Gold Nugget and Specimen Cleaning Advice

Biggest problem with cleaning gold ..... have to find it first.

But seriously, everyone mentions Alibrite ..... local auto place doesn't stock it but showed me 2 others, one smallish bottle of green stuff is what he recons the trucks love using ..... can't recall the names, of the product.

Anyone used a brand name product besides Alibrite.

Cheers T.

I can anyone please tell me how to get the stone and quarts from a nugget .
Thanks

For ironstone and iron staining Oxalic Acid (used in deck cleaners) is safe and effective, if a little slow.

The only option for quartz is hydrofluric acid, which is hard to get, very dangerous. Alibright contains it in a relatively weak concentration (just less than 10g per litre), but it still needs to be treated with care.

if you search the forum you will find a number of threads on this topic, from people who know more about it than me in practice!

I bought my alibrite from AGRADE CLEANING SUPPLIES. 93634200 delivered. A whole 5 litres of the stuff.... enough to last 5 lifetimes with all the gold I've found so far... hahahah
Yeah you gotta find it first is right!!!

I noticed our local Supercheap still stocks bottles of Alibrite when passing through there yesterday, didn't get close enough to notice the current pricing.

Bought a bottle myself at Supercheap last weekend for $20. Very reasonable. Cheers

Does the oxalic acid leave the nugget shiny or is there some other treatment needed to make it shine?
I have a nugget completely covered in a thin coat of ironstone.

Alibrite, work well safe and cheap. Takes a few days.

Thermal shock.
Heat it up over a kitchen gas flame holding it with cheap tongs and drop it into a cup of cold water.

Won't hurt the gold as you will never get it hot enough.
But will make most ironstone and quartz crack and flake off.

Alibrite works well if you are carefull and patient.

If its Ironstone only then Hydrachloric acid from the building section at any hardware store will disolve it. just be careful its pretty potent when used straight.

Hi Folks,

I am after your thoughts and advice on cleaning a nugget I found earlier in the week. The piece was initially cleaned for about two minutes in bicarbonate and white vinegar and came up quite well. When inspected closely, a few minor pieces of quartz were evident on one side.

There appears to be a couple of options here:

1) keep the nugget as it is and leave the quartz in place or

2) clean the piece thoroughly in alibrite and then polish the gold

My initial thinking is option one as it is a pretty piece. I have seen gold cleaned and tumbled but I am not sure that this nugget warrants any more attention. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. I did a specific gravity test and found that over 95% of the specimen is gold. How does cleaning impact on the value of a nugget?

Looking forward to your comments.

Cheers

Les

P.S. I may post the specific gravity test. It's quite a simple, interesting exercise. I am sure that some PA members with more knowledge and experience could also contribute to that post.

Hi LG.I leave the quartz on and do not polish the gold. It'll likely reduce its value.
There's been lots written on PA re SG testing methods, but some of the newbies may like to learn.
Here's one of many links:
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=17698

Hi LG,
Have you got a coupple of photos of the peice?? To help see if it should be cleaned up or not.
I have only ever done the alibrite, what do you mean "then polish the gold"

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the comments. I will attach a couple of photos. By polish I mean tumble or use a shaker to add shine to the rounded or leading edges. Hope this helps.

Cheers

Les

This literally made my mouth water 8)

I reckon it's just beautiful as is, Les! :Y:

Definitely worth more in their natural state as BigWave mentioned above.

Sometimes just trying to clean or polish via the wrong methods can ruin what was a nice nug to begin with.

It's usually only those dodgy-looking man made nuggets (from scrap or general melted gold) that have an obvious high polish look and it's not a great really. Just doesn't seem right?

Definitely a wonderful lump to hang on to!

Kindest regards,
Shauno.

They look much prettier au naturel

I like it how it is as well, looks perfect. :Y:

Don't touch it LEAVE AS IS ...
That is a ripper of a peice......

Cheers Nanjim
Jim

Thanks everyone

I agree with your comments. Wasn't sure of the best approach but you have confirmed my gut feeling and personal preference.

Cheers

Les