Mercury Use and Recovering Gold from Amalgam information and questions

Mercury is not readily absorbed through the skin especially with only minor contact. Main thing is to keep it under water to avoid any vapours.wish I knew that as a kid errrrrahh ticccc errrr dribbbbble dribbbbble shoot my duck hese goon mad .?

Thanks guys for the input much appreciated

I agree with mudgee hunter,not a good thing to have too much contact time with other metals,make sure ya got a spare vial for it.

bumdags said:

Thanks guys for the input much appreciated

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It sounds like zinc flakes. I've found it several times on the gold fields. Damned if I know what it was used for, but finding it 3 times in different localities got me stumped. I know it was zinc because when I tossed it on the red hot charcoal in my heater it started oxidising with that aqua coloured flame typical of zinc.
By the way, it should crumble very easily. Does not bend because it's thin and partly oxidised.

Mmm,
Mercury that comes in contact with organic matter or decomposed organic matter forms Elthy mercury. This stuff is readily absorbed through the skin and has a toxic and long term affect. It is not safe to handle without appropriate ppe.
Also where has the idea of flashing of mercury in good ventilation become OK and a safe way to handle. The vapours are extremely toxic mostly by inhalation and an environmental pollutant that is far spreading. I would only suggest to do so within a retort that is of closed loop design. And that is if you have good industrial hygiene methods in practice.

I don't want to bring a downer to the conversation table but if you are going to handle mercury please read thoroughly about it.

As for a quick mercury detection method. Leave it sit on aluminum for several hours or over night. The aluminum will show signs of rust (decay).

As always, stay safe and happy hunting.

Matt I

Hey matt thanks for your input. I don't have any plans on burning the mercury off myself. I think i will just keep collecting it until I have a decent amount and then try to find someone who can do it for me.

Hey bums, google and read up about retorts. If your somewhat handy or know someone who is they are relatively easy to make and use and always good to have if youre in a mercury prone area.

While yes, basic common sense and safety should always be used, dont let the often over the top doom and gloom put you off.
I find mercury an invaluable tool and use it often.

I agree with you Tuna. It's a valuable tool. And safe if handled properly.

I will look into it :Y:

I just watched this video on Mercury last night, it was very informative so I thought I would share it.

Good video,cheers for sharing

Nile Reed is awesome

Restricted hazardous chemicals/dangerous goods use or discussion isn't endorsed by Forum Management. Individuals using any hazardous chemicals/dangerous goods do so at their own risk/s and need to ensure their own legislative compliance.

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Really cool footage of the reaction between gold and mercury. Always think of gold as indestructible so its strange seeing it morph into something else only to return again! Led me to some reading and this article was great.
http://www.prospectorsparadise.com/basement-chemistry/using-mercury/

Found a little bit today. It has what looks like lead attached to it but could also be mecury from reading posts on this forum. What do you guys think? Is there a way to remove it from the gold?

This is a better picture. Anyone know?

Some of it is dark like its been burnt or something.

I've saved it all in a separate vial from my other gold as i'm not sure what to do with it. The only bit of gold that doesnt have any lead or mecury on it is the long picker.

Almost certainly Mercury.

The only way I know to remove involves a potato but as I cant comment as I have no idea who might read it try a forum search. Your answer will be in these pages. And by the way it's bloody terrible stuff to be around even in small doses, so just be super vigilant how your handling it in its raw state. It's cumulative so not really as harmless as some make out.

Nice score am1990
It looks like it could be mercury. It would be safest to remove the mercury with a retort but there are some other dodgy ways to remove it.

OldGT said:

Almost certainly Mercury.

The only way I know to remove involves a potato but as I cant comment as I have no idea who might read it try a forum search. Your answer will be in these pages. And by the way it's bloody terrible stuff to be around even in small doses, so just be super vigilant how your handling it in its raw state. It's cumulative so not really as harmless as some make out.

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I used tweezers to transfer from the pan into the vial. Other than that i don't plan to play around with it.

I would love to know how a potato could help remove mecury.

How did the mecury get there? Why does it attach itself to gold?

HippyProspecting said:

Nice score am1990
It looks like it could be mercury. It would be safest to remove the mercury with a retort but there are some other dodgy ways to remove it.

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Whats a retort? Never heard of one.

AM1990 said:

How did the mercury get there? Why does it attach itself to gold?

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How did it get there? It's almost certainly not naturally occurring. More than likely it came from the old timers spilling some.

Why does it attach itself to gold? It has to do with Mercury's electron shell configuration. Mercury will readily form amalgams with most metals.

You can learn more about Mercury by watching this video: