Testing materials and extraction process questions

[oidium45]

Hello everyone,
This might be a bit unusual for the forum but I was at an estate sale a few weeks ago and found some unmarked vials containing what I immediately spotted as heavies with gold. I also got a pile of books (23 of them) on finding gold and a few jars of mercury. It was a really good find since I paid $4 for the whole box of stuff. Along with the vials there was one labeled "from melting pot AU". I am trying to determine a good way to #1 figure out if it is really gold and #2 determine the best way to get it down to a button. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Attached are some photographs of the finds including the vial in question. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I have included photos of the other finds just to share. Each vial with heavies and gold is pictured both in the vial and in a pan.

Vial in question.



Books.


Jars of Mercury.



Three vials of heavies and gold.




Three vials of heavies and gold (in a pan)

 

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[AnnaMountain]

If you’re really wanting to melt it all down into a button, you’ve got a few steps depending on the material. Any of the “heavies” that haven’t been fully classified and panned, do so. With the heavies panned, go ahead and “roast” them if they appear to have material other than gold/silver in them. To do this there are many methods, but I put mine in a pan on top of a Kwik Kiln. You need a gas mask and gloves for this, and ideally a vent hood, as you’ll be burning off some nasties.

If it appears as if you have nearly perfect gold/silver flakes, you can skip the steps above, and just go straight to buying your kiln, crucible, conical mold, and maybe some other molds of your choosing. Plenty of stuff available online these days. From there, I’d recommend buying some good gold flux - again plenty of sources for that.

From there you’re going to basically mix your concentrates and flux about 50/50 - YMMV. You’re going to warm up your kiln, warm up your crucible, and warm up your molds. Then you’re going to put your mixture into the crucible, pop it into the kiln, put the lid on, and watch your heat and mixture. Depending on your gas (I recommend MAP), you’re looking at maybe 20 minutes depending on size of kiln and mixture, and you should be ready to pour that bad boy out into your CONICAL mold.

Once you’ve got that, you’ll crack the slag off of your metal. If you don’t like the shape it’s in after that, you can re-melt (typically without flux) and re-pour into another mold of your choosing.

Safety equipment - face shield, boots, welding gloves, tongs, gas mask, etc. all required for any of this to be done. Even if you are just crushing rock, you should be wearing a mask.

Hope that helps and good luck!

 

[rgb1]

one thing i noticed no caution on mercury it can be very dangerous ! it can be absorbed thru the skin and will gas even if covered with water use in open air or under a hood if heated it will disapear into the air as a gas it will kill you always handle with caution rgb1

 

[galenrog]

Your question would be better answered on any of the mining or refining forums. While you may get some good advice here, you will have to sift through a lot of fluff to find it. If you do not understand ALL safety procedures, and follow them zealously, you could easily destroy your lungs, or better yet, die.

Time for more coffee.

 

[Al D]

This is what you need