blackwolf365
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cyanide usage for gold leaching
greeting all.
first off, let me say that yes, i fully realize and accept how dangerous cyanide is. but, as it can improve the expedience of the gold refining
process, i figured it was at least worth looking into
ive been researching ways to extract and refine gold from computer parts. during this research, i discoverd that cyanide can be used to great effect
for this purpose.
i also learned that you can keep the cyanide basic by adding sodium hydroxide. but i cannot seem to find what the proper ratios are for this. can
anyone point me in the right direction? for the proper ratios and sources of these 2 chemicals.
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RedDwarf
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What's your rationale for going with a cyanide route rather than a non-cyanide route. How much do you expect to improve yield / save time, and does
that really make it worthwhile? Have you thought about how you're going to dispose of the waste?
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blackwolf365
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haven't looked into disposal yet. haven't decided if i want to go that route. and my rational is expedience and efficiency. i want to get it as
pure as i can as efficient as i can and as fast as i can.
as it stands now, when circumstances allow, i'm gonna start by trying some saltwater cells and see how successful i am with that. goal is to get it
to 99.5% pure, which is the international standard, i believe.
as for why i asked this questuion: to find pricing and sources so i can see a basic idea of the cost.
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draculic acid69
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Use bleach in large amounts to dispose of waste and wash glassware or clean up a spill
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blackwolf365
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the use of bleach has already come up in my research. i just want to, if i do use cyanide, to take as little cance with it as possible.
being a rather toxic and deadly thing, in the right form, gives me great pause for cosideration. cyanide can be some scary stuff.
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metallurgist
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keep the solution above pH 10 to inhibit HCN forming.
There are many other metals that form complexes with CN.. you may want to separate these beforehand...
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ZetekitoxinAB
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I dont know what is all this fuss about cyanide, to be honest. There is no better reagent than it to complex gold, but it also needs oxygen from the
air; I think you could speed up the process a lot by adding dilute H2O2 in small quantities. Just wear gloves, work in a well ventilated, secure area
and keep it away from acids. After you recover gold by precipitation with Zn dust for example, just destroy the remaining solution with bleach. I
believe dilute cyanide works very well, especially if left a reasonable time to react.
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RogueRose
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Quote: Originally posted by ZetekitoxinAB  | | I dont know what is all this fuss about cyanide, to be honest. There is no better reagent than it to complex gold, but it also needs oxygen from the
air; I think you could speed up the process a lot by adding dilute H2O2 in small quantities. Just wear gloves, work in a well ventilated, secure area
and keep it away from acids. After you recover gold by precipitation with Zn dust for example, just destroy the remaining solution with bleach. I
believe dilute cyanide works very well, especially if left a reasonable time to react. |
I've always heard people using zinc dust but would pieces of zinc work as well, maybe small pellets? I know a lot of people probably have access to
zn pellets vs dust. I would think it would just take longer and maybe if you did this on a magnetic stirrer it would speed up the process. The only
issue I see is if an oxide layer forms on the zinc, like a passivation layer.
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johny5
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You are required to keep a PH above 10 to do so.
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metallurgist
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Merrill-Crowe process - requires a vacuum to remove dissolved air.
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