Removing lead from gold

[Harrysprospecting]

Hi everyone. Recently me and my dad pulled almost five grams of gold from a creek. I have a few questions though.

1. There seems to be a bit of lead mixed with our gold. (We think its lead since there were a lot of lead pellets) and other small impurities. Is there a easy chemical/non chemical way to remove this lead + other impurities?


2. Also there are a few pieces of gold that have lead mixed with them. How does this happen? is it from the natural tumbling of the creek? or another process.

Thanks!

 

[Greg_wilson]

Looks like Mercury not lead.

 

[Aries]

Definitely Mercury, do NOT touch or handle.
Seek advice on how to remove (simple with right equipment), find someone with a retort that knows how to operate it.

 

[Harrysprospecting]

Thats weird because I thought that mercury was always at a liquid state unless at very low temperatures. Seems like a solid coating on some of the gold pieces.

 

[Aries]

Mercury amalgamates very easy with gold (and other metals), this was used in past to catch gold.
The mercury that you have is most probably lost 100 years ago from this process.
Very dangerous and extremely poisonous.

 

[davsgold]

Harrysprospecting, yes get someone to retort it properly for you, or sent it to a refiner like PW Beck and get them to do it for you, they will refine the gold to 9999 and send you back the gold, or just pay you for it your choice

They (PW Beck) will remove the lead and the mercury and any other impurities and leave you with 9999 gold

of course they charge a fee for service, but they are very good and reliable

and keep the gold in a container with the gold and mercury covered with water and no harm will come to you just remove the water before retorting or sending to refiner

get as much as you can from the creek to make the fees at the refiner work out a bit better if you go that way

cheers dave

 

[Moneybox]

The vapor from mercury is dangerous, don't panic too much with the little bit of amalgam stuck to your gold but the mercury will be released into the air if you attempt to heat it. Plenty of us played with mercury in our hands and rolling it around on the bench in the lab at school and we're only a little bit crazy.

 

[Aries]

The vapor from mercury is dangerous, don't panic too much with the little bit of amalgam stuck to your gold but the mercury will be released into the air if you attempt to heat it. Plenty of us played with mercury in our hands and rolling it around on the bench in the lab at school and we're only a little bit crazy.

Speak for yourself Phil, I am as mad as a hatter.

 

[XLOOX]

The good news is IF that is mercury amalgam, the grey bits you think are lead are actually 48% gold. ... Hope you didnt throw any "lead" away ....

 

[Harrysprospecting]

Thanks for all your help. Definitely will get a bit more gold first before properly refining it and will be a bit more cautious around it.

 

[Greenhornet_au]

Would it be wrong of me to say... feed it to the next door neighbours Canary and see what happens ?

 

[Moneybox]

Would it be wrong of me to say... feed it to the next door neighbours Canary and see what happens ?

and how do you read the diagnosis?
One puts a bit more lead in his pencil...
One give him a more golden yellow glow...
and the other...

 

[Harrysprospecting]

Would it be wrong of me to say... feed it to the next door neighbours Canary and see what happens ?

slightly

 

[Aries]

There is an easy way but in these times I would be irresponsible to even mention it.

 

[Simmo]

Guys,
A reminder from This Thread!....

While mercury recovery methods are interesting they are sailing very close to the edge of what we can allow on the forum.

Mercury is a Schedule 7 poison. Schedule 7 poisons are substances with a high potential for causing harm at low exposures which require special precautions during manufacture, handling or use. These poisons should be available only to specialised or authorised users who have the skills necessary to handle them safely.

It is likely that any process not being carried out in a controlled environment is not only dangerous, especially for any inexperienced reader/viewer who may try it out for themselves, but it's also likely to be illegal in your state or in some part i.e. unlicensed possession, use etc.

Australia ratified the Minamata Convention in December 2021 & in March 2022 several National/Federal rules on mercury products, use, supply etc. came into force.
Ultimately the regulation of mercury lies with individual states but in light of the ratification of the Minamata Convention + introduction of National Federal Government regulations it's given all states will eventually need to tighten their regulations (if they haven't done so already).
For example in NSW it's now prohibited to use mercury in any gold recovery processes including artisanal & small scale mining.

In short any existing regulations on mercury will not ease but only become more restrictive going forward.

As a Schedule 7 poison the supply/sale, use, possession etc. of mercury is most likely already restricted in some way anyway, in all Australian states, via required permissions (licencing, permits).

 

[lazypat]

Guys,
A reminder from This Thread!....

While mercury recovery methods are interesting they are sailing very close to the edge of what we can allow on the forum.

Mercury is a Schedule 7 poison. Schedule 7 poisons are substances with a high potential for causing harm at low exposures which require special precautions during manufacture, handling or use. These poisons should be available only to specialised or authorised users who have the skills necessary to handle them safely.

It is likely that any process not being carried out in a controlled environment is not only dangerous, especially for any inexperienced reader/viewer who may try it out for themselves, but it's also likely to be illegal in your state or in some part i.e. unlicensed possession, use etc.

Australia ratified the Minamata Convention in December 2021 & in March 2022 several National/Federal rules on mercury products, use, supply etc. came into force.
Ultimately the regulation of mercury lies with individual states but in light of the ratification of the Minamata Convention + introduction of National Federal Government regulations it's given all states will eventually need to tighten their regulations (if they haven't done so already).
For example in NSW it's now prohibited to use mercury in any gold recovery processes including artisanal & small scale mining.

In short any existing regulations on mercury will not ease but only become more restrictive going forward.

As a Schedule 7 poison the supply/sale, use, possession etc. of mercury is most likely already restricted in some way anyway, in all Australian states, via required permissions (licencing, permits).

Kids used to dip pennies in it to make them shine when I went to school and every one was handling those pennies as we did not know then it was dangerous, it's the same when you walk into a mine tunnel entrance and the white powder on the walls it's arsenic and occurs naturally in the ground

 

[Simmo]

Kids used to dip pennies in it to make them shine when I went to school and every one was handling those pennies as we did not know then it was dangerous, it's the same when you walk into a mine tunnel entrance and the white powder on the walls it's arsenic and occurs naturally in the ground

Which doesn't make it right, safe or legal??
Like it or not, we have an obligation here NOT to discuss or be seen to ignore or promote illegal or unsafe practices.

 

[Hawkear]

Used to dredge a lot of mercury contaminated gold from Stringers Creek in Walhalla.
Each time I'd spend some time separating the contaminated bits from the clean gold into separate parcels.
You know how it with amateur prospectors always wanting to play with or show off their nuggets, that way I could.
When I sold the gold eventually (to Becks), I advised them and they didn't worry and I sent it off to them in two separate parcels for their information and safety.
I used to find larger bits or small nuggets fully coated with mercury which were bright gold on the inside. So if you think something might be "lead" don't throw it out before checking. The amalgam is rarely very deep and basically a coating on the surface so a scratch might reveal the gold underneath. If you have a larger amount of "doubtfuls" put them together and try a SG test. Gold is 19.3 vs lead 11.3.

 

[Harrysprospecting]

Used to dredge a lot of mercury contaminated gold from Stringers Creek in Walhalla.
Each time I'd spend some time separating the contaminated bits from the clean gold into separate parcels.
You know how it with amateur prospectors always wanting to play with or show off their nuggets, that way I could.
When I sold the gold eventually (to Becks), I advised them and they didn't worry and I sent it off to them in two separate parcels for their information and safety.
I used to find larger bits or small nuggets fully coated with mercury which were bright gold on the inside. So if you think something might be "lead" don't throw it out before checking. The amalgam is rarely very deep and basically a coating on the surface so a scratch might reveal the gold underneath. If you have a larger amount of "doubtfuls" put them together and try a SG test. Gold is 19.3 vs lead 11.3.

yes am now keeping any bits of "lead" peices in a jar filled with water.

 

[user 4386]

Speak for yourself Phil, I am as mad as a hatter.

Mercury-induced brain damage will do that to you....

• Mercury poisoning of hat-makers – In 18th and 19th century England, mercury was used in the production of felt, which was commonly used in the hat-making trade at the time. Long-term use of mercury products often resulted in mercury poisoning-induced erethism among hat-makers.[1][2] In the late 19th-century United States, a notable example occurred in Danbury, Connecticut, where hat making was a major industry. Instances of erethism were so widespread among hat-makers, the condition became known locally as the "Danbury Shakes." It was characterized by slurred speech, tremors, stumbling, and in extreme cases hallucinations.[3]
  
  Most lead pellets look like lead pellets and can be picked out.