i'm claiming ounce club membership.

[Peko]

Very nice bit Mark but I would be heading to Bunnins for some decent acid to bath it in .PP

Bunnings ain't going to sell any acid that will help what he is set out to achieve, you need a poison license to get what he needs.

Markgoldhunter have you though about shock treatment to speed up the process, or if you know someone who works in a alloy welding shop ask them for some pickling paste, it is used to clean up welds on alloy, use with caution though.

 

[ave-a-go]

nice one

 

[markgoldhunter]

Thanks Peko I hadn't thought of heat shocking it so I will give it a go. Do you know what acid is in pickling paste, it needs to be flourific acid as that is the only one that will dissolve quartz and allybrite is the only product I know that contains it, I think it's only 2% but I wouldn't want any stronger, I value my skeleton too much. Thanks for all the comments, sure is a long time between drinks Moneybox my last was 2008.

 

[PabloP]

Thanks Peko I hadn't thought of heat shocking it so I will give it a go. Do you know what acid is in pickling paste, it needs to be flourific acid as that is the only one that will dissolve quartz and allybrite is the only product I know that contains it, I think it's only 2% but I wouldn't want any stronger, I value my skeleton too much. Thanks for all the comments, sure is a long time between drinks Moneybox my last was 2008.

Whether to use the heat shock treatment will depend to an extent on whether you want to retain the gold structure as originally found. Using heat shock is normally followed by using impact shock from a hammer, and could impact the form structure, aesthetic appeal and possible value of the nugget.

Rob P.

 

[markgoldhunter]

Yeah you're right Rob, just after posting that last reply I thought back to how you go about shock and remembered you generally whack it, so as I want to retain this piece intact I will chuck it back in the bath.

 

[ave-a-go]

what about thermal shock? heat it and drop it in cold/iced water, would that work?

 

[Tribsa 56]

Ive always used hydrochloric acid from the pool shop. Works a treat... stay away from hydrofloric. We use it at work when we are cleaning stainless steel and we dress up like spacemen to use it. It is BAD

 

[Peko]

Thanks Peko I hadn't thought of heat shocking it so I will give it a go. Do you know what acid is in pickling paste, it needs to be flourific acid as that is the only one that will dissolve quartz and allybrite is the only product I know that contains it, I think it's only 2% but I wouldn't want any stronger, I value my skeleton too much. Thanks for all the comments, sure is a long time between drinks Moneybox my last was 2008.

That is why I suggested the pickling paste, it's contains HFL,and higher quantity than alibrite, alibrite is only 1% HFL, alibrite ain't that dangerous I have been dipping my hands in it for years or touching it while I scrub my finds,if alibrite was that bad they wouldn't sell it to the public.

If you want the good stuff you need a poison license, good luck getting that, too much effort to dissolve a couple of rocks

 

[madtuna]

Yep agreed...alibright is made knowing numpies will splash it all over themselves while scrubbing their mags with a nail brush.
Heating it and dropping it in cold water will shock it as mentioned previously but you may lose small pieces not connected to the main mass.
Have you put a multimeter on it to see if its all connected?

Me? Id just smack the crap out of it

 

[Peko]

Yep agreed...alibright is made knowing numpies will splash it all over themselves while scrubbing their mags with a nail brush.
Heating it and dropping it in cold water will shock it as mentioned previously but you may lose small pieces not connected to the main mass.
Have you put a multimeter on it to see if its all connected?

Me? Id just smack the crap out of it

You are right about the small prices coming adrift in the shock treatment, but if you dissolve it,every time you touch it little pieces will fall off also, so you are still in the same boat, but if it was crystalline you wouldn't get to see it if ya belted it.
I would go with the shock treatment and see how it turned out, sometimes they are better looking as a specie,but it depends on what you want to do with it, keep it, sell it, melt it down.

Keep us informed on how you go.

 

[markgoldhunter]

Here's an update on this bit from 2018, it has been in hfl 6 % solution for about the last 4 months and it is showing plenty of gold all round. The bad news is that as I was trying to chip off that lump of quartz off the bottom corner it started to develop 2 cracks through and would have broken if I had continued. So that's as far as its going because I want to keep it as one piece. The good news is it still weighs 41.4grams so allowing for a couple grams of quartz I can now authentically claim ounce club membership for that year even though it took 2 years to verify. Cheers Mark.

 

[RM Outback]

Well done mate :beer: very nice erfect:

 

[Moneybox]

Here's an update on this bit from 2018, it has been in hfl 6 % solution for about the last 4 months and it is showing plenty of gold all round. The bad news is that as I was trying to chip off that lump of quartz off the bottom corner it started to develop 2 cracks through and would have broken if I had continued. So that's as far as its going because I want to keep it as one piece. The good news is it still weighs 41.4grams so allowing for a couple grams of quartz I can now authentically claim ounce club membership for that year even though it took 2 years to verify. Cheers Mark.https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/1958/1579065977_gopr0206.jpg

Mark, you can see that this is not a solid nugget so I think if you take away too much of the quartz it will be a crumbly mess. I have one that is just 31g and it's the ugliest bit of gold because some of the rock is black. Mrs M and I discuss it from time to time. I want to take Madtuna's approach but Mrs M doesn't like me doing that. I'm patient, I know I'll win in the end.....

I think your's is nice just the way it is and if you wack it it won't be an ounce anymore....

 

[madtuna]

Go on Phil...just do it!!!

The problem with Marks bit is as it has had so much time in the Alibright it has made the quartz chalky and ruined it as a specimen.
I'd keep going, not so much smack it if your plan is keeping it, but keep going with the acid treatment.

 

[Moneybox]

Go on Phil...just do it!!!

The problem with Marks bit is as it has had so much time in the Alibright it has made the quartz chalky and ruined it as a specimen.
I'd keep going, not so much smack it if your plan is keeping it, but keep going with the acid treatment.

I've had some of this stuff before where all that's holding it together is the quartz so once the quartz has gone the whole thing is so fragile it falls apart in your fingers so it may as well be turned to dust.

 

[markgoldhunter]

It certainly isn't the prettiest piece I have got but that's out of my control so that's how it is going to stay. I have run the conductivity test on it and it's all connected so it is all one bit also I have a small vial of small bits that have come off during the journey. The cracks are through the little knob top left and across just above the quartz blob at the bottom so if either broke it would no longer be an ouncer. Thanks for all the comments.