it’s own coat of iron or other metallic oxide or sulfide, it will immediately reduce that too, leaving only the fine powder metal that will wash away leaving a nice clean gold surface just waiting to be amalgamated by the mercury which is also present. One thing that the amalgam will not remove is oil/grease. For that you will have to use a detergent. When you get some of this stuff and put it in water you will note that it fizzes giving off hydrogen gas. That is why it works. As we said before, sodium reacts with water. What we have done is to make a sodium battery. When the fizzing stops it means that all the sodium has reacted and it is now "discharged" to ordinary mercury. Now you must re-charge it.
First thing is that I don’t like the term "charged mercury" but since I can’t think of a better one, we will use it. Now we all understand amalgamation, right? We also understand that gold is not the only metal that will form amalgams with mercury. Mercury will form an amalgam with two other metals of interest. Sodium or potassium. Doesn’t matter which, they are very similar and for our purposes it doesn’t matter which you use. "Charged mercury" is nothing more than a mercury/sodium amalgam. The trick is how do we make it? O.K., you could just take some sodium metal and drop little chunks of into hot mercury. However, there are two things wrong with that procedure. First, dumping anything into hot mercury is a little hazardous since it tends to make little mini-explosions. Second, sodium is a metal, white, very soft, can cut it with a knife, it would be a little hard to lay your hands on. It’s not a common material. Also, you would have to store it under oil or kerosene because water vapor in the air will cause it to burn. It reacts violently with water and can cause explosions. Not to worry, there is a better way. There are many ways to skin a cat. The problem is that first you must catch the cat. We got him! Actually, a gentleman/scientist named Faraday caught the cat for us. If I can paraphrase Faradays Law it states in effect that for every 28.6 ampere/ hrs of current you can deposit 1 mole of metal (in the case of sodium, 23 grams) from solution onto the cathode of an electrolytic cell. Well that certainly is impressive. So, what does it mean to us? It gives us a way to produce all the sodium amalgam that we want cheaply and easily. This will be discussed in detail later. What can this "magic mercury" do for us? Sodium amalgam is one of the strongest reducing agents known to science. If you take a metal oxide such as common rust (iron oxide) and you "reduce" it you will end up with metallic iron and oxygen. Sodium amalgam will cause this reaction to occur. It is the absolute best rust remover that you could ever devise. It will also reduce other materials such as zinc, magnesium, manganese, sulfides, etc. This ‘charged mercury" or mercury amalgam will always be mirror bright and shiny with no yellow film of mercuric oxide floating on the surface. In order for mercury to amalgamate with gold the two metals must be able to come in contact with each other. If either the mercury or the gold has a coat of anything on it you will never get it to amalgamate. It’s like the gold is enclosed in little plastic bags. They just can’t get together. Now the mercury surface is perfectly clean due to the reaction of the sodium with the water. When this stuff touches a particle of gold which has it’s own coat of iron or other metallic oxide or sulfide, it will immediately reduce that too, leaving only the fine powder metal that will wash away leaving a nice clean gold surface just waiting to be amalgamated by the mercury which is also present. One thing that the amalgam will not remove is oil/grease. For that you will have to use a detergent. When you get some of this stuff and put it in water you will note that it fizzes giving off hydrogen gas. That is why it works. As we said before, sodium reacts with water. What we have done is to make a sodium battery. When the fizzing stops it means that all the sodium has reacted and it is now "discharged" to ordinary mercury. Now you must re-charge it.
AUDuke
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Thats a lot more information than some one wanting to do a little almalgating needs to know. I started using mercury 50 yrs ago to recover gold,. I never had any problems. I guess it was a good thing I never knew all of that stuff, it may not have worked for me. Most placer gold coming out of the creek is clean enough to almagamate. Dilute acid can be used to clean mercury and gold.
DanB
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- Oct 23, 2007
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Here is the link where to buy the sodium......in AZ we can buy over the counter.....some fun stuff.......everything on this page can be purchased openly and freely.....any quantity....These products are TOTALLY ILLEGAL in the communist state of the republic of Calistan..(Ca.).. Please check your states laws.....they vary from state to state......
http://www.colemantyler.com/products.php?cat=271
db
http://www.colemantyler.com/products.php?cat=271
db
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Snarkie
Jr. Member
- Thread starter
- #10
Hi everyone-
Thanks for all your replies.
I do understand the difference between charged mercury and the regular stuff, however, the regular can be charged fairly easily.
That wasn't my question though. My question was that I know someone who has a bunch of reclaimed mercury and he's alomost on his deathbed, and I want to buy it from him before he kicks the bucket, so what do I offer per pound?
There's not a huge market for this stuff, so I should have the advantage, right?
Thanks for all your replies.
I do understand the difference between charged mercury and the regular stuff, however, the regular can be charged fairly easily.
That wasn't my question though. My question was that I know someone who has a bunch of reclaimed mercury and he's alomost on his deathbed, and I want to buy it from him before he kicks the bucket, so what do I offer per pound?
There's not a huge market for this stuff, so I should have the advantage, right?
DanB
Hero Member
- Oct 23, 2007
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Honestly......I would charge the guy to remove it...it is a hazardous material.....you would be going him a big favor by relieving him of it....but....if you were to flip him some cash.....$50 is fair....be careful some states require that you have a safety data sheet of the material on hand if you are storing it,,,,,I know for a fact AZ dose require you to have a safety data sheet on hand for any hazardous material.......I.e. Mercury Nitric acid and other harmful products
that's my 2 penny's worth....
db
that's my 2 penny's worth....
db
AUDuke
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DanB said:
DanB
Hero Member
- Oct 23, 2007
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I don't approve of the misquoted text that was copied from the above article....somebody humorously changed my wordage.....
if you would like... I would be glad to post a MSDS of the hazardous materials list that is required when one wishes to be on the correct side of the current states policy on the handling and proper storage of said material.......
NOT every person with a rectal thermometer is required to have a MSDS on hand......but if you have enough for amalgamating gold......then you are required to do so.....ignorance of the local laws are no excuse for ridicule.
db
if you would like... I would be glad to post a MSDS of the hazardous materials list that is required when one wishes to be on the correct side of the current states policy on the handling and proper storage of said material.......
NOT every person with a rectal thermometer is required to have a MSDS on hand......but if you have enough for amalgamating gold......then you are required to do so.....ignorance of the local laws are no excuse for ridicule.
db
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