Say if you found a lump of quartz that was giving a strong signal with a detector, but no visible gold showing, does anyone know a reputable lab that you could send it to for cleaning with hydroflouric acid to get the quartz off? Has anyone ever done this? Done a bit of research and it just seems like this acid is too dangerous.
Gold Nugget and Specimen Cleaning Advice
- Thread starter mozzie1957
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How big a piece are you talking?
I have found brick size bits but I just wrap them in rag & break up with a hammer. You don't have to whale into it just some stern taps usually does it. Being quartz with gold in it there will probably be ironstone or other intrusions + natural faults that will break open fairly easily. I find a lot of the time it will break up nicely right where the gold is but you do get the odd stubborn bit. :lol: Pass the bits over you coil again & discard the bits that don't signal. Repeat until you can see gold then put in brickies acid, alibrite or just keep as specimens. With careful tapping you can break/chip away quartz in key spots to reveal the gold too once the bits are smaller. If you not concerned with how it looks but just want the gold content you can dolly it up once its small enough for a dolly pot.
If really keen you could also dolly up the other bits & pan any gold off. Lot of work for little return though.
I have found brick size bits but I just wrap them in rag & break up with a hammer. You don't have to whale into it just some stern taps usually does it. Being quartz with gold in it there will probably be ironstone or other intrusions + natural faults that will break open fairly easily. I find a lot of the time it will break up nicely right where the gold is but you do get the odd stubborn bit. :lol: Pass the bits over you coil again & discard the bits that don't signal. Repeat until you can see gold then put in brickies acid, alibrite or just keep as specimens. With careful tapping you can break/chip away quartz in key spots to reveal the gold too once the bits are smaller. If you not concerned with how it looks but just want the gold content you can dolly it up once its small enough for a dolly pot.
If really keen you could also dolly up the other bits & pan any gold off. Lot of work for little return though.
Thanks mbasko. Nowhere near brick size, about 2.5"x 2"x an inch thick. Cracking it up is the other option, I'm sure it would break up easily but I don't want to wreck it if there's something good inside. Might look really nice if done with acid? Just thought I'd see what everyone else does. Cheers.
Before brick acid
and after repeated soaking, the acid penetrated the joints and blocks of Quartz can be prized away. The gold is strong and follows the cracks, so if it is hiding in there you should be able to find it and hopefully produce something you can show off.
Ironstone will dissolve, if the signal disappears and you see no yellow, bad luck
and after repeated soaking, the acid penetrated the joints and blocks of Quartz can be prized away. The gold is strong and follows the cracks, so if it is hiding in there you should be able to find it and hopefully produce something you can show off.
Ironstone will dissolve, if the signal disappears and you see no yellow, bad luck
Thanks Wally, about the same size but mine is white quartz. By brick acid I assume you mean hydrochloric acid. I've found it does a good job on ironstone, but heard it doesn't get quartz. Guess it can't really hurt to give hydrochloric acid a go? Got a good felling there's something in it but if not well yeah, bad luck!
Yes mate, hydrochloric acid.
My success was due to cracks in the Quartz which debonded following soaking and some iron oxides around some of the gold that was able to be scrubbed away with a toothbrush once the acid had reacted with it.
If it was uncracked I imagine it would have soaked for a month of Sundays with little reduction in size.
Got a before photo ? It would be good to gauge your efforts on whiter Quartz.
My success was due to cracks in the Quartz which debonded following soaking and some iron oxides around some of the gold that was able to be scrubbed away with a toothbrush once the acid had reacted with it.
If it was uncracked I imagine it would have soaked for a month of Sundays with little reduction in size.
Got a before photo ? It would be good to gauge your efforts on whiter Quartz.
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Give it a tap :lol:
Before I give it a soak and a tap, just for fun I thought I'd try and get an idea of how much gold is in it. Using the formula (wet weight x 3.1)-(dry weight x 1.9) = gold weight. Came up with 3.36 grams. A different method gave 4.17 grams. Obviously there are a few variables such as the specific gravity of quartz and if there are any impurities in it, so it's only an estimate.
It should yeild a spectacular result if that is the case.
A little gold goes a long way when weaved through host rock.
Soak....soak....soak...soak.....soak; hope that is enough peer group pressure to get the ball rolling.
A little gold goes a long way when weaved through host rock.
Soak....soak....soak...soak.....soak; hope that is enough peer group pressure to get the ball rolling.
Thanks for that link Was very helpful!
Hi all just wondering how long should I let my nuggets soak in bricky's cleaner?
WHAT? OMG! get em out of there before you burn them. Oh wait I'm with ya now. Lol my bad Chuky boy. Lol
Haha chewyChewy said:
Thanks Bacchus I'll give it a go.Bacchus said:
has anyone tried popping them in the dishwasher ?
AussieGamer_Ben
Ben
what is the best solution to clean nuggets.
