glot
Gold Digger
Posts: 75
|
Borax
May 21, 2015 19:49:23 GMT 10
Post by glot on May 21, 2015 19:49:23 GMT 10
Has anyone actually used borax and fire to recover fine placer gold? How clean does the gold need to be with regards heavy and light sands?
|
|
|
Borax
May 21, 2015 21:00:03 GMT 10
Post by shivan on May 21, 2015 21:00:03 GMT 10
I have melted a button using borax to remove what little other heavies were in with the gold dust, but have not tried to smelt cons yet. Though I was interested after seeing a video about it. If I ever get my furnace built will give it a try, but too much effort with my small torch at the moment.
|
|
glot
Gold Digger
Posts: 75
|
Borax
May 22, 2015 8:46:49 GMT 10
Post by glot on May 22, 2015 8:46:49 GMT 10
|
|
|
Borax
May 22, 2015 21:51:15 GMT 10
Post by Flying Scott on May 22, 2015 21:51:15 GMT 10
I only use borax as a flux when soldering gold and silver when making Jewelry Flying Scott
|
|
|
Borax
Jun 17, 2015 11:57:51 GMT 10
Post by donnybrook on Jun 17, 2015 11:57:51 GMT 10
Use 30 parts soda ash (which will oxidise the rubbish) and 20 parts borax. Do not use saltpeter as it will destroy your crucibles if using a furnace but throw a pinch in when your metal has dropped to a button; or resmelt the button and do it then. You should get 4 nines gold. Donny
|
|
|
Borax
Jun 17, 2015 21:34:18 GMT 10
Post by Flying Scott on Jun 17, 2015 21:34:18 GMT 10
Only time I have used Borax is when I'm making jewellry. I use it as a flux. Flying Scott
|
|
|
Borax
Jun 18, 2015 13:17:08 GMT 10
Post by donnybrook on Jun 18, 2015 13:17:08 GMT 10
Borax is all you need for jewellery. It is all you use when you are smelting fine gold powders. Powders from AR or the CLS process. Donny
|
|
|
Post by Flying Scott on Jun 18, 2015 14:06:34 GMT 10
Looks like a lot of stuffing around to me. Quite amusing when the guy said "you will get 50, 60, 70 % more gold when using Borax" dose that mean if you have a pocket full of borax when using a detector you will find more gold? Maybe just my warped mind. Flying Scott
|
|
|
Borax
Jun 18, 2015 15:35:01 GMT 10
Post by labrador on Jun 18, 2015 15:35:01 GMT 10
I liked the video, and stuffing around maybe, I noticed, like hear that every thing to be carried is up hill. And the heavier the gear the steeper the hill. The message to stop using Mercury with out training and safety, could be what he is saying, like you will live longer to be able to find more gold. It is obvious that it is a life and death job for some people, while it is a hobby for others, I would be thinking about some shoring in the mine, then the Borax.
|
|
|
Borax
Jun 18, 2015 20:53:03 GMT 10
Post by labrador on Jun 18, 2015 20:53:03 GMT 10
With luck Donny Brook, someone from the above video has seen your add for the Wilfley table, posted in the by and sell. It seems there is a hard way and a easier way to do things, and I am no expert, but there doing it tough
|
|
glot
Gold Digger
Posts: 75
|
Borax
Jun 20, 2015 8:53:20 GMT 10
Post by glot on Jun 20, 2015 8:53:20 GMT 10
I saw a TV doco once. This actor bought a heap of land in the Amazon. There are hundreds ( thousands?) of small gold miners in the jungle. The one they showed was dredging a huge ground tank. At the end when he cleaned his mats, they put the cons into a drum and added a cup of mercury. Then stomped it through the cons barefoot like someone crushing grapes. The mercury that had no gold to amalgamate with went to the bottom where a high percentage was recovered. This was the standard method they were all using. Horrifying.
|
|
|
Borax
Jun 20, 2015 9:47:38 GMT 10
Post by nugget893 on Jun 20, 2015 9:47:38 GMT 10
A mate of mine uses "Silver Soldering Flux" that he gets from the local welding suppliers. But he first process the gold and black sand using mercury and then extracts the gold from the mercury with a special unit that he has made up using heat to vaporise the mercury. The final melting of the gold is were he uses the silver sold flux. The gold comes up a treat. nugget893
|
|
rustyau
Panner
Prospecting is like fishing. Doing it is the best part. Finding a keeper..is a bonus
Posts: 39
|
Borax
Jul 4, 2015 15:25:19 GMT 10
Post by rustyau on Jul 4, 2015 15:25:19 GMT 10
Sorry to say that if you want 999Au the borax method in the video will not do the job. Borax is a fluxing agent not a miracle powder. The melting of the Au with borax will not remove other metals such as Ag, Cu etc and get you anywhere near 999 Au.
If you want 999Au then you will have to go the chemical route. I only use borax in the final melt to assist in the melting and pouring. Crucibles are "seasoned" with borax before use to increase the longevity of the crucible by sealing it and assist with melting.
Regards Russ
|
|
|
Borax
Jul 4, 2015 20:33:27 GMT 10
Post by nugget893 on Jul 4, 2015 20:33:27 GMT 10
Hi Russ when using Borax as a flux would it separate the black sand from the melting gold? Why I'm asking is that I've got gold and black sand together. I've removed most of the black sand but there is still a far bit left as the gold is mostly fine stuff. The sort that you find at Reedy Creek Eldorado. I now want to melt down the gold into a slug but I don't want the black sand mixing in to the melt. nugget893
|
|
glot
Gold Digger
Posts: 75
|
Borax
Jul 6, 2015 20:19:25 GMT 10
Post by glot on Jul 6, 2015 20:19:25 GMT 10
My take on it was it was a method of separating gold but definitely not purifying it. It was an alternative to using mercury.
|
|