Suggestions for getting sulfide-bound gold from iron ore?

[minedog]

So wait, back up. On roasting ore because Ive never done this either. You treat with acid. muratic acid? Or what type? and how longdoes the rock stay in the acid bath? Ill assume you crush it first. Then you roast it? Did I get that right?

 

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[jair]

If you are going to try this , look up as much info as you can and make sure you understand the risk . There is risk and bad ones if you do not under stand what you are doing and the proper way to do this . Research , Research , Research . Always caution , caution , caution ,

 

[ca.miner]

Fools gold is a sulfide. Chalcopyrite is a sulfide. Looks like gold. But not. Shatters on in-packed. Can sometimes have a Crystal like shape. .

 

[jair]

Pyrite also . We have an old gold mine that was ran until the 90's and shut down do to the cost . And it was a large mine pulling pyrite sulfides with gold .

 

[pczim]

So wait, back up. On roasting ore because Ive never done this either. You treat with acid. muratic acid? Or what type? and how longdoes the rock stay in the acid bath? Ill assume you crush it first. Then you roast it? Did I get that right?

Nitric acid

 

[jair]

Yes put nitric acid on it . Hard to see good color but looks to me as if it were gold with a lot of silver in it . If a lot of silver the nitric acid may most likely turn milky . But either way if you locate where it came from your still into some thing we all wish we had .
Very good find and wish you only the best .

 

[hvacker]

I watched a "How it Works" episode showing leaching copper from ore. The ore with iron was put through a ball mill until pebble size, moved to a flat area with some kind of ground barrier and sprayed with sulfuric acid. Didn't say what concentration or how long. Their intent was to put the copper in solution where gold wouldn't
While the metal they were after was copper I would think they same system would work with gold. If someone knows chime in. You probably want to avoid the gold going into solution like aqua regina would do.

 

[djui5]

Copper, silver, and gold all melt at different temperatures. Gold, in its natural state can be removed from rocks by a number of means. Unless you're prepared to work with deadly and toxic chemicals, then I'd suggest you just crush the ore into as much of a powder as you can and pan it out, or run it through a blue bowl/table.

Nitric acid is very very toxic, and can destroy your lungs as well as your brain. There are ways to chemically process Gold and Silver out of rocks with chemicals, but it's very dangerous and time consuming. You would have to be shown by someone who knows how. Do not mess around with this stuff.

I think ink in your case the best bet would be to crush up the rocks as much as possible, then put them into an iron skillet and apply direct heat via a propane torch. Eventually all of the contaminants will burn off, including sulphur which smells like matches or rotten eggs. Then you can soak the mixture overnight with hydrochloric acid, the stuff you put in pools. Rinse it off very very well the next day, 3 rinses at least. Then with rubber gloves you can pan it out. The hydrocloric acid will dissolve some other contaniments that didn't burn off. Any Gold you miss after this process is Gold you can't retreive without a lengthy chemical process.

 

[Disfunctional]

I don't know if you have a rock crusher to get your material down to a more manageable size, but once you have it down to an half inch or less, the information from these Gpex forum posts should help. No mercury and minimal acids. Just vinegar, salt, (likely not iodized, probably sea salt), and heat to about 1000°F before using cool, or cold water to shock the concentrates.

When I get set up this summer I'm looking to build a rod mill and maybe a roll mill too.


ROASTING BLACK SAND
GPEX ARCHIVE
See post by mrscience, but you might want to read all of both these forum topics and download the pdf file mentioned in the second thread topic on rod mills.

Roasting black sand to extract fine gold?

Gpex Forum:
Rod Mill
http://gpex.ca/smf/index.php?topic=15867.0

Note: Don't waste your time hunting on Google for diy rod mills, or most any other mining related device, as a website from India has been spamming the search results.


Good luck!

 

[Maxlfty]

The Indian spam is the worst. You


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[fatman45]

Appreciate all the comments. Sounds like I'm over-thinking this problem. Next question. How do I find a reputable assay company?

By way of an update, Chapman's flux has helped me better id how much gold is in this ore, a lot more than I anticipated. Unfortunatley, I still can't cleanly separate it from all the iron. I didn't realize how humbling this process can be!

Chapman's flux helps pull our the gold but still leaves it swirled in glass. In part, I need to make the melt less viscous. I'm sure there is more to the problem, however.

Regards,
Mark

The U.S. Bureau of Mines rates various assay labs periodically. Action Mining has consistently ranked among the best. You need to tell them that you have a heavy sulfide ore as there is a special flux that must be used plus additional steps. They also sell flux (and other assay supplies) including sulfide flux. You have to add a steel nail or two to your crucible along with the sulfide flux and your ore in order to get an accurate assay. As others have said, crushing, roasting - 900-1000 degrees for a couple of hours - you'll know when it's done because you'll start to see visible gold (if your sample is good!). I've used a wood fire - crush the ore in my cast iron mortar and pestle then put it directly into the coals and let it go until it cools.

 

[Shunkaha]

Don't even mess with the acids unless you have fume hoods and a way to dispose of the waste. And you need to crush or pulverise that material to a powder. Not pea size but a powder. Do you have money to invest in this process. Cause if you do, you should get a jaw crusher.




Like this:

Again, I wouldn't mess around with the acids unless you know what you're doing and have the facilities to deal with it. Especially the waste of it. You shouldn't just dump that stuff down the drain.

 

[Maxlfty]

Should all Quartz be roasted? Or just stuff sulfides?

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[fatman45]

Should all Quartz be roasted? Or just stuff sulfides
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"Normal" quartz with "free-milling" gold doesn't need to be roasted first.

 

[djui5]

"Normal" quartz with "free-milling" gold doesn't need to be roasted first.

+1, just crush and pan

 

[Maxlfty]

Cool thanks for the replies. Lots of black sand and pyrite in the few samples I have collected.


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[Aufish]

Some folks believe that mercury causes significant damage to health and environment and as such it is banned in some countries.

I'm sorry... your implying that mercury is safe to be around in any form?

 

[specksandflecks]

I'm sorry... your implying that mercury is safe to be around in any form?

Tragic story of a guy getting hit by a bus. The bus had fluorescent lights which contained mercury, though that wasn't what killed him....

 

[specksandflecks]

Fools gold is a sulfide. Chalcopyrite is a sulfide. Looks like gold. But not. Shatters on in-packed. Can sometimes have a Crystal like shape. View attachment 1105418.

Am I correct in thinking that fools gold can sometimes contain sulfide bonded? gold? What an ironic paradox that would be!

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

Tragic story of a guy getting hit by a bus. The bus had fluorescent lights which contained mercury, though that wasn't what killed him....

Sounds like a free speech issue. Selective?