Results 1 to 20 of 51

question about gold recovery

| General Electronics Recycling

Hybrid View

  1. #1
    Mechanic688's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Warsaw , Ind. In the heart of the lakes, and down the street from the hotel where Al Capone stayed.
    Posts
    9,571
    Thanks
    11,207
    Thanked 10,684 Times in 4,711 Posts
    Well, enough of that, I would really like someone with experience to answer my question. I am along way away from killing myself -
    I'd say that Scott is probably the most experienced one here on this forum, now on Gold Refining Forum it might be a tossup between about 10 different people. I would say to take Scotts word like it was God talking to you,,, Just my opinion,,,

    P & M Recycling - Specializing in E-Waste Recycling.
    If you enjoy your freedom, thank a vet.

  2. The Following 7 Users say Thank You for This Post by Mechanic688:


  3. #2
    NobleMetalWorks's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Sep 2012
    Location
    East Bay California
    Posts
    687
    Thanks
    301
    Thanked 1,942 Times in 527 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Mechanic688 View Post
    I'd say that Scott is probably the most experienced one here on this forum, now on Gold Refining Forum it might be a tossup between about 10 different people. I would say to take Scotts word like it was God talking to you,,, Just my opinion,,,
    Mechanic,

    I truly appreciate what you have said, I don't really see myself in that way, but it does make a person feel incredibly good, specially when I respect that person a great deal, when they say something like you have about me. There are many others that also refine who are on this site that could very well be a lot more knowledgeable than I am, and compared to friends of mine who also refine what I know would be a drop in the bucket so to speak. But it is greatly appreciated.

    I also want to say that although I post on what I know about and don't often post questions, I have learned just as much as I have posted about. This forum and it's members have helped me in my own work beyond anything I could easily express here. And there are members here that know far more, and have far more experience in the subjects this forum was built on than I do, also the reason I am here.

    So thank you for the compliment, I do really appreciate it, and thank you for your own posts, and for the posts of everyone else that add to the accumulation of knowledge that exists on this site. While GRF has hundreds of years of accumulated experience in recovering and refining precious metals, this site has hundreds and hundreds of more experience in recycling, scrapping, processing, identifying etc etc etc metals.

    Scott
    At the heart of science is an essential balance between two seemingly contradictory attitudes--an openness to new ideas, no matter how bizarre or counterintuitive they may be, and the most ruthless skeptical scrutiny of all ideas, old and new. This is how deep truths are winnowed from deep nonsense. -- Carl Sagan

  4. The Following 8 Users say Thank You for This Post by NobleMetalWorks:


  5. #3
    moosescrapper's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    14
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked 25 Times in 8 Posts
    Wow...some pretty intense reactions to the question!! There is a lot of truth in what the others here have posted. I just joined this forum yesterday so I am not sure I can associate this Scott with the word of God. I have however been "recovering" and "refining" gold from eWaste for a couple of years now. I feel I am very comfortable with the processes that I use, and they are right that it does require a lot of studying. After all, you're not baking a cake or shining up some silver spoons here. The goldrefiningforum in my opinion is a top notch place to find info. The folks there tend to be a bit snobby for my taste especially if you are new and start asking questions before you start reading. In many cases understadably so. I also feel that you should read Hoke to get a better base knowledge on what this science is all about. It is also a great opportunity for you to try to amass a considerable quantity of gold bearing material. Bottom line is that there are no quick answers. There are no "get rich quick" solutions. There are loads of hazards associated with recovery and refining. If this has not already been stated, this is what i would suggest for you....
    1: Read Hoke, its free online.
    2: Think about your confidence level. What chemicals are you comfortable to work with at first after reading Hoke?
    3: Read Hoke again.
    4: Determine what kind of things you want to recover gold from. Not everything requires Nitric acid. You can do a lot with HCL and peroxide, an aerator, heat, bleach, etc.
    5: Once you have chosen a familiarity test, in my opinion, removing gold flake from goldfingers with hcl and peroxide is a great one, study the notes from people on the goldrefiningforum. Lazersteve has some great videos, threads, and set ups though the initial glass jar is what i would reccommend.
    6:Read the MSDS on the chemicals involved with the process you want to start out with.
    7: Prepare everything in advance. Do NOT skip any safety steps, do NOT skimp on safety gear.
    8-Make sure you go over the process SEVERAL times before you actually perform it.
    9- Make SURE the area you are woking in is well ventilated, and that there is no danger of children or animals coming anywhere close to what you are doing.
    10-Prepare prepare prepare prepare reread reread reread and then proceed with caution.

    Remember, even the people who are most experienced had to have started with questions just like you. This is not childs play in the least bit, however after doing this for a while, I find it very fun! I always exercise caution, and even after at least a couple hundred batches of A/P I still have a printed out sheet above the bench with the step by step directions and safety precaustions so that I never fall into the trap of feeling too comfortable with what i am doing. Being the new guy here, I hope this response does not tick off some of the senior members. I am not trying to overstep others with more experience than I have.

    So keep reading, keep studying, keep asking.

    PEACE!

  6. The Following 5 Users say Thank You for This Post by moosescrapper:


  7. #4
    skylinejack's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Baton Rouge, La.
    Posts
    826
    Thanks
    1,194
    Thanked 959 Times in 400 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by moosescrapper View Post
    Wow...some pretty intense reactions to the question!! There is a lot of truth in what the others here have posted. I just joined this forum yesterday so I am not sure I can associate this Scott with the word of God. I have however been "recovering" and "refining" gold from eWaste for a couple of years now. I feel I am very comfortable with the processes that I use, and they are right that it does require a lot of studying. After all, you're not baking a cake or shining up some silver spoons here. The goldrefiningforum in my opinion is a top notch place to find info. The folks there tend to be a bit snobby for my taste especially if you are new and start asking questions before you start reading. In many cases understadably so. I also feel that you should read Hoke to get a better base knowledge on what this science is all about. It is also a great opportunity for you to try to amass a considerable quantity of gold bearing material. Bottom line is that there are no quick answers. There are no "get rich quick" solutions. There are loads of hazards associated with recovery and refining. If this has not already been stated, this is what i would suggest for you....
    1: Read Hoke, its free online.
    2: Think about your confidence level. What chemicals are you comfortable to work with at first after reading Hoke?
    3: Read Hoke again.
    4: Determine what kind of things you want to recover gold from. Not everything requires Nitric acid. You can do a lot with HCL and peroxide, an aerator, heat, bleach, etc.
    5: Once you have chosen a familiarity test, in my opinion, removing gold flake from goldfingers with hcl and peroxide is a great one, study the notes from people on the goldrefiningforum. Lazersteve has some great videos, threads, and set ups though the initial glass jar is what i would reccommend.
    6:Read the MSDS on the chemicals involved with the process you want to start out with.
    7: Prepare everything in advance. Do NOT skip any safety steps, do NOT skimp on safety gear.
    8-Make sure you go over the process SEVERAL times before you actually perform it.
    9- Make SURE the area you are woking in is well ventilated, and that there is no danger of children or animals coming anywhere close to what you are doing.
    10-Prepare prepare prepare prepare reread reread reread and then proceed with caution.

    Remember, even the people who are most experienced had to have started with questions just like you. This is not childs play in the least bit, however after doing this for a while, I find it very fun! I always exercise caution, and even after at least a couple hundred batches of A/P I still have a printed out sheet above the bench with the step by step directions and safety precaustions so that I never fall into the trap of feeling too comfortable with what i am doing. Being the new guy here, I hope this response does not tick off some of the senior members. I am not trying to overstep others with more experience than I have.

    So keep reading, keep studying, keep asking.

    PEACE!
    ^^^This is the best answer to the OP I've seen in this thread so far.^^^ The most helpful and courteous answer. IMHO. And it comes from a brand new member. Ain't that something!? There were a few others that were decent, but most were not helpful at all. In fact they were mean, hateful, and and just downright disrespectful. Some were extremely verbose. Then there were those that filled with blarney and completely overate others on here. ex: "take Scotts word like it was God talking to you.." Really? Really? Sorry, not even close. I know this will be deleted, but I gotta speak my peace. Maybe the OP did ask the wrong question. I'm no gold refiner so I don't know. Was he on the wrong forum? Sure. We're supposed to be scrappers, metal recyclers, and even e-waste recyclers. Not gold refiners and certainly not prophets of God. Did he deserve to be treated a little better by the members of SMF? Absolutely.
    AMERICAN BORN, AMERICAN BRED! AND I'M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!!!

  8. The Following 3 Users say Thank You for This Post by skylinejack:


  9. #5
    NobleMetalWorks's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Sep 2012
    Location
    East Bay California
    Posts
    687
    Thanks
    301
    Thanked 1,942 Times in 527 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by skylinejack View Post
    ^^^This is the best answer to the OP I've seen in this thread so far.^^^
    skylinejack, you are right, that was a great answer. I might point out, this is an A-List of everything that was already talked about. He just added it all in one post and posted it to the same thread that contained all of that information already. He just read everything and accumulated it in one post. In other words you are really complimenting all the posts before this one. Thank you.

    There is very good reason why I don't give those types of answers on this forum, specially initially. If these types of answers are given on this forum, people will be looking for these types of answers here instead of where all the accumulated information actually resides. This forum does not seem like the correct place to be giving information on how to safely and properly refine.

    I believe it's better to over explain than under explain, so I also believe being verbose is better than not.

    I don't see where anyone has been hateful or disrespectful, I myself don't believe I have been anything but blunt and brutally honest, if you would, I would like you to point out those things specifically so that if I was involved in any of those types of comments, I can learn from my mistakes and post so that I don't offend people like you in the future. At the end of the day this is all suppose to help all of us.

    It's one thing to state that SMF members should have treated the OP better, but without stating exactly what those things are, how is anyone to learn from all the mistakes that were made in this thread you have eluded to?

    Scott
    Last edited by NobleMetalWorks; 03-08-2013 at 06:41 AM.

  10. #6
    NobleMetalWorks's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Sep 2012
    Location
    East Bay California
    Posts
    687
    Thanks
    301
    Thanked 1,942 Times in 527 Posts
    I was thinking about it, and maybe words are not enough. So I did a quick search and found a couple pictures of hydrochloric acid skin burns, and thought I would post them here to illustrate my point.





    I hope this gets my point across!

    Scott

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to NobleMetalWorks for This Post:


Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

 
Browse the Most Recent Threads
On SMF In THIS CATEGORY.





OR

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

The Scrap Metal Forum

    The Scrap Metal Forum is the #1 scrap metal recycling community in the world. Here we talk about the scrap metal business, making money, where we connect with other scrappers, scrap yards and more.

SMF on Facebook and Twitter

Twitter Facebook