QuestionQUESTION: Hi,I am Diamond & colour gemstone dealer in Tanzania,recently i have planned to buy raw gold from gold diggers, normally they wash sand and collected gold particles by mercury.Now my questions is,how to easily test this type of gold?(it is real or fake).is it to heat them or to use some kind of acids?.. normally the diggers can get around 10-20 each...and its not economical to heat gold in furnace for just each digger with their small parcel.. i need to know a right, correct and simplest way to treat these gold and At the end of the day, i just have to switch on my furnace once and heat all the gold collected on that day.
ANSWER: Hi Yogesh,
Just get yourself a gold testing kit. Then you can do a streak test and determine the karat weight of the gold. You are getting the samples in a small button from the mercury so just draw a line on the streak plate and see which acid disolves the streak, this will determine the purity of the gold. Most jewelry supply houses will have this type of test kit with instructions on how to use it. Good luck
Peter
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QUESTION: Hi Peter,
Thank you for your advise, can you also help me out on the next heating step, and i heard that we have to use some acids(like nitric acid and hydrochloric acid), like i was told to mix this acid with gold and heat them to melting point. so i want to the right way to do this.If you can assist please.
Thank you
Yogesh
JS
AnswerYogesh,
If you have the gold in the form of a button from the mercury all you need do is slowly heat the buttons in a crucible and watch out for the vapor of the mercury, it is poison and can be very harmful or even deadly if inhaled. The acid would just add another harmful vapor to the mix. Once you have reduced the metal to a single piece let it cool and then get it to a refiner for the money. Do not try to refine it yourself let an expert do it so no gold is lost. Good Luck
Peter
