Extracting gold (warning! Chemistry ahead)

[Neb]

These videos offer a glimpse into wham it takes to refine gold from various sources. In the event TEOTWAKI puts us in a gold based society, being able to refine gold would let one produce the coin of the realm. Only a few chemicals and lab equipment is required to produce a gold sponge that can be melted down and cast.

Starting with jewelry



Part 1 starting with computer parts



Part 2


Extracting gold from computer parts (Part 2)


Please note the warning about H2S gas which is bad bad bad. Smells like rotten eggs and when it dissolves in water produces sulfuric acid.

When I run across info on producing nitric acid and hydrochloric acid etc. i will share those.

Re: bleach
Sock pile pool shock to make your own bleach even if you aren't into chemistry.

Ben

 

[Magus]

Easy to find, I uploaded copies of the poor man's James bond. both recipes are in there.

 

[Magus]

Here we go. more fun stuff in there too.
https://www.homesteadingforum.org/t...mes-bond-pdf-try-not-to-put-an-eye-out.14294/

 

[Neb]

Making nitric acid



Ben

 

[Peanut]

I’ve toyed with this for years. I have a stack of 1-off circuit boards for R&D testing, most cost $20K+ when new. The foil runs are silver, not tin. All board connectors are gold.

I have a large crucible, will hold about 3.5g of molten metal, about the size of a 5gal can… and the 900K btu furnace that goes with it. Getting the gas or coke to run it is another story. I even bought a couple boxes of Borax to use as flux.

I have 6 small graphite crucibles. 4.5” tall, 3” ID at the top and no furnace to heat them…

Guess I should do something about them, there is a place in town that can handle it but they take almost all the profit and pay out pennies.

 

[dademoss]

3M makes a cartridge that will handle H2S, I recommend it on a full face respirator, should you require one. https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/v000093369/

 

[Magus]

HUH. same ones that filter viruses, go figure.
https://www.industrialsafetyproduct...151Rx1MnCDsydhv08YGJkFbpTdqbnQQgaAqPaEALw_wcB

 

[Mountain trapper]

I used nitric acid and mercury a lot when I had my gold mine. Be very careful when using these chemicals.

 

[Neb]

HUH. same ones that filter viruses, go figure.
https://www.industrialsafetyproduct...151Rx1MnCDsydhv08YGJkFbpTdqbnQQgaAqPaEALw_wcB

Or the fume hood that NIOSH uses when testing those cartridges.

I was thinking about about using my sandblasting cabinet that is already ducted to the outside. Would be a tight fit for the distillation tube and I would have to plumb in cooling fluid.

Trivia

They used five different fume hoods. Two for acid another pair for bases and a fifth for organics like tear gas.

Ben