Hello! Do you know that gold mining is not always a large-scale and complex process that requires special equipment and equipment? You can feel like a gold digger even in your own home; you just need to know the basics of chemistry and get the starting material. Interesting? Then I recommend reading the article to the end, where I will share the secret of how to mine gold at home and how to make this process safe.
Gold: its properties and applications
Everyone is familiar with the attractive yellow color of this precious metal. Because of its warm hue, people have associated it with the sun since ancient times. The metal is soft, ductile, but at the same time very heavy.
The purest precious metal can be cut with a knife. As an element it is designated “Au”, and the Latin name “aurum” is associated with the morning star Aurora.
Gold is not affected by non-metallic elements, does not react to natural substances, and therefore does not change its appearance at all over time.
This precious metal was the most expensive at the dawn of civilization until the 19th century AD.
The scope of application covers the jewelry industry, electronics, space industry, medicine, chemistry, interior design, glass and fabric production. Also, solar metal has had investment value for several millennia.
Flushing
This is the most ancient and environmentally friendly method based on the high density of gold. Flushing is used both in industrial mining and in individual mining at placer deposits. It consists of washing the rocks with water. In this case, all light particles are removed, and heavy particles, including gold, remain at the bottom of the tray. The disadvantage of this method is that too small particles of gold are washed out with water, significantly reducing its production. Some people are interested in whether it is possible for private individuals to mine gold. Yes, you can. Russia has passed a law allowing prospectors to work in small deposits and spent gold-bearing veins. To do this, you need to buy a license, which is valid for 5 years.
Where can you find gold? Raw materials for mining precious metals at home
Precious metal surrounds us everywhere. It is used to spray anti-corrosion inside a computer, decorate elements of cutlery, and can be used to cover mobile phone contacts.
Many gold-containing items are used to mine pure metal at home:
- Gold-containing parts in electronics. Electrical and radio components from the USSR era are especially rich in precious metal content. It is worth paying attention to the diodes of the D226 series, transistors of the KT series, microcircuits of 133 and 155 models. Other device elements - resistors, relays, processors, boards, capacitors - may also contain gold filling. Modern technology cannot boast of a similar amount of precious metal, but gold is present in computers, televisions, SIM cards, refrigerators, laptops, and various computer parts. It is even found in small amounts in the keyboard and processor fan.
- Gold plated jewelry. Earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets, and many other jewelry can have gilding and inclusions of valuable metals.
- Spraying on the clock. Gold is often used as a coating several microns thick for watch cases, hands, and numbers.
- Cutlery from a flea market. A wide variety of kitchen utensils can contain gold plating. It is worth paying attention to the plates of Soviet times; they were very often decorated with gold rims.
Gold-containing parts
Methods of gold mining from recycled materials
When it is necessary to obtain precious metal from gold-containing objects, a variety of methods are used. Let's look at the most effective ones.
Dissolving the base in acid. Principles of the method for spray-coated products
First you need to collect a sufficient amount of gold-containing raw materials. Next, parts that have no value are removed from it.
All items are placed in a specially prepared container and filled with saturated nitric acid. After 5 days, after the base has completely dissolved, the entire mixture is filtered.
The resulting sediment must be placed in a new vessel, then filled with vodka or ethyl alcohol. Leave for a day.
Borax and soda for further processing and reduction of precious metal losses
Borax or sodium tetraborate is widely used in everyday life and is not a toxic element. Sometimes borax is used in gold extraction - it is easily available and cheap. With its help, you can extract much more precious metal than using methods such as amalgamation.
Since home gold mining involves small volumes of solar metal, it is very important to minimize losses. Adding borax to the precious metal flakes at the final stage of refining will simplify subsequent processing steps and also reduce volume loss.
Instead of borax, you can use soda, which has a lower melting point.
Electrolysis
Electrolysis is used when gold is extracted from electrical components. This method is considered more complex compared to the evaporation method.
However, electrolysis makes it possible to obtain gold with fewer different impurities.
The extraction process proceeds as follows:
- We fill the glass container with sulfuric or hydrochloric acid in an amount sufficient to accommodate the prepared microcircuits.
- We place two iron or lead plates in the container. During the electrolysis process they will play the role of a cathode. This method uses microcircuits as an anode, from which the precious metal is extracted.
- Both plates are connected using copper wire.
- After connecting the copper wire, we lower the prepared microcircuits into the container. Next, we pass an electric current through it - no more than 0.8 amperes for every 1 sq. dm of area.
- During the electrolysis process, the precious metal gradually settles on the plates. After they have acquired a yellow tint, the current is turned off.
Finally, you need to remove the gold from the metal plates. To do this you need to use the etching method. If the process is slow or the amount of deposited gold is not enough, it is necessary to increase the current value.
Both technologies do not require significant time and money. If you have a sufficient number of microcircuits, they can make good money. The result of all work will be gold, which contains many impurities. To remove them, you can use a method known as refining. It involves the use of various acids, through which foreign elements are removed from the precious metal.
If Soviet radio components were used in the electrolysis process, then refining allows us to ultimately obtain 999 purity material.
Electrolysis and etching are two of the most effective and relatively simple ways to obtain precious metal at home. Both technologies do not require serious training. At the same time, during metal etching, it is necessary to follow safety rules and avoid skin contact with acids.
Gold Melting Equipment
To melt precious metal, the following equipment is required:
- Form for melting gold (crucible). It is a container for heating, drying, and melting metal. A necessary piece of equipment for gold extraction at home. It has a conical or cylindrical shape. You can do it yourself.
- Burners or muffle furnaces. This equipment is necessary for melting. Muffle furnaces are heating devices capable of maintaining temperatures of 1800 degrees. Burners are used both gasoline and gas.
Processing of the resulting metal
The metal obtained by etching requires further processing. What can you do with the resulting gold? The filtered remainder of the precious metal after drying can be placed in a crucible and heated using a burner or muffle furnace, melting it into an ingot. This process must be accompanied by the addition of a mixture of borax and soda to the crucible, which will prevent unnecessary loss of precious metal, eliminate impurities and give the ingot a beautiful shine.
Casting gold products at home is carried out using special casting molds. The metal is melted in a container with a spout, from which it is poured into the hole of the mold. The container must be made of steel or cast iron, and the smelting process itself must be carried out in a muffle furnace. To prevent the shape from blurring, the metal must be poured in a very thin and continuous stream. After it has cooled, the mold can be disassembled and the finished product can be removed from it.
Products obtained in this way have a rough surface and therefore must be subjected to additional processing. This kind of gold polishing, done at home, is called finishing. It is produced using special pastes and soft rags; improvised means are also suitable for polishing - toothpaste or powder, a piece of felt.
Gold obtained from radio components can be used for the soldering process of damaged gold products that require repair. Soldering precious metal products is not difficult if you have the necessary materials and tools at hand. Soldering is necessary for repairing chains, bracelets, earrings, and antiques.
For soldering gold, jewelry solder is used, which is prepared from the most precious metal and additives. The composition of a particular solder depends on the standard of gold from which the product being repaired is made. If you are restoring a 585-carat chain, then 585 parts by weight of the solder should be gold. The rest is divided between additives: 186 shares are allocated to copper, 115 to silver and 112 to cadmium.
Soldering gold when repairing jewelry at home is easier if tinol is used. Tinol is a special solder paste applied over the soldering area to give it the greatest strength. After the product has cooled, excess solder is removed with wire cutters and the surface is cleaned. The result should be a monolithic product that does not differ in color, composition and physical characteristics.
When we mine gold at home, we usually don’t think about how we will use it. Some are fascinated by the etching process itself, others simply dream of getting the coveted piece of precious metal. What to do with it later: sell it, use it for decoration or use it for other purposes - everyone decides for themselves.
Rules and protection for safe gold mining operations
It should be borne in mind that extracting gold at home is a dangerous process, since there is constant contact with aggressive chemicals.
The fumes released into the air during the reaction are toxic and can cause loss of consciousness and even death. Therefore, all operations with chemicals must be done indoors, equipped with good ventilation or outdoors.
In case of contact with skin, saturated acids cause severe burns. Gloves, a protective suit and glasses should become an invariable attribute of a gold miner when working.
Mining gold in the river
Cyanidation
This least labor-intensive method is based on dissolving gold in hydrocyanic acid. How to extract gold by cyanidation? It is necessary to crush the rock that contains the noble metal, pour it into a waterproof tray, and fill it with hydrocyanic acid, in particular sodium cyanide. It will begin to seep through the rock, dissolving the gold in the process. The resulting solution is poured into a separate container. The gold it contains is precipitated, for example, with zinc dust, and hydrocyanic acid is returned to the process.
Does the Law allow it? Conditions for the legality of activity when receiving a permanent income
To mine precious metals at home, you will definitely need a license. Otherwise, such transactions with gold will be illegal. Such operations are regulated by Article 191 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on “Illegal trafficking in amber, jade or other semi-precious stones, precious metals, precious stones or pearls.”
- Opening an LLC with a legal address. A license can be obtained by a legal entity that has a legal address. Therefore, to legally extract precious metals, you need to open an LLC.
- Obtaining a license to operate. A license can only be obtained by a legal entity with a valid legal address. The applicant must provide the following documents to the Assay Office:
- Statement;
- Copies of documents for real estate premises used in the activity;
- Confirmation that the premises used comply with fire safety requirements.
Is the gold mining business profitable: the main pros and cons
The clear advantages include:
the process is interesting, not very expensive in terms of time and money;
as you gain experience, the process will become simple and automatic;
the costs are paid off.
The disadvantages include:
increased danger due to working with toxic chemical elements;
to make a good profit you need to find a large number of gold-containing items;
Obtaining a license will take a lot of time and money.
Gold mining is the oldest sphere in the mining industry
Category: question-answer
Is it possible to make gold at home with your own hands?
Expert opinion
Andrey Seleznev
Chemist-technologist, Volgograd
To extract precious metals, a personal laboratory is not necessary; everything can be done at home. The procedure will require special reagents, containers, precautions, and a sufficient amount of gold-containing materials.
Where can you get everything you need to get gold at home?
Expert opinion
Zavorotniy Alexey
Service engineer
Items containing gold can be found at home or purchased through an ad. At a hardware store you can buy scales, plastic containers, and rubber gloves. Chemical reagents and equipment are sold in specialized stores.
How profitable is it to mine gold from old things?
Expert opinion
Shabanov Andrey
Amateur prospector, has been searching for gold for over 14 years
Mining gold-containing items really has an excellent return on investment. At first, difficulties may arise with the acquisition of various parts and the process of obtaining the precious metal itself. But as a result, sales and purchasing markets will be established, and the receiving process will be brought to automation.
Process of extracting gold from natural sources
What type of sample is obtained by etching gold?
Expert opinion
Andrey Seleznev
Chemist-technologist, Volgograd
During the first cleaning, it will probably be possible to obtain a precious metal of low purity. Therefore, the refining procedure must be carried out several times.
How to obtain a mining permit
It is immediately necessary to make a reservation that the cost of the license must be included in the volume of the initial investment. The permit is valid for five years. After the five-year period has expired, the license must be renewed. The cost of licensing depends on the type of permit and the conditions that the document implies.
Specialized legal bureaus provide assistance with registration. This is the simplest way, but it involves payment of a reward. Collecting documents, submitting an application, going through the authorities, right up to obtaining a license, is undertaken by specialists. The principal can only wait for the procedure to be completed. However, the license price varies:
- Mining gold from sand at home. Gold placer will cost less - from 10,000 to 100,000 rubles.
- Development of gold ore deposits. Professional activity on an industrial scale costs from 15,000 to 200,000, but now it’s dollars.
It is important to know! The amount of the state fee for the initial registration of a permit is 7,500 rubles. The extension will cost 10 times less - 750 rubles.
The Ministry of Nature organizes a competition, which is held in the manner of a tender. Participants submit applications indicating the cost of the proposal. The best one in the auction wins. The permit requires the indication of a specific site for the industrial development of precious metals. But this is for large enterprises.
Important to remember! Since 2016, a commercial entity with the status of a legal entity or individual entrepreneur can obtain a license. Previously, permits were issued only to legal entities. Now any private entrepreneur can engage in development.
