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Offline HobbyistTopic starter
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« Reply #10 on: December 13, 2010, 09:42:33 pm »
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Yup Jim, been scouring 3 gold prospecting/refining websites. Tons of info and lots to learn, but I'm sticking with the basics for the time being.  Smiley

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"Gold rides an iron horse." (Old prospector Homefire)

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« Reply #11 on: December 23, 2010, 07:56:31 pm »
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One of the best posts in this forum. This should be stapled or saved somewhere so it doesn't get buried.

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« Reply #12 on: June 18, 2012, 07:59:15 pm »
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This video shows the process of using borax:

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Gold extraction with BORAX for small-scale miners - Rather Rich & Healthy than Poor & Poiesioned


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"Gold rides an iron horse." (Old prospector Homefire)

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« Reply #13 on: June 18, 2012, 08:58:57 pm »
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Cool Video there.

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« Reply #14 on: June 18, 2012, 10:27:00 pm »
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Im still waiting on mermaids, no mermaids here.

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« Reply #15 on: June 18, 2012, 10:49:13 pm »
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They live in Florida.   They call them Manities!    LOL

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« Reply #16 on: June 18, 2012, 11:56:00 pm »
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No kraken, sirens, stone legless turtles and knights of the gold-plated parallelogram here too; Just info for the artisanal prospector. Smiley



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"Gold rides an iron horse." (Old prospector Homefire)

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« Reply #17 on: August 16, 2012, 03:57:43 pm »
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Ok, I have to comment on this topic. While the video and basic information is fine, it only addresses the final processing and smelting of the gold. That is not where the real problem in using mercury exists. In the rock mill or amalgamation we have typically added 1 to 5 lbs of mercury, and none is lost to the environment. In the panning  of super concentrates, typically a few grams are used, and again none is lost to the environment. In both these cases, care is taken to not come into direct contact with the mercury, any accumulated mercury is kept covered by water, and work is performed outside with plenty of ventilation.

The real problem in using mercury is the losses of the mineral to the environment. A typical native run operation here in Ecuador operating a single washplant may load the plant with 20 - 30 lbs of mercury. The locals habit of running too high a flow of water to facilitate the habit of forcing as much material through the plant as is possible results in huge losses of mercury. They of course lose most of the gold going through the plant as well.

Those of us here introducing more modern and efficient mining methods are doing our best to wean the locals off the use of mercury. I am not a proponent of using mercury, but I am not afraid of it like so many misinformed people seem to be.

Mercury is simply a mineral. Like most anything else, too much contact with it can be harmful. Water can poison you and even kill you if you ingest too much of it. I felt driven to comment on the use of mercury, and specifically this video because though borax can be and in fact is useful in the smelting of gold, it really has nothing to do with the capturing of gold.

I really enjoy these forums, and have read many useful threads. For those who do not know me, I am a small scale commercial gold miner, and have real world hands on experience. Though always open to new ideas, I am required to use methods that produce real world results.





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« Reply #18 on: August 16, 2012, 04:16:32 pm »
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Mercury is NOT a Mineral.

It's a Metal.

In the Gaseous State it is Very Dangerous.  It will Kill you in the long run if not treated right.
  
I have  a Mouth full of silver mercury Amalgam and only shake a bunch of little bits.

If your putting lbs of the stuff in your material your way over doing it.

1/8Th of a oz of Mercury will hold more then 1 oz of gold if tumbled.


I can recover more then 99.99 % of what I use if done right.

Mercury that is.

Don't be messing with what ya don't know about! Amen

Borax does help capture gold.

It Isolates it from other impurities and helps it flow.  Drop.

You have no Idea what your talking about.

If your Melting real fine gold it produces a glass type cover that keeps it from blowing away.

Borax used in a Recirculation system keeps fine gold from floating away.

 Tongue

Borax being semi Inert is quite clean and harmless.

If your using lbs of Mercury your doing something wrong.










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« Last Edit: August 16, 2012, 05:56:23 pm by homefire »
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« Reply #19 on: August 16, 2012, 04:30:36 pm »
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Homefire,

I agree, don't mess with something you know little about.
I like to think I know a bit about Mercury.

Mercury:

Formula:   
Hg
System:   Trigonal   Colour:   Tin white
Lustre:   Metallic
Name:   After the Roman messenger of the gods, Mercurius.


Mercury is officially classed as a mineral species for historical reasons, and also because it is distinctive in its chemical and physical properties. However, because it occurs as a liquid, it does not satisfy the normal criteria to be a valid mineral. It crystallizes at -40 degrees celsius, at which point is forms rhombohedral crystals. It is usually found as small isolated drops associated with cinnabar, but it can also be found as large liquid masses in rock cavities. Mercury is often found, along with cinnabar and other Hg minerals, as a precipitate from hot springs and in volcanic regions. Because of its rarity, it is not often used as an ore of mercury.

Classification of Mercury
IMA status:   Valid - first described prior to 1959 (pre-IMA) - "Grandfathered"
Strunz 8th edition ID:   1/A.02-10
Nickel-Strunz 10th (pending) edition ID:   1.AD.05

1 : ELEMENTS (Metals and intermetallic alloys; metalloids and nonmetals; carbides, silicides, nitrides, phosphides)
A : Metals and Intermetallic Alloys
D : Mercury-amalgam family
Dana 7th edition ID:   1.1.10.1
Dana 8th edition ID:   1.1.7.1

1 : NATIVE ELEMENTS AND ALLOYS
1 : Metals, other than the Platinum Group
Hey's CIM Ref.:   1.12

1 : Elements and Alloys (including the arsenides, antimonides and bismuthides of Cu, Ag and Au)
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Occurrences of Mercury
Geological Setting:   In low temperature hydrothermal deposits associated with hot springs.
Physical Properties of Mercury
Lustre:   Metallic
Diaphaneity (Transparency):   Opaque
Colour:   Tin white
Streak:   Could not be powdered
Hardness Data:   Could not be measured
Fracture:   None observed
Density (measured):   13.596 g/cm3
Comment:   For liquid
Crystallography of Mercury
Crystal System:   Trigonal
Class (H-M):   3m (3 2/m) - Hexagonal Scalenohedral
Space Group:   R3m {R3 2/m}
Cell Parameters:   a = 3.463Å, c = 6.706Å
Ratio:   a:c = 1 : 1.936
Unit Cell Volume:   V 69.65 ų (Calculated from Unit Cell)
Z:   3
Morphology:   liquid globules or spheres
X-Ray Powder Diffraction:   
d-spacing      Intensity
no data      (
Chemical Properties of Mercury
Formula:   
Hg
Essential elements:   Hg
All elements listed in formula:   Hg
Analytical Data:   Usually pure with a little gold or silver
Empirical Formula:   
Hg
Common Impurities:   Au,Ag
Relationship of Mercury to other Species
Common Associates:   
Terlinguaite   Metacinnabar   Eglestonite   Cinnabar   Calomel
Related Minerals - Nickel-Strunz Grouping):

- +   
1.AD.10   Belendorffite   
Cu   
 
7
Hg   
 
6
1.AD.10   Kolymite   
Cu   
 
7
Hg   
 
6
1.AD.15c   Eugenite   
Ag   
 
11
Hg   
 
2
1.AD.15b   Luanheite   
Ag   
 
3
Hg
1.AD.15d   Moschellandsbergite   
Ag   
 
2
Hg   
 
3
1.AD.15a   Paraschachnerite   
Ag   
 
3
Hg   
 
2
1.AD.15a   Schachnerite   
Ag   
 
1.1
Hg   
 
0.9
1.AD.20a   Weishanite   
(Au,Ag)   
 
3
Hg   
 
2
1.AD.20b   Goldamalgam (of Chen et al.)   
(Au,Ag)Hg
1.AD.25   Potarite   
PdHg
1.AD.30   Leadamalgam   
HgPb   
 
2
Related Minerals - Hey's Index Grouping:

- +   
1.1   Copper   
Cu
1.2   Silver   
Ag
1.5   Gold   
Au
1.6   Auricupride   
Cu   
 
3
Au
1.7   Tetra-auricupride   
AuCu
1.8   Zinc   
Zn
1.9   Cadmium   
Cd
1.10   Danbaite   
CuZn   
 
2
1.11   Zhanghengite   
CuZn
1.13   Kolymite   
Cu   
 
7
Hg   
 
6
1.14   Moschellandsbergite   
Ag   
 
2
Hg   
 
3
1.15   Eugenite   
Ag   
 
11
Hg   
 
2
1.16   Schachnerite   
Ag   
 
1.1
Hg   
 
0.9
1.17   Paraschachnerite   
Ag   
 
3
Hg   
 
2
1.18   Luanheite   
Ag   
 
3
Hg
1.19   Weishanite   
(Au,Ag)   
 
3
Hg   
 
2
1.20   Indium   
In
1.21   Aluminium   
Al
1.22   Khatyrkite   
(Cu,Zn)Al   
 
2
1.23   Cupalite   
(Cu,Zn)Al
1.24   Diamond   
C
1.25   Graphite   
C
1.26   Chaoite   
C
1.27   Lonsdaleite   
C
1.28   Silicon   
Si
1.29   Tin   
Sn
1.30   Lead   
Pb
1.31   Anyuiite   
Au(Pb,Sb)   
 
2
1.31   Novodneprite   
AuPb   
 
3
1.32   Leadamalgam   
HgPb   
 
2
1.33   Arsenic   
As
1.34   Arsenolamprite   
As
1.35   Paxite   
CuAs   
 
2
1.36   Koutekite   
Cu   
 
5
As   
 
2
1.37   Domeykite   
Cu   
 
3
As
1.38   Algodonite   
(Cu   
 
1-x
As   
 
x
)
1.39   Novakite   
Cu   
 
20
AgAs   
 
10
1.40   Kutinaite   
Cu   
 
2
AgAs
1.41   Antimony   
Sb
1.42   Stibarsen   
AsSb
1.43   Paradocrasite   
Sb   
 
3
As
1.44   Horsfordite   
Cu, Sb
1.45   Cuprostibite   
Cu   
 
2
(Sb,Tl)
1.46   Allargentum   
(Ag   
 
1-x
Sb   
 
x
)
1.47   Aurostibite   
AuSb   
 
2
1.48   Dyscrasite   
Ag   
 
3
Sb
1.49   Bismuth   
Bi
1.50   Maldonite   
Au   
 
2
Bi
1.51   Sulphur   
S   
 
8
1.52   Rosickýite   
S
1.53   Selenium   
Se
1.54   Tellurium   
Te
1.55   Chromium   
Cr
1.56   Rhenium   
Re
1.57   Iron   
Fe
1.58   Chromferide   
Fe   
 
3
Cr   
 
1-x
(x=0.6)
1.59   Ferchromide   
Cr   
 
1.5
Fe   
 
0.5-x
1.60   Wairauite   
CoFe
1.61   Nickel   
Ni
1.62   Kamacite   
(Fe,Ni)
1.63   Taenite   
(Fe,Ni)
1.64   Tetrataenite   
FeNi
1.65   Awaruite   
Ni   
 
3
Fe
1.66   Palladium   
(Pd,Pt)
1.67   Potarite   
PdHg
1.68   Paolovite   
Pd   
 
2
Sn
1.69   Stannopalladinite   
(Pd,Cu)   
 
3
Sn   
 
2
1.70   Cabriite   
Pd   
 
2
CuSn
1.71   Taimyrite   
(Pd,Cu,Pt)   
 
3
Sn
1.72   Atokite   
(Pd,Pt)   
 
3
Sn
1.73   Rustenburgite   
(Pt,Pd)   
 
3
Sn
1.74   Zvyagintsevite   
(Pd,Pt,Au)   
 
3
(Pb,Sn)
1.75   Plumbopalladinite   
Pd   
 
3
Pb   
 
2
1.76   Osmium   
(Os,Ir,Ru)
1.77   Iridium   
(Ir,Os,Ru)
1.82   Platinum   
Pt
1.83   Hongshiite   
PtCu
1.84   Niggliite   
PtSn
1.85   Isoferroplatinum   
Pt   
 
3
Fe
1.86   Tetraferroplatinum   
PtFe
1.87   Tulameenite   
Pt   
 
2
CuFe
1.88   Ferronickelplatinum   
Pt   
 
2
FeNi
1.89   Rhodium   
(Rh,Pt)
Other Names for Mercury
Synonyms:   
Mercurio Nativo   Native Mercury   Quecksilber   Quicksilver
Other Languages:   
Basque:   Merkurio
Breton:   Merc'her
Bulgarian:   Меркурий
Catalan:   Mercuri
Cornish:   Mergher
Croatian:   Merkur
Czech:   Merkur
Danish:   Merkur
Dutch:   Mercurius
Dutch Low Saxon:   Merkurius
French:   Mercure
Galician:   Mercurio
Georgian:   მერკური
German:   Merkur
Gediegen Quecksilber
Haitian:   Mèki
Hebrew:   מרקורי
Icelandic:   Merkúríus
Italian:   Mercurio
Japanese:   自然水銀
Korean:   머큐리
Kurdish (Latin Script):   Tîr
Latin:   Mercurius
Latvian:   Merkurs
Lithuanian:   Merkurijus
Low Saxon:   Merkur
Luxembourgish:   Merkur
Maltese:   Merkurju
Norwegian (Bokmål):   Mercur
Kvikksølv
Novial:   Merkurie
Occitan:   Mercuri
Polish:   Merkury
Portuguese:   Mercúrio
Ripuarian:   Merrkuur
Romanian:   Mercur
Russian:   Ртуть
Serbian (Cyrillic Script):   Меркур
Sicilian:   Mercuriu
Simplified Chinese:   自然汞
Slovak:   Merkúr
Slovenian:   Merkur
Spanish:   Mercurio
Ukrainian:   Меркурій
Venetian:   Mercùrio
Vietnamese:   Thủy Tinh
Other Information
Fluorescence in UV light:   none
Special Storage/
Display Requirements:   Mercury should be coated with a plastic material or placed in a sealed container since the mercury will vaporize over time.
Health Warning:   Contains mercury - always wash hands after handling. Avoid inhaling dust of associated rock or matrix when handling or breaking. Never lick or ingest. Vaporizes with toxic vapours, do not inhale vapours and store under cover.

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