You are welcome... Simple, no big deal in the amounts of mercury we're talking about....I have to do this maybe once or twice a year. Outside, stay up wind, don't breathe any vapors. Obviously, IF I had a LOT I'd use a retort. This is atoms thick on that little amount of fine placer gold.
Cheers, Randy C-17A triple w (dot) goldadventures (dot) biz
Good idea...I now have a tripod. I made the video on the spur of the moment one night on my back patio. Trying to hold the camera, the small propane torch and talk was a lot. Anyways, you get the idea by the end. A few passes of the torch, and poof, mercury is vaporized. Don't heat so much my lead pieces may melt and bond to your gold! Cheers. Randy C-17A
Please buy and use a tripod. I realize that it is hard to do a process and hold the camera at the same time so...the tripod is a cheap and easy solution.
Any heat source can work...I use a little hand help propane torch.........a little wanding it over the gold and "poof" the mercury is gone. I have heard others put the pan on their BBQ outside and heat it until the mercury vaporizes. Do it outside, stay upwind, don't breathe any vapors. C-17A
Agree 100%. I have to do this maybe once or twice a year at most.
Gregconquest,
Sorry on the camera work...I did it all by myself at night on my back patio. Operating the torch was job # 1, and I tried to hold the camera pointed at the operation as best I could. It was made for a buddy, not really intended to post it here as a cinamgraphic work of art, but did anyways, as I hope you got the idea. Cheers, Randy C-17A
You think pointing the camera AT what you're heating with the torch at would have been helpful? You pointed the camera off the corner almost the whole time.
Yes, the mercury will vaporize off just the same. May take a moment or two longer and leave your with a little litle ball of what is called sponge gold. A little chunk of all the individual specks conglomerated together. Usually a dull gold color. I say keep the BB size ball in an airtight glass vial. Use it whenever to roll around in the last bit of black sands you have -50 mesh and finer. Let it amalgamate with what it can until it won't roll. THEN heat it in fresh air. Randy C-17A
Hey Randy, C0017A I got a question about getting mercury off some gold i found in California. I went panning today, and got alot of mercury in my pan. It engolfed my gold, and now i got a big BB sized ball of mercury. Will this prosess work? It looked real simple. Well any feed back would be creat tku. Jessgo33
Most was in the rivers of the MotherLode areas in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California... The old miners used a LOT of mercury (quick silver) to try and capture fine gold in their rockers, sluices and even pans...a LOT got out into the rivers and we prospectors get it back.
Randy C-17A triple w (dot) goldadventures (dot) biz
@C0017A True. I'm very sensitive in mercury. I lived in Sierra Neada Mountains before & i had a terrible health problems. After the many time consuming examinations thye discovered I had a mercury poisoning. Gold minin is not great things to do. so as breaking florecent lights, botton batteries, amargum fillings for teeth..those things adds up & kill you slowly & surely.
I only have to do this maybe once a year. Do it outdoors, have a breeze, stay up wind, don't breathe any potenial vapors...gone in seconds. Cheers. Randy
Thanks for the demo, Randy - my buddy and I ran into our first encounter of mercury-contaminated gold about a month ago. We will go with your approach.
And I'd pay no heed, either, to these other guys. They probably drink out of a garden hose, either! :)
No, far from it. Mercury is a naturally occuring metal found on gold. It is in your tuna, batteries, flourescent light bulbs, even your household cleaners. Enjoy this list: Mercury Content of Selected Cleaners * Product Mercury Content (ppb) Ajax Powder 0.17 , Comet Cleaner 0.15, Lysol Direct <0.011, Soft Scrub <0.013, Alconox Soap 0.004 mg/kg,Derma Scrub <5.0, Dove Soap 0.0027, Ivory Dishwashing Liquid 0.061, Joy Dishwashing Liquid <0.01, Murphy's Oil Soap 0.012, on and on. Lighten up. Randy
Who ever said anything about taking 1 pound of mercury, locking yourself in a room and enjoying the aroma? Nobody. You comparison is idiotic. The amount of mercury on this small amount of gold is about .000000000000000001 grams. It clings only a few atoms thick. Gone in a flash at 674 degrees F. This is a simple & cheap way to return it to nature, where it came from. If you don't like this method, pick one you do, I like this one -- fast, cheap, works. Randy "C-17A"
I don't mine with mercury & I don't amalgamate gold & mercury to later retort, or I'd use a retort. I maybe get a gram or two of gold at most a year as I pan, sluice dredge contaminated with mercury and once a year put it in a pan & burn it off. This mercury is only atoms thick on the gold and a retort would be a waste of time. Every house size flourescent bulb has 3-5 milligrams mercury, and billions are made every year. Lots break, or are thrown away. Go after that...
@C0017A the best & safest way to remove mercury from gold is to slice a potato in half, scoop out a piece in the middle, put in your gold, put the potato back together, bake it outdoors in a safe place. the mercury will go into the potato, leaving the gold in the little pocket you scooped out. make sure you dont breathe the vapors, and dispose of the potato in a safe place. cool.
The amount of mercury in this video is less than you get in a flourescent bulb. Sad you can't balance reality & hype. Maybe tiltle your life a case study for eco-Nazi propaganda & ask yourself if you watch R-rated videos, use butter, rely on coal fired power plants for your cheap electricity and such. Do you believe "Global Warming" is man made? If so, you are to be pittied above all. Think about brain dead & report back when you actually use yours....
thanks for making your crabon footprint bigger hahaha people just wish they had gold, this video helps i got some i need to treat, a few specs arent anything, the old miners did tis by the barrel haha
No need to watch. Thanks. I see all the kids at the local schools. That's all the brain damage I can stand, knowing what they are taught & what they will become.
Thanks for your concern. Maybe add to your list of "evil" things heavy metal music, drugs, sniffing glue, alcohol abuse, gambling, prostitution, extreme sports, Liberalism, Socialism, Elitist/Leftist politicians, excess taxes on working Americans & eco-Nazis. This is no big deal in the micro amounts we're talking about...
@C0017A If these guys understood just how much mercury is released, virtually unfiltered, by coal burning power plants, they'd collectively shit themselves. Never mind the hundreds of tons of uranium, thorium, and myriad of other fun heavy metals which are pumped into the atmosphere as a consequence of enjoying their electricity so they can post ill-informed comments.
Though not the best camera work, that was a good demonstration of how to burn off mercury. Personally, I use nitric, but you never seem to be able to restore the natural luster.
That said, all these worriesome comments about burning such a little amount of mercury off is rather pathetic. I guess it's much easier to criticize this than to worry about slurping down their daily dose of mercury and fluoride in their food and water.
Keep up the good work and lots of that Colorado AU to you.
Thanks for the positive comments. Totally agree so many folks think this little bit is such a death wish. I don't breathe the fumes, stay up wind. Works for me. I soak my gold in SimpleGreen cleaner in a small glass jar to brighten it up for a week or so. Give it a try
Well, sorry you can't see the demo well. I was admittedly trying to hold the camera in one hand and run my propane torch in the other. The propane torch hand had priority. I had no helper. Hopefully you got the point. Put your mercury contaminated gold in an old tin pan with sides, heat the gold slowly to just drive the mercury off. Let cool. You're done.
I disagree it's unsafe. You are free to do whatever you wish with your mercury coated gold. This is how I deal with the problem. Thanks for looking, however.
I too believe this small amount is safe, remember florescent lights all have mercury in them and when you break them it gets out also.
I have maybe 1/10th this much mercury coated gold stored up and I'd need 300 times my amount to consider making a retort. EVERYTHING is relative, and this much won't affect anything even with thousands of people doing it. Check out what they do in developing countries, that's where the attention needs to go.
Thanks for your concern. In these amounts, I am not. Quaker Oatmeal has 350 ppt mercury, BBQ sauce 300, Hershey's chocolate syrup 257, many other foods too. Oh, don't forget the tuna. You use mercury all the time? Interesting... Maybe make a video of building a retort, and how you use a retort for others to enjoy. Cheers.
Thanks or the info I can now clean up all my gold. The amount o mercury released is so small Its a wonder how so many people have been oversensitized to the word mercury. a can of hair spray has about 100 tmes the pollutents than were just burned of. ,however the government makes money of that so propoganda doesnt include it or your household cleaners.
if you have gold thats got mercury on it, you wouldnt want to be touching it or wearing it all the time, that would kill you. youd have to burn it off. but 0.0000001% of mercury in the atmosphere is not going to kill you. we have cigarettes that will do what mercury can.
this is very very dangerous to humans lol buring mercury on gold releases toxic fumes which can and will cause cancers and other deformaties plz anyone dont do this and i dont know y even this guy did it well cool anyways
Thanks for the comments. But like I said in previous comments, what little mercury is coating this gold isn't a real risk as I do it. The lead in your lead soldered copper water pipes is a bigger deal. Common sense applies here -- outdoors, stay up wind, don't breathe any potential fumes and in a few seconds the mercury is gone off the gold. Cheers, Randy.
I was under the impression that burning mercury off into the atmosphere, where it then comes back down in rainfall polluting the water again, was Bad.
In big amounts, and I mean BIG amounts, I would agree. However, the amount of mercury that's on this gold, probably a few atoms thick, is nothing in the big scheme of things. Just breaking 1 mercury vapor or flourescent light, or dropping an old thermometer, or who knows what isn't going to kill you. Don't accept the over hype. Tuna is safe to eat. Burning off this little bit of mercury is no big deal.
Steepline1,
You are welcome... Simple, no big deal in the amounts of mercury we're talking about....I have to do this maybe once or twice a year. Outside, stay up wind, don't breathe any vapors. Obviously, IF I had a LOT I'd use a retort. This is atoms thick on that little amount of fine placer gold.
Cheers, Randy C-17A triple w (dot) goldadventures (dot) biz
C0017A 1 month ago
Good info. Thanks man. Appreciate it.
steepline1 1 month ago
i use thermite
caessarion 1 month ago
Exenrontexas,
Good idea...I now have a tripod. I made the video on the spur of the moment one night on my back patio. Trying to hold the camera, the small propane torch and talk was a lot. Anyways, you get the idea by the end. A few passes of the torch, and poof, mercury is vaporized. Don't heat so much my lead pieces may melt and bond to your gold! Cheers. Randy C-17A
C0017A 1 month ago
Please buy and use a tripod. I realize that it is hard to do a process and hold the camera at the same time so...the tripod is a cheap and easy solution.
exenrontexas 1 month ago
Sorry if you've been drilled with this question before. What's the easiest place to get mercury from? thermometers?
humby123 3 months ago
Greetings,
Any heat source can work...I use a little hand help propane torch.........a little wanding it over the gold and "poof" the mercury is gone. I have heard others put the pan on their BBQ outside and heat it until the mercury vaporizes. Do it outside, stay upwind, don't breathe any vapors. C-17A
C0017A 5 months ago
WOW GREAT VIDEO can i use a torch lighter
bhart63 5 months ago
Kelt76,
Agree 100%. I have to do this maybe once or twice a year at most.
Gregconquest,
Sorry on the camera work...I did it all by myself at night on my back patio. Operating the torch was job # 1, and I tried to hold the camera pointed at the operation as best I could. It was made for a buddy, not really intended to post it here as a cinamgraphic work of art, but did anyways, as I hope you got the idea. Cheers, Randy C-17A
C0017A 7 months ago
You think pointing the camera AT what you're heating with the torch at would have been helpful? You pointed the camera off the corner almost the whole time.
gregconquest 7 months ago
Doing this once on a small scale is no big deal. If you do this on a regular basis it will have serious consequences on your health.
kelt76 7 months ago
Jessgo33,
Yes, the mercury will vaporize off just the same. May take a moment or two longer and leave your with a little litle ball of what is called sponge gold. A little chunk of all the individual specks conglomerated together. Usually a dull gold color. I say keep the BB size ball in an airtight glass vial. Use it whenever to roll around in the last bit of black sands you have -50 mesh and finer. Let it amalgamate with what it can until it won't roll. THEN heat it in fresh air. Randy C-17A
C0017A 8 months ago
Hey Randy, C0017A I got a question about getting mercury off some gold i found in California. I went panning today, and got alot of mercury in my pan. It engolfed my gold, and now i got a big BB sized ball of mercury. Will this prosess work? It looked real simple. Well any feed back would be creat tku. Jessgo33
jessgo33 8 months ago
Mogges1,
Also, a very cheap way to get mercury easily is buying/salvaging used mercury switches for house A/C & heater thermostats.
Randy "C-17A"
C0017A 9 months ago
I go to walmart are a dollar store and but thermometers.and then take a piar of pliers and break out the murcury
mogges1 9 months ago
Lovegunz1,
We all do! You can prospect and find it yourself, or buy it off a prospector or reseller on eBay. Either way......gold is good!
Randy C-17A triple w (dot) goldadventures (dot) biz
C0017A 10 months ago
note to self dont use this pan for bakeing..
lovegunz1 10 months ago
i want a natural chunk of gold
lovegunz1 10 months ago
Most was in the rivers of the MotherLode areas in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California... The old miners used a LOT of mercury (quick silver) to try and capture fine gold in their rockers, sluices and even pans...a LOT got out into the rivers and we prospectors get it back.
Randy C-17A triple w (dot) goldadventures (dot) biz
C0017A 1 year ago
@C0017A True. I'm very sensitive in mercury. I lived in Sierra Neada Mountains before & i had a terrible health problems. After the many time consuming examinations thye discovered I had a mercury poisoning. Gold minin is not great things to do. so as breaking florecent lights, botton batteries, amargum fillings for teeth..those things adds up & kill you slowly & surely.
maxinpains 11 months ago
where did you find gold?! o.0
PufferFish31 1 year ago
I only have to do this maybe once a year. Do it outdoors, have a breeze, stay up wind, don't breathe any potenial vapors...gone in seconds. Cheers. Randy
C0017A 1 year ago
Thanks for the demo, Randy - my buddy and I ran into our first encounter of mercury-contaminated gold about a month ago. We will go with your approach.
And I'd pay no heed, either, to these other guys. They probably drink out of a garden hose, either! :)
lonesquid 1 year ago
No, far from it. Mercury is a naturally occuring metal found on gold. It is in your tuna, batteries, flourescent light bulbs, even your household cleaners. Enjoy this list: Mercury Content of Selected Cleaners * Product Mercury Content (ppb) Ajax Powder 0.17 , Comet Cleaner 0.15, Lysol Direct <0.011, Soft Scrub <0.013, Alconox Soap 0.004 mg/kg,Derma Scrub <5.0, Dove Soap 0.0027, Ivory Dishwashing Liquid 0.061, Joy Dishwashing Liquid <0.01, Murphy's Oil Soap 0.012, on and on. Lighten up. Randy
C0017A 1 year ago
echarters,
Who ever said anything about taking 1 pound of mercury, locking yourself in a room and enjoying the aroma? Nobody. You comparison is idiotic. The amount of mercury on this small amount of gold is about .000000000000000001 grams. It clings only a few atoms thick. Gone in a flash at 674 degrees F. This is a simple & cheap way to return it to nature, where it came from. If you don't like this method, pick one you do, I like this one -- fast, cheap, works. Randy "C-17A"
C0017A 1 year ago
Guys, guys, guys...
I don't mine with mercury & I don't amalgamate gold & mercury to later retort, or I'd use a retort. I maybe get a gram or two of gold at most a year as I pan, sluice dredge contaminated with mercury and once a year put it in a pan & burn it off. This mercury is only atoms thick on the gold and a retort would be a waste of time. Every house size flourescent bulb has 3-5 milligrams mercury, and billions are made every year. Lots break, or are thrown away. Go after that...
C0017A 1 year ago 4
@C0017A the best & safest way to remove mercury from gold is to slice a potato in half, scoop out a piece in the middle, put in your gold, put the potato back together, bake it outdoors in a safe place. the mercury will go into the potato, leaving the gold in the little pocket you scooped out. make sure you dont breathe the vapors, and dispose of the potato in a safe place. cool.
micregil 5 months ago
@username0u812ic ,
The amount of mercury in this video is less than you get in a flourescent bulb. Sad you can't balance reality & hype. Maybe tiltle your life a case study for eco-Nazi propaganda & ask yourself if you watch R-rated videos, use butter, rely on coal fired power plants for your cheap electricity and such. Do you believe "Global Warming" is man made? If so, you are to be pittied above all. Think about brain dead & report back when you actually use yours....
Randy
C0017A 1 year ago
Randy,
Checkout this simple retort.. It'll save the brain cells for about $5.00 at the local Ace
youtube.com/watch?v=KL9deyMSzs8
rmueller58 1 year ago
thanks for making your crabon footprint bigger hahaha people just wish they had gold, this video helps i got some i need to treat, a few specs arent anything, the old miners did tis by the barrel haha
BEASTLYSTANG1999 1 year ago
@username0u812ic ,
No need to watch. Thanks. I see all the kids at the local schools. That's all the brain damage I can stand, knowing what they are taught & what they will become.
Randy
C0017A 1 year ago 2
@username0u812ic ,
Thanks for your concern. Maybe add to your list of "evil" things heavy metal music, drugs, sniffing glue, alcohol abuse, gambling, prostitution, extreme sports, Liberalism, Socialism, Elitist/Leftist politicians, excess taxes on working Americans & eco-Nazis. This is no big deal in the micro amounts we're talking about...
Randy
C0017A 1 year ago
@C0017A they pull the teeth out of people before cremation that have mercury fillings, good money in sifting dead peoples ashs!
9DragonMaster 1 year ago
@C0017A If these guys understood just how much mercury is released, virtually unfiltered, by coal burning power plants, they'd collectively shit themselves. Never mind the hundreds of tons of uranium, thorium, and myriad of other fun heavy metals which are pumped into the atmosphere as a consequence of enjoying their electricity so they can post ill-informed comments.
nominalvelocity 1 year ago 6
Though not the best camera work, that was a good demonstration of how to burn off mercury. Personally, I use nitric, but you never seem to be able to restore the natural luster.
That said, all these worriesome comments about burning such a little amount of mercury off is rather pathetic. I guess it's much easier to criticize this than to worry about slurping down their daily dose of mercury and fluoride in their food and water.
Keep up the good work and lots of that Colorado AU to you.
kerbyjackson 1 year ago
kerbyjackson,
Thanks for the positive comments. Totally agree so many folks think this little bit is such a death wish. I don't breathe the fumes, stay up wind. Works for me. I soak my gold in SimpleGreen cleaner in a small glass jar to brighten it up for a week or so. Give it a try
Randy C-17A triple w dot goldadventures dot biz
C0017A 1 year ago
Well, sorry you can't see the demo well. I was admittedly trying to hold the camera in one hand and run my propane torch in the other. The propane torch hand had priority. I had no helper. Hopefully you got the point. Put your mercury contaminated gold in an old tin pan with sides, heat the gold slowly to just drive the mercury off. Let cool. You're done.
Randy "C-17A" triple w dot goldadventures dot biz
C0017A 1 year ago
Kickass0815,
I disagree it's unsafe. You are free to do whatever you wish with your mercury coated gold. This is how I deal with the problem. Thanks for looking, however.
Randy
C0017A 1 year ago
Comment removed
kickass0815 1 year ago
I too believe this small amount is safe, remember florescent lights all have mercury in them and when you break them it gets out also.
I have maybe 1/10th this much mercury coated gold stored up and I'd need 300 times my amount to consider making a retort. EVERYTHING is relative, and this much won't affect anything even with thousands of people doing it. Check out what they do in developing countries, that's where the attention needs to go.
piecartbox 1 year ago
Thanks. Everyone has their opinion. My contention is at this amount and this process it is safe. Cheers.
C0017A 1 year ago
tabwyo,
Thanks for your concern. In these amounts, I am not. Quaker Oatmeal has 350 ppt mercury, BBQ sauce 300, Hershey's chocolate syrup 257, many other foods too. Oh, don't forget the tuna. You use mercury all the time? Interesting... Maybe make a video of building a retort, and how you use a retort for others to enjoy. Cheers.
C0017A 2 years ago
@C0017A for human safety, fume hood is ideal. Didn't realize all that foodstuff had Hg in it. Don't forget about coal plants!
PandoraLeigh 1 year ago
Thanks or the info I can now clean up all my gold. The amount o mercury released is so small Its a wonder how so many people have been oversensitized to the word mercury. a can of hair spray has about 100 tmes the pollutents than were just burned of. ,however the government makes money of that so propoganda doesnt include it or your household cleaners.
golden1656 2 years ago
if you have gold thats got mercury on it, you wouldnt want to be touching it or wearing it all the time, that would kill you. youd have to burn it off. but 0.0000001% of mercury in the atmosphere is not going to kill you. we have cigarettes that will do what mercury can.
side502 2 years ago
this is very very dangerous to humans lol buring mercury on gold releases toxic fumes which can and will cause cancers and other deformaties plz anyone dont do this and i dont know y even this guy did it well cool anyways
mohammed4 2 years ago
Mohammed4,
Thanks for the comments. But like I said in previous comments, what little mercury is coating this gold isn't a real risk as I do it. The lead in your lead soldered copper water pipes is a bigger deal. Common sense applies here -- outdoors, stay up wind, don't breathe any potential fumes and in a few seconds the mercury is gone off the gold. Cheers, Randy.
C0017A 2 years ago
@mohammed4 ants are more deadly than this
lovegunz1 10 months ago
I was under the impression that burning mercury off into the atmosphere, where it then comes back down in rainfall polluting the water again, was Bad.
colby620 2 years ago
Colby620,
In big amounts, and I mean BIG amounts, I would agree. However, the amount of mercury that's on this gold, probably a few atoms thick, is nothing in the big scheme of things. Just breaking 1 mercury vapor or flourescent light, or dropping an old thermometer, or who knows what isn't going to kill you. Don't accept the over hype. Tuna is safe to eat. Burning off this little bit of mercury is no big deal.
Randy "C-17"
C0017A 2 years ago
very interesting, i have been wondering how to do this.... very informative!
chestateegold 2 years ago
too cool! thanks for posting i have been waiting for a video of mercury removel like this, you made it look soo easy now i can do it. thanks
scorpiotoyou 2 years ago