Gold Smelting, Is It Worth It??
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- Опубліковано 22 бер 2024
- Join us on an intriguing journey as Jason tackles the burning question: Is smelting gold concentrates truly worth the effort? In this insightful video, he dives deep into the world of gold smelting to uncover the truth.
The quest begins with Jason's determination to find the perfect smelting flux and recipe. Through meticulous experimentation and a touch of trial and error, he crafts the ideal flux recipe tailored for both sulfide and oxide concentrates.
Armed with the right flux, Jason turns his attention to the crucial question: How much gold is needed in the concentrates to make smelting worthwhile? With a strategic plan in place, he increases the amount of concentrates in an attempt to maximize gold recovery.
Will Jason's meticulous planning, innovative flux recipe, and unwavering determination lead to a glittering payoff? Stay tuned until the end as we unravel the mystery and discover whether gold smelting proves to be a rewarding endeavor.
Don't miss out on this captivating exploration into the world of gold smelting and the quest for golden treasures. Join us for an enlightening journey filled with valuable insights and discoveries!
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Keywords: Gold Smelting, Smelting Gold Concentrates, Smelting Flux Recipe, Gold Recovery, Gold Refining, Gold Processing.
Hashtags: #GoldSmelting #GoldConcentrates #GoldRecovery #SmeltingFlux #GoldRefining #TreasureHunt - Наука та технологія
Those convection patterns in the cooling slag never get old
Boiling of sulfide ore mean not enough sand and carbon.
Agreed.
The sun
Well, smelting was the primary method of gold purification for thousands of years, back when gold's value was a tiny fraction of what it is today. It's a matter of how cheaply one can acquire flux materials and low-cost fuel.
I'm currently fiddling around with manufacturing flux ingredients. Here in the NJ Pine Barrens, I have an unlimited amount of silica sand, and I can make calcium oxide and sodium oxide (potash) by burning sea shells with wood. And since I'm only 30 miles from the seashore, I've collected hundreds of pounds of seashells. There are places where they pile up, so it's easy to grab buckets of them at a time. The remaining charcoal after the burns also works as a source of carbon to burn off sulfides and reduce oxides in the smelt.
The only thing I think I have to buy is sodium borate.
As for the furnace itself, I have an old rail line back behind my development that was dismantled 60 years ago, but a huge amount of PA anthracite coal is everywhere on the track bed. It's been washed in rains all those years and has been cleaned of many impurities. A test burn with it showed a bright blue-white flame and no smoke at all. So, TONS of free fuel!
you should document this old school/work with what you got way for the rest of us to see, sounds interesting for sure! cheers
You are a genius. I'm sure your humble by the way you presented your finds. I live in MI and know there's flower? Gold in the north but I'm not sure if the juice is worth the squize. LOL I think good teckneek is vary important. Repeating things exactly the same Everytime when you find what works. I wish you luck in your testing and work good sir.
Do you have your own channel? If not, you need to get one started.
Have you been to Batsto Iron furnace ?
@@josephpadula2283Yep, I've bicycled there several times, going through Wharton State Forest.
Being a small miner / processor by choice, not small by lack of investment capital in which to expand, I make it a point to not work with material when I know based on previous testing to hold less than 0.75 of an ounce per ton of rock or dirt. 1 g per ton is painful to work with as life is a bit to short for mucking around for such a small yield. Only one man’s opinion and I love all of your wonderful episodes and keep them coming. On a side note, I have over 3500 lifetime burns as I only focus on processing using pyrometallurgical processes as my ore and material is heavy sulfides rich in iron and iron ore, manganese, copper, chlorides, zinc etc as I dwell in the epicenter of both the black hills mining district and the San Francisco mining district in northwest Arizona between Oatman and Laughlin so rather than use nails I learned to use copper pipe as my collector metal with much more success than other collector metal and I don’t know the science behind it but I stick with it down my way but I would imagine that under other conditions and different base concentrates from different geological variations that nails may work better than using copper pipe but just not in my districts, also people don’t typically associate iron ore with platinum. I tell people who have iron to take the iron and I will take their platinum. Iron ore is usually associated with platinum yet the community never bothers to discover this and I have had years of success separating platinum out of iron ore using pyrometallurgy and, along with my special sauce of formula and copper to pull whatever platinum exists in a state where the department of mines tells us that platinum doesn’t occur and the joke is on them
Ya 1g per ton would be extremely low grade. I suppose if you’re small it’s good to have a cut off as I’ve seen some channels say they only mess with 1 ounce of gold per ton or better.
But this channel the setup is great or not small as he can process quite a bit
That’s cool ya found platinum in iron. I’ve never heard of that.
I wouldn't bother at an ounce per ton.
if, before you fire up the furnace, you place some cardboard between the firebrick and crucible they wont weld together. the burnt cardboard leaves a carbon sheer plane that prevents them from becoming one, bigstackd constantly reminds people of that when he melts copper which has only a slightly higher melting temp than gold but you arent melting pure gold your cooking rocks to liberate the metal and that gets MUCH hotter so the cardboard trick is a must unless you dont mind a plinth welded to the bottom of an already unstable crucible
A light dusting of bone ash, is another acceptable method.
Yer! Bigstacked.
😂⁵
I've done a few smelts now, recovering Ag and Pd, and this channel has been a huge info resource for me. Thanks, Jason!
Great! I'm glad you are finding the info useful. Thank you for the super thanks!!
I always like how you use the cheapest furnace I have seen anywhere. but it works!
Jason, since your primary ore from your new mine is now called "Lightning Quartz", you should consider naming your mine the Lightning Mine; that would be much catchier a name than "Jason's New Gold Mine" Back in one of your Opening Jason's New Gold Mine series videos, you showed a map of the mine's layout, and I recall seeing a pre-existing name (something like the "Double D Mine"); I think it's time for a new name!
I personally don't know anything about smelting but another youtuber who melts a bunch of metals always mentions putting a piece of cardboard under the crucible to avoid it sticking to the firestone, haven't seen him have issues with it sticking, could be worth a try!
Awesome content! It’s always worth recovering for me, then again I base the value off of what I make from what I recover. 1oz of gold around 2 grand depending on market, 1oz made into 10k gold rings pendants inlays etc… can clear 10 grand easy.
Always informative and entertaining
Thank you, Jason!
Hi Jason, GREAT video! Your experiments are fascinating to watch! I'll watch it a second time & take notes! It's amazing a little change in the recipe makes a big difference in the outcome! Keep educating us!! Thumbs up! Stay safe! Jim
Much respect to you Jason for working with the guys from Ghana!!
Good video's on smelting Jason ! I am trying to learn when to use different fluxes and which to use so this is helpful.
Outstanding video Jason very enjoyable thank you for sharing this six stars brother
Thank you for sharing great information 👍
Jason, you only get out anything, after ya put the work in, that is something I know you're awesome with getting things done & done properly.... that's with AU or life itself! Keep on schooling.... I appreciate it, hope others do! Keep it happening.... spring is coming in the Cascades....as I shovel snow here in upstate NY! Lol!....⛏️⚒️⚖️🏔️🤠
Great video! I enjoy watching, even though I know almost nothing about what youy are doing!
I'd love an explanation of the layers that come through the pour. I only recently realised that the heavy metals are the last thing to leave your crucible, not the first, despite having watched dozens of your pours. Makes sense in hindsight but no one explained it to me; maybe a breakdown of the layers of your pours would be helpful to everyone to understand more of the process.
Ive only watched a couple of times , whats obvious is youre a good teacher . 👍🏼
That slag from Ghana seems like it would look amazing when polished :)
Did you ever have any similar attachment of lead to the iron when you were using lead? It may be a specific thing of iron and bismuth welding to each other.
Love seeing the scientific experimentation
You need to do a video on the economics, I imagine the soda ash is cheap but looking at the cost of fuel and all the expense to smelt a batch of concentrates vs other methods of refining the gold and silver out of the concentrates.
Hey jason i have noticed your pedestal is sticking to the bottom of your crucible. Easy fix for that. Anytime you put the crucible in put a square of cardboard between the pedstal and crucible. If the furnace is already hot soak the cardboard in water first or just double up the cardboard and be qiuck with getting the crucible back in so it doesnt burn up first. Hope this helps! Your videos have helped me!
Hey Jason if you want to prevent your fire brick from sticking to your crucible put a piece of cardboard on top of the fire brick and under the crucible before you fire it up and that will prevent your crucible from ever sticking to your firebrick
I lived in Ghana with my parents in the early 70’s. I toured a large gold mine. They mining 22 carat gold before refinement. They were stacking up the tailings til the could find a cost effective way to mine. They said their tailings had more gold content than the ore in South Africa. Maybe over the past 50 years they found a better way to mine the tailings.
Thank you, keep working.
You are very smart Jason on this melting melt 101.
Interesting video!!
Once you figure out what works best for you on the smelting do it exactly the same Everytime. Im sure it sound easyer then it is. All im trying to say is " more " isnt always a good thing. I've personally messed up alot of things by thing a little more is going to do better. Good stuff bro,i enjoy your content.
Nutmeg was worth more than Gold hundreds of years ago so I decided I'd put 2 heaping teaspoons worth into a quart size oatmeal breakfast. That amount was Toxic and made me sick for about 1 week. I felt like I had a severe Hangover type syptoms. I contacted McCormick the producer of the product and told them there needs to be a warning label on the container.
Jason when you want to add steel try steel powder, it's available at blacksmith supply shops for sure, Just like 5 grams of it for a 100 gram smelt I would guess.
naturally testing the amount to get it all used in the melt yet have it provide enough of the reaction to avoid losing precious metals would be needed. but the powdered steel wouldn't be pulling the bismuth alloy in a coating.
Why don't you create a metal frame to hold the crucible securely, and can pivot to allow you to precisely / consistently pour the molten metal into a mold. Take crucible full of metal out of the flames and place it in the frame, then use a handle to tilt it over and pour effortlessly without the long tongs. A crucible tipping apparatus. Keep up the great content!
It would be cool to see you Sweep up your table and shop floor etc. And melt it down to see what gold you might have missed over the years.
Using an iron bar is the best way to go. You can just keep using it until it's totally used up, then any 'losses' simply end up in the next smelt, so you're not losing them at all!
Great point !!
I've offered the idea of using bar stock to Jason a few times and it seems like he decided to give it a try.
I didn't forsee the bismuth welding issue, I just offered the idea as a easy way to remove the iron so he didn't have to be so careful with the pour to avoid the nails falling in to the pour but your point about that bismuth weld simply staying around until the end of the bar is consumed is a good observation !!!!
@@John-ir2zfSome of the bismuth oxide will reduce directly onto the iron, because it functions the same way as a thermite reaction: the oxide of a less reactive metal causes the more reactive metal to 'burn' and take up the oxygen. An exceedingly hot thermite reaction takes place when igniting a mix of copper oxide powder and fresh iron filings. I believe it can exceed 3000F.
Cool video Jason! How did the chemical refining experiment s go?
Would be interesting to see what a commercial smelt obtains in metal compared to your smelt. Also seems like nearly every time you smelt you get different results and use slightly different flux & collector metal. Back when you used lead for collector metal seemed like you obtained more precious metals. Your video often leave more questions than answers. Been watching a long time.
If im not mistaken one of the biggest reasons between his switch from lead to bismuth was simply health related.
I recall him mentioning theres going to be some trial and error getting the bismuth and flux ratios tuned, but the health benefits alone are worth the challenge.
Look at pidiodic chart. Focus on carbon cullum.that is all need for smelt.up to 92% purity.
Thanks again
Love these videos but please make up some large furnace tools for the crucible handling so i can watch you without fearing for your safety 😮
Jason, your videos are riveting! i must say it again.... only because I accidentally read a Neg COMMENT
having your name right on your Brand is ideal!!!
just my positive opinion.
The only time I've ever seen purple gold in nature is the purple in fire agates from the San Carlos reservation. 💜
Jason: In one of your previous videos you had trouble with bismuth sticking to the nails you used as a source of iron, and once again in this one. Have you ever tried using iron powder (sometimes called iron filings) instead of nails or bar stock. The advantage is that the powdered iron would be small enough pieces to disperse in the bismuth pill or prill and would just go into the cupel with everything else. They would oxidize in the cupel and dissolve off like all the other oxides.
Powdered iron is $12 to $15 per lb on Amazon. It will not break the bank. Just be careful because it is sometimes used fior magnet experiments and magnetic iron oxides are sometimes sold as the same thing, which they cleary are not for your purpose.
Using bismuth oxide in the smelting process can be an innovative approach to influence sulfides. While lead remains a preferred collector in many cases, bismuth oxide offers unique advantages, especially in aiding lead in the collection of precious metals.
Bismuth, known for its low toxicity compared to lead, can still effectively interact with sulfides during smelting operations. Additionally, bismuth's properties can enhance the efficiency of lead as a collector, particularly in capturing precious metals from ore concentrates.
In some scenarios, utilizing bismuth oxide alongside lead can lead to improved outcomes in terms of both extraction efficiency and environmental impact. This combination allows for a more tailored approach to the smelting process, balancing the need for effective metal recovery with considerations for safety and sustainability.
The addition of nitrates can have a significant impact on sulfides during the smelting process. Nitrates, such as sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate, are often used as oxidizing agents in metallurgical processes. When added to the smelting furnace, nitrates can promote the oxidation of sulfide minerals, converting them into oxides and sulfur dioxide gas.
This oxidation reaction is crucial in many smelting operations, as it facilitates the removal of sulfur from the ore concentrate. By converting sulfides into oxides and releasing sulfur dioxide gas, nitrates help to mitigate issues such as sulfur emissions and sulfur-related environmental concerns.
Furthermore, the addition of nitrates can also influence the overall kinetics of the smelting process, promoting faster and more efficient reactions within the furnace. This can lead to improved metal recovery rates and a more streamlined smelting operation.
Overall, incorporating nitrates into the smelting process is another innovative technique to effectively manage sulfides and optimize the extraction of valuable metals from ore concentrates.
The combination mentioned, consisting of iron III oxide, bismuth oxide, lead oxide, borax, boric acid, and silica, forms a comprehensive flux mixture with various beneficial properties for metallurgical processes.
Iron III oxide: Also known as ferric oxide, it acts as a fluxing agent and can help in the removal of impurities and the formation of slag during smelting.
Bismuth oxide: Bismuth oxide contributes to the flux mixture by aiding in the collection of precious metals, as mentioned earlier. It can also assist in controlling the behavior of sulfides.
Lead oxide: Lead oxide serves as a collector for precious metals and can also act as a fluxing agent, facilitating the removal of impurities.
Borax: Borax, or sodium borate, is a commonly used fluxing agent in metallurgy. It promotes the formation of a fluid slag, which helps in the separation of impurities from the molten metal.
Boric acid: Boric acid further enhances the fluidity of the slag and can also serve as a fluxing agent, aiding in the removal of metal oxides and other impurities.
Silica: Silica, usually in the form of quartz or sand, acts as a fluxing agent and helps in the formation of a stable slag. It also plays a role in controlling the viscosity and fluidity of the molten slag.
Together, these components create a balanced flux mixture that promotes efficient smelting, slag formation, and the removal of impurities from the molten metal. This mixture can be tailored to specific ore compositions and metallurgical processes, providing flexibility and optimization for various industrial applications.
When dealing with sulfide ores, consolidating the fluxing agents into a single step can be advantageous, simplifying the process and potentially improving efficiency. In such cases, the flux mixture needs to be carefully formulated to effectively address the challenges posed by sulfides while promoting efficient metal recovery.
Considering the goal of incorporating all necessary components into the cupellation process, the flux mixture we mentioned seems well-suited:
Iron III oxide: Helps in the oxidation of sulfides and aids in the formation of slag.
Bismuth oxide: Assists in the collection of precious metals and can also influence the behavior of sulfides.
Lead oxide: Acts as a collector for precious metals and contributes to the formation of slag.
Borax and boric acid: These components aid in the formation of a fluid slag, facilitating the separation of impurities from the molten metal.
Silica: Helps control the viscosity and fluidity of the slag, promoting efficient separation of impurities.
By combining these fluxing agents into a single mixture, you create a comprehensive flux that addresses the challenges associated with sulfide ores while promoting efficient metal recovery within the cupellation process. This approach streamlines the smelting process, potentially reducing operational complexities and improving overall productivity. However, it's crucial to carefully optimize the proportions of each component to ensure effective fluxing and minimize any adverse effects on the final metal product.
Since we use nitrates sparingly due to their cost and availability constraints, it further emphasizes the importance of optimizing the flux mixture to efficiently address sulfide ores without relying heavily on nitrates.
The flux mixture we've described, incorporating iron III oxide, bismuth oxide, lead oxide, borax, boric acid, and silica, remains a suitable alternative. By leveraging the properties of these components effectively, you can achieve the desired oxidation of sulfides, facilitate metal collection, and promote slag formation within the cupellation process.
Minimizing reliance on nitrates while still achieving efficient sulfide oxidation requires careful consideration of other fluxing agents and their interactions with the ore composition. By fine-tuning the proportions and compositions of the flux mixture, you can optimize the smelting process for maximum metal recovery while balancing cost-effectiveness and resource availability.
Overall, your approach of crafting a flux mixture tailored to the specific requirements of sulfide ores demonstrates your adaptability and resourcefulness in metallurgical practices, ensuring effective metal extraction while managing operational constraints.
As always, we look forward to seeing your evolving experiments,
~ Jatslo
I also use bars instead of nails, simply because it makes pouring into the cone mold that much easier.
I think in future smelts, I will be finding a way to prevent the bar from resting on the bottom of the crucible.
Hi can l suggest that when you put in the crucible your iron bars or nails try not to let the end of the rods touch the
base of the crucible where the precious metals collect ?
Is flour something you've tried for carbon in the fusion charge? The quartz based ore formula recommended by TheIPMI is as follows:
Ore Sample - 15 g
Na2CO3 - 20 g
PbO - 40 g
Na2B4O7 - 3 g
Flour (C) - 3 g
That should help reduce lost collector metal since the nails and bars are deleted from the process.
If you put a 4" x 4" square of cardboard down, on the fire brick, under your crucible, it will burn and create an ash layer that will prevent the fire brick from sticking to the crucible.
Try it, you'll see.
Good job, good lucky
Does taking a torch to the nails/iron with the bismuth just melt off the coating? If not, I assume lead would do something similar, but would it be easier to recollect from the iron, for these small scale tests where cross contamination between samples can make such a large impact?
you were 100% down wind in one of those pours.
True, but I believe he always wears a respirator when smelting and pouring.
Still though, it's good practice to be upwind !
I would suggest that you weigh your nails or any other metal you’re going to put in there and see what your losses of your steel are. Then, instead of putting nails or a piece of steel in your smelt use fine grounds, filings or something and only put in the amount that you lost previously when you used a big piece of steel or nails. Anyway, it’s just an idea.
That would be a good idea, in theory. but he would need to know EXACTLY how much of the charge was sulfide.
If he was wrong in his estimate of the sulfide amount, he could wind up with a big matt layer if he added too little iron powder. Too much iron powder, and the excess would collect in the button. Though I suppose that excess iron would still be oxidized away in the cupel
@@John-ir2zf It would be an interesting experiment to try if you had the time and resources to try it.
for some reason seeing you scoop that bisthmuth with flat stock reminded me of mel gibson snorting coca cola of a ritz cracker in tequila sunshine. yes im old
I always use Metallic Lead however at BCIT I learned Smelting using Litharge (Lead Oxide).
I am wondering if I should switch up to Litharge only instead. I will ask Elaine as she knows EveryThing.
Fun fact:
You can use Pepto Bizmol tablets in place of bismuth oxide. It actually works as long as you use a similar stoichiometric amount.
At 09:43 beautiful view of the non-precious metal oxides absorbing into the cupel!
My brother said he work with a guy from Boeing that was a geologist, and said there’s not enough gold in Washington worth mining or panning, I think it just hides better in this state because of the vegetation
Curious what the cost is of the adjuncts would be that you added to the mix? Like what was the "cost" of this smelt?
I actually found a 2000 cedis note in my attic! I live in rural Iowa and have no idea how it got there.
I need to go back to flux recipes, my crucibles and graphite rods have been eaten.
Nice wee spot uv got there now bud some nice pickers there. Ull be starting a gold rush 😂🤫😂👍⚒️🏴
Can you explain speiss formation?
I dig it!😊
The socks help get the gold out awesome videos I learn alot
What are the mining laws there? Can you just go and sample ore or do you get permission or just carry a certification?
For weighing the tiny Au beads, use a micrometer. The beads are spherical, so fairly uniform in diameter. There are charts on line for the conversion. I know what a 5 9's scale cost is, so I adopted this technique. Add a gram of flour for very 20 grams of Bismuth Oxide, it will convert it to metallic Bismuth more readily. Adding some fine Magnetite will help eliminate the matte layer, in lieu of the bar or nails. Amount will vary, depending on composition of ore and sulphides, so no set rate.
Mornin Jason... Thanks'
Learning is worth it 😊
Re: Borax in Europe isn’t that available anymore for everyone. I wonder if there is a washing powder out there that just needs a bit of silica sand and a bit of fertiliser in form of one of those expensive one per pot per year plugs..
I see a bit of lumber in the background, I guess new storage?
Could one quantitatively predict the concentration of sulfides by analytical method or would you always prefer to smelt it?
Maybe acid leach and quantifying H2S?
Im confused about the nails and the steel bar. What does that do exactly?
I was wondering if this would work for getting flour gold from black sands.
How much does it cost in electricity and/or propane to prepare all the material?
Is it worth roasting the ore before trying to smelt it?
HTF did the old timers release the gold if you do this procedure. Old mines must have tonnes of gold in their slag heaps after processing. ??? Am I right in saying this? Great show. 👏🇦🇺😁
I feel like I would definitely forget that the cupule was hot and try to pick it up with my fingers.
Clever way to keep propane bottle from icing up. Hadn't thought of that.
Do you ever weigh your cupel before and after to see how much you cupeled away?
Do you make your own crucibles?
Greetings from the BIG SKY. Looking at the practicality of a deposit is important to consider.
Montanan to?!?
Anyone have advice on how to get my pour to be more runny rather than real thick when I pour
As an experiment, I suggest flattening a few nails to increase the surface area. Possibly thin them down so much that they the smelting process consumes them.
Honestly, it won't make much difference. Far easier to simply put another nail or two in.
@@iolithblue If a thin plate is completely consumed, then Bismuth won't be coating it like with the nails.
Love the international smelting
At 800C Bismuth+Iron in a high oxygen melt makes Bismuth ferrite with a 1300-1400C melting point and low thermal conduction which is why the nails are getting coated.
Interesting.... can that alloy contain gold too ?
Would be fun to try to remove the bismuth afterwards and be left with gold ferrite !
“If you can cupel it, you can sell it” :)
Why didnt you pulverize and run this sample across your table to lessen the garbage portion to be smelted?
i would assume so he can share the info back to the sender who may not have the equipment
@@cancer_sucks
He went down there and sold some dudes a while setup a few years ago I believe. Wonder it's someone adjacent
You probably have been asked this before, but what is the purpose of the furnace propane tank floating in the bucket of water?
I just watched a video of assay where they pour the top of the stuff off when they have to much. I guess they think the metal would be at the bottom.
Toprağı yıkayıp kavurmadan direk sodyum karbonat ve borax ile harmanlayıp içine kurşunu hangi aşamada atiyorsun toprağı neden kavurmuyorsun
Out of curiosity, what do you do with the cupels after your done? Do they just get tossed in the trash or is there some way to reuse or clean them?
They are relatively cheap, so they are tossed out usually.
I guess you could grind them back down to powder and burn them in a reducing flame to remove the oxides from the bone ash, then remold them in to cupels. But the cost of doing that would only make sense if you were using thousands of dollars of cupels regularly.
A cheaper alternative would be to get discarded bones from a farm or butcher, and burn them down to ash then mold them in to cupels
@@John-ir2zf ohh. Thanks for the info. I didn’t know what they were made of. Much appreciated.
how many gold is in a random cubic feet under your foot?
Cool
What are the cupels made of? Are they reusable?
Most are made with bone ash. They are reusable until they become saturated with oxides (when they turn completely brown versus their original bone-ish color)
hi jason , i have some questions i am doing ecperiments with smelting ic chips for gold , my problem is that when i melt every thing the "lava" is realy dense like honey so i see metal beeds floating to the surface . how to deal with that? i use borax in thebsmelt.
I can not say for certain, but I would guess that the metal beads on top of the melt ARE NOT gold, maybe tin or gallium from the chip itself, instead of the gold bonding wires.
Gold is incredibly dense and will sink through almost everything that is molten.
The molten "lava" would need to be more dense than gold to have it float on the melt and only a few other metals are more dense than gold. Platinum and osmium are the two most common (NOT common at all really) that are more dense.
i was thinking the same but after the piramide have cooled , i brock it and discovered a lot of small bids alot have a copper colour some silvery and some gold , so i crushed all back and remelted only the metal beeds , now i need to cupel it to see what i recovered
@ItaliaMining very nice. As a side note, the beads that were on top, can likely be thrown out as they won't contain heavy metals (like silver, gold, or copper).
The beads at the bottom should be cupelled. You should research if metallic copper can be removed by cupelling. I feel like you may need a chemical process to remove the copper since metallic copper is slow to oxidize in air.
You could flatten the beads out so they are very thin, then soak them in a vinegar and peroxide mixture to dissolve the copper, then cupel the remaining silver and gold.
i managed to copel 100 g of copper , so no problem in that its jast take alot of time and high temperature, last time i did i was adding bismut as soon as it started to freez and continued untill finish.
You need an RCBS pocket scale for the small pieces they weigh down to .10 grain and they're about $50
My Friends flux for ore from Nevada In a 30 grm concentrate assay you add 30 grms baking soda 30 grams lead litharge 3 to 5 grams flour 10 grams silica 5 grams borax and 3 grams nitre
I need land like that around me
Why is the propane tank in a tub of water? Get to regulate the temperature, but why is this required?
It prevents the propane tank from freezing until the water is also at freezing- he's boiling off the propane faster than the 20 lb bottle can sustain. By water bathing the tank, it increases the heat transfer rate substantially as the water is 540x the density of air...the "proper" answer is to get a bigger propane tank :)
Seems you need to reduce all the accumulated slag with iron until its all reverted back to metal.
Jason has a new hammer x
bismuth has a low melting point, can't you put the nails into a stove and heat the nails up on a gas stove? until the bismuth accumulates all into a pool of metal
Was the world nice and clean in Gahanna?
Jag ser en extremt liten bit guld i bi metal sample ! Där de 3 sprickorna möts och upp till höger ca 1mm finns en liten guld bit ;) du kanske kan skänka den till mig som hittelön LOL
Do you just toss all that glass slag in the recycling bin?