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| Leaching Gold |
| Updated 11/5/2006 |
No other subject has received so much attention, been so investigated, caused so
much havoc to the environment, and been so misunderstood.
Today you will find many who claim to posses a magic potion or "Supreme Leach"
often offered at astronomical prices, or contain some mystical ingredient that no
one else on earth has.
Granted there are a variety of common leaches, some alkaline, some acidic-based,
but none more active than the Halogen family, which includes Chlorine, Bromine,
Iodine, and other oxidizing agents.
Checking them off the list, none is as cheap or plentiful, which works over as wide a
range of ore types as Chlorine.
much havoc to the environment, and been so misunderstood.
Today you will find many who claim to posses a magic potion or "Supreme Leach"
often offered at astronomical prices, or contain some mystical ingredient that no
one else on earth has.
Granted there are a variety of common leaches, some alkaline, some acidic-based,
but none more active than the Halogen family, which includes Chlorine, Bromine,
Iodine, and other oxidizing agents.
Checking them off the list, none is as cheap or plentiful, which works over as wide a
range of ore types as Chlorine.
Halox is newly-born Chlorine, generated generally by electrolysis, which actually takes place quite
naturally when you get Sodium Chloride and Hydrochloric Acid together, in water...the donor for all of
the oxygen and hydrogen required in the process of creating Gold Chlorides from this mix.
In practical terms;
To make your own "Homemade Halox"....
Per gallon of HOT water, add 1/2 cup Iodized Salt, 1/2 cup Calcium Hypochlorite powder, and 1/4 cup
of HCL.
Do all of this outdoors, as chlorine gases are generated, and stay UPWIND... Don't try it indoors, or it
will choke you and everyone else out.
An ORP and PH meter, will help you keep track of what is happening in the Leach you just made. As the
leach goes to work on the ores..it loses it's capacity to leach, requiring you to add small amounts of HCL
(Muriatic acid) to keep the leach potent.
If you have an ORP meter, keep it near or above 1000 mv. Below 400, it stops leaching.
The chlorine, as formed, leaches a molecule of gold at a time, so it is not instantaneous, and often takes
hours or even days, depending what else is in the mix to interfere with it while leaching.
As iron is one of the biggest robbers of the chlorine, it gets leached as well.
Two things will help that;
First, don't add too much HCL at a time...keep the leach from fizzing, boiling and out-gassing chlorine
fumes.
Secondly, you can pre-wash the ores with our Citric Acid Wash. It does a good job of removing iron
and other base metals first, keeping the leach at full strength.
You can pour the leach in and let it sit, or put it into a small plastic-tubbed cement mixer, sold at Home
Depot, etc.........and rotate it. Other methods like a small poly propeller on a long stainless steel shaft,
motor-driven, in a plastic garbage can works too, for small batches.
Agitation insures all parts of the ore, sediments or black sands get treated completely.
When adding more HCL produces no more gold (ORP does not rise,) then mixture is allowed to rest, till
the sediments settle. The "pregnant Lixiviant" is drawn off and ready to be extracted, or, "Stripped"
of the Gold and Precious metals, from the leach.
naturally when you get Sodium Chloride and Hydrochloric Acid together, in water...the donor for all of
the oxygen and hydrogen required in the process of creating Gold Chlorides from this mix.
In practical terms;
To make your own "Homemade Halox"....
Per gallon of HOT water, add 1/2 cup Iodized Salt, 1/2 cup Calcium Hypochlorite powder, and 1/4 cup
of HCL.
Do all of this outdoors, as chlorine gases are generated, and stay UPWIND... Don't try it indoors, or it
will choke you and everyone else out.
An ORP and PH meter, will help you keep track of what is happening in the Leach you just made. As the
leach goes to work on the ores..it loses it's capacity to leach, requiring you to add small amounts of HCL
(Muriatic acid) to keep the leach potent.
If you have an ORP meter, keep it near or above 1000 mv. Below 400, it stops leaching.
The chlorine, as formed, leaches a molecule of gold at a time, so it is not instantaneous, and often takes
hours or even days, depending what else is in the mix to interfere with it while leaching.
As iron is one of the biggest robbers of the chlorine, it gets leached as well.
Two things will help that;
First, don't add too much HCL at a time...keep the leach from fizzing, boiling and out-gassing chlorine
fumes.
Secondly, you can pre-wash the ores with our Citric Acid Wash. It does a good job of removing iron
and other base metals first, keeping the leach at full strength.
You can pour the leach in and let it sit, or put it into a small plastic-tubbed cement mixer, sold at Home
Depot, etc.........and rotate it. Other methods like a small poly propeller on a long stainless steel shaft,
motor-driven, in a plastic garbage can works too, for small batches.
Agitation insures all parts of the ore, sediments or black sands get treated completely.
When adding more HCL produces no more gold (ORP does not rise,) then mixture is allowed to rest, till
the sediments settle. The "pregnant Lixiviant" is drawn off and ready to be extracted, or, "Stripped"
of the Gold and Precious metals, from the leach.
| Mega Leaching |
We have outlined the basics of "Halox" leaching for those just beginning to recover gold from all of
it's hiding places, in a safe and sane manner. Handling chemicals that are dangerous requires a
healthy respect for stuff that can melt flesh and eat lung tissue if inhaled. As most of us have
limited facilities, we encourage you to work outdoors, where breezes blow away the corrosive fumes
and spills don't create household panics. Even at that, please familiarize yourself with standard lab
procedures, don't mix chemicals you are unfamiliar with, and wear protective clothing, covering
eyes, breath and hands at the very least.
Not all ores respond to the "Halox" methods, nor can they, owing to "Complexing" agents, like
carbonates, excessive iron or sulfides/sulfates.
These and other type ores may require specialized treatment, pre-treatments or other routes of
leaching not disclosed here. We do not sell these leach mixtures, as they involve Haz-Mat chemicals
(available everywhere), and we do not ship them, owing to the paperwork and special handling
charges. We do provide key ingredients, and the formulas however.
These more powerful leach mixes are superior to anything offered by any company, are used by
commercial mining operations, laboratories and select individuals. These formulas describe
step-by-step methods for preparing, extracting Gold, Silver and Platinums from common and
un-common ores, waters, and other samples. All of these procedures are done at normal atmospheric
temperatures and pressures.
it's hiding places, in a safe and sane manner. Handling chemicals that are dangerous requires a
healthy respect for stuff that can melt flesh and eat lung tissue if inhaled. As most of us have
limited facilities, we encourage you to work outdoors, where breezes blow away the corrosive fumes
and spills don't create household panics. Even at that, please familiarize yourself with standard lab
procedures, don't mix chemicals you are unfamiliar with, and wear protective clothing, covering
eyes, breath and hands at the very least.
Not all ores respond to the "Halox" methods, nor can they, owing to "Complexing" agents, like
carbonates, excessive iron or sulfides/sulfates.
These and other type ores may require specialized treatment, pre-treatments or other routes of
leaching not disclosed here. We do not sell these leach mixtures, as they involve Haz-Mat chemicals
(available everywhere), and we do not ship them, owing to the paperwork and special handling
charges. We do provide key ingredients, and the formulas however.
These more powerful leach mixes are superior to anything offered by any company, are used by
commercial mining operations, laboratories and select individuals. These formulas describe
step-by-step methods for preparing, extracting Gold, Silver and Platinums from common and
un-common ores, waters, and other samples. All of these procedures are done at normal atmospheric
temperatures and pressures.