Gold & Precious Metals Recovery Cupellation Experiments On MBMM Motherboard Grindings
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- Опубліковано 5 січ 2023
- Here I continue to experiment with processing some ground up computer motherboard material that came from Jason at MBMM. I finally get the lead cupelled down that I used to wash precious metals off the MBMM motherboard material, with no more major bloopers. This material belongs to my friend Ken in BC Canada. He sent a bunch of motherboards to Jason at MBMM to be ground up in his hammer mills and separated on his shaker table. This is basically all the metals that were contained in the motherboards, including gold, silver an other precious metals. My task is to try to find a way to recover those valuable metals. Links below to Jason at MBMM processing similar material. Please visit mdpub.com/UrbanGoldMining/inde... for more information.
Here are some videos of Jason at MBMM grinding similar material:
• Pure Metal Recovered F...
• Pulverizing Electronic...
Materials and equipment used in these videos:
Lot of 6 - # 10 Mabor Cupel 2-3/8" amzn.to/3Wy6FTb
Kaowool Ceramic Fiber Insulation, 1" Thick amzn.to/3QyCbwB
High Density Graphite Conical Assay Mold amzn.to/3KMx9vc
Lynn Manufacturing Insulating Fire Brick amzn.to/3B96vYS
26" MegaCast™ Crucible Flask Tongs amzn.to/3qbBC0U
80000 BTU Propane Gas Forge Furnace Burner amzn.to/3AQnxLk
Digital Scale, Lan Sheng 200g x 0.01g Gram Scale amzn.to/3cURRMJ
Leather Forge/Welding Gloves Heat/Fire Resistant amzn.to/3cMUccL
Full Face Shield Heavy Duty Clear Face Shield amzn.to/3RuuuZc
#3 4KG MegaCast™, Foundry Clay Graphite Crucibles amzn.to/3DzNLEn
2lb Sulfur Powder Fine Reagent Grade amzn.to/3hv2bgx
5 Lbs 80 Oz Anhydrous Borax amzn.to/3hwbWeo
Duda Energy 5 lb. Sodium Nitrate 99+% Pure amzn.to/3N6vC4d
Good Morning Mike, Thinking out loud: If you cupel it and get a nice bead - you're still going to separate the metals in the bead to figure out how much of each you got. Put it in acid & get the gold. Save the time, a little cupel, & propane for another project! Glad to see the old crucible worked as a cupel! I've had good luck using portland cement - just never did a button as big as yours. Have a great day, Jim
Hi. Its way too hot for starters, shouldn't be bubbling like how it was at the start.
Whenever I cupel things in my furnace, I get it hot, open the lid, then turn of the burner and let it sit/let fresh air into the kiln and repeat. I find if you leave it running, it uses up all the oxygen and cupellation will take forever. But if you get it molten then turn off the flame and keep the lid open, it goes much faster. For me, it’s ideal to keep it molten and keep the lid off. I also like to use the blower side of my shop vac to blow air over the top of the furnace and that helps tremendously as well.
Thanks again for this very nice experiment, Mike.
I think the bubbling you had in the crucible cupel was due to moisture and not trapped air. I'd heat up the loose cement to around 450-500°F and hold it there for an hour at a minimum to make sure you drive off as much moisture as possible Just like when I do casting with plaster molds you HAVE to get all the water out of it first before you even consider letting molten metal touch it. And while I have not done it myself I have seen where people have a second air tube inlet in their furnace to allow them to add more oxygen without affecting the flame itself. That might help speed up the oxidation. But seeing the amount you started with and that you're under a half gram and STILL haven't cleaned it up I'm really beginning to think there have been a lot of losses along the way. Not to say you've done anything wrong though. this stuff happens with trial and error. That's why I like to go back to tried and true methods when dealing with an unknown. Figure out what's there first and then find alternate ways to get it out. I know it's not what most people would do (or want to hear) but I still think you're best bet is to do an HCl soak first to get rid of any tin, zinc or aluminium and then work on what is left. When you have such a hodgepodge of metals all mixed together like this it's never going to be a simple 123 process. But I do commend you on this. You really are giving it the old college try and not backing down.
I just remembered all the failures from the last video! I was feeling bad for you.
I watched the MBMM video where Jason ground up whole boards before it went on the shaker table. The amounts of PMs in those boards was small considering the volume of base metals.
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Yes, redo them with a little more lead. Love your vids.
Cupel them more together. Dont know about oxide absorbtion in cupels, but maybe there was zinc and tin oxides that use up more than lead oxides?
Lead oxide is being blocked from the cement by the graphite crucible.
proceed by doing what you stated....add the results to about 30g additional pure lead and cupel with lid cracked at a constant temp no greater than 1750 F I believe is what I was told. I use an electric muffle furnace and have yet to get a cupellation process that works even remotely close to what I learn from here on youtube. My guess is impurities just as you suggested, so try and refine them again? Looking forward to seeing the next video.
I was wondering if the oven you got in your last pickup video would go high enough to use for this process. I know lead melts a little over 600 degrees but not sure how hot it would need to be for this. Maybe shoot Jason at mbmm an email to see if he would be kind enough to give you some pointers. Love the experiments keep up the great content.
You can but one now you got that new job
Still learning here , but this is what I think I know ;)
I have no expierience with this, but I do watch Jason a lot. Jason says Copper is hard to cupel. motherboards have loads of copper ofcourse
Not all the way finished.. it WILL BE A BEAD IF ITS DONE
I was and am so behind on watching your videos!
Does adding an air supply help?
Dont buy a electric furnace as they continually break down, i have been doing precious metals recovery for alot of years and the best thing i ever did was buy a gas furnace !