Small Scale Gold Mining - mercury retort

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Trent King

9 жыл бұрын

Using a mercury retort to process an amalgam into a gold button

Пікірлер: 52

@mattranson1340 9 жыл бұрын

Love your work Trent & Jacquie,got my fist piece after attending one of your course in Tuena........you are living the dream.

@ghostmonk8254 Жыл бұрын

After the initial heating and expulsion of the air inside the retort, a couple of mins with the heat applied to the area of the tube surrounding the crucible, getting it red hot. Ive observed mine generates a large quick burp of gas as the mercury goes up in smoke,( a deeper cooler pool of water or slowed travel of that bubble may save an extra bit of the silver stuff) immediately large balls of condensed mercury get spat out the bottom. Then repeat repeat . I like the silver stuff more than the gold, the gold is safe, but recovery of my mercury interests me more.

@1hardman161 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing. Good video clear and informative.

@ewastesolutionssonny1889 6 жыл бұрын

Cheers!! awesome video..from the USA

@TrevsOutbackandGoldAdventures 9 жыл бұрын

Looks like an interesting and fun process.Great video.Thumbs up from me....Cheers,Trev.

@tylerthompson3147 Жыл бұрын

Three beers to be sure! Lol

@AussieBlokeProspector 8 жыл бұрын

Gidday Trent...great vid mate.... still going through the fines we crushed... have built a Ball Mill and have got my hands on some mercury...will let you know the result

@jdeluisa 9 жыл бұрын

Nice job! Have really enjoyed your videos

@Outdoorsaustralia 7 жыл бұрын

i really enjoyed these videos, thanks for sharing :)

@shotonbothsides 8 жыл бұрын

Excellent. Thank you mate!

@00Shivan00 9 жыл бұрын

Very nice results, great work guys.

@Steve-uq7np 4 жыл бұрын

Done at three beers, love it.....😃

@StonemanRocks Жыл бұрын

Only thing is uh Trent? Those pink rubber gloves? EEs no seksi! Lol

@ianmcleod3631 9 жыл бұрын

Great video, looks like you enjoy life kudos to you....

@dynomania 3 жыл бұрын

That's excellent 👌

@atmm89 5 жыл бұрын

love your japanese safety boots mate

@xenaguy01 3 жыл бұрын

Great video. Just one thing, you should probably weigh your mercury before and after, to keep track of your losses.

@abdssamadabrouki 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info I have inquired

@mistyfrequency7261 3 жыл бұрын

I would of made that fire a bit higher giving it more of the tube to safely recondense

@spankinfan 5 жыл бұрын

I'm not a drinker but, are the three beers Fosters or Budweiser size . Time difference between size needs clarified. Stay safe and dig dirt.

@bettabgood 9 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video's, they keep me going on the long swings. Do you take the risk (well handled) of using mercury because it has a higher recovery capabilitiy than other methods? Do you need this higher potential because your separator bowl is very effective with small particals? I'm thinking of using the same method.

@Diggerdude29 9 жыл бұрын

bettabgood yes mate, I've chosen this method for the very high record rate. The Knudsen bowl has a very high recovery rate if used correctly, I've found it to be 95%+. The mercury amalgam bowl is by far quickest way to guarantee you get all the micron gold. Good luck with yours.

@AlecL 6 жыл бұрын

Great video. Where can I get mercury in Aus? Takes thousands of those little tilt switches to get any amount.

@asimawan1654 6 жыл бұрын

Plz ans the complete processes start to end

@GrooberNedJardine 9 жыл бұрын

i think i seen somewhere you can recharge your mercury by sticking two wires in it to a nine volt battery any way ,loved your vids good onya,but dont sit to close when you retort because the gas off the merc is deadly hey.

@hardrockuniversity7283 8 жыл бұрын

Hello Trent, Keith from the US here. Nice job on the series. Question- have you tested your tailings to see how much you are losing? Could be a little, could be a lot. I have a video on panning micro fine gold that might be useful if you haven't assayed your tails yet. Keith Bowen Hard Rock University

@Diggerdude29 8 жыл бұрын

+Hard Rock University Gday Keith, I have tested the tailings by pan and usually struggle to find anything visible. I havent bothered assaying the tailings cause I was only interested in what that setup could recover not what a fire assay can get. Next season I will have a bigger plant with 8" jaw crusher feeding a 4 ton per hour ball mill then knudsen concentrator and shaker table. This season we will be desert alluvial mining with a 10 ton per hour dry blower. Will do some vids of that in a few weeks.

@hardrockuniversity7283 8 жыл бұрын

Ball mills can trap gold also Sometimes impact mills can be better for that reason. A peripheral discharge ball mill does OK. You might want to try testing some of your ore in a ball mill before buying for safety sake. The big boys are often moving such volume that nothing else make near the economic sense, but us 'little folk' have more options. You might also want to check out my video on panning micro fine gold as it might be very useful to you. Keep up the good work. Keith

@xenaguy01 3 жыл бұрын

2:20 Here's a suggestion: Next time, try lighting the fire on the far side first, so you don't risk burning your arm as you reach across the newly-lit fire.

@BensMis-adventures 9 жыл бұрын

Thanks for posting the vid up Trent. Does the gold melt into the button? Is it a single mass of gold now?

@Diggerdude29 9 жыл бұрын

Ben's Mis-adventures the mercury sort of dissolves the gold , so when you retort it back out it is fused into a button

@nathandean1687 8 жыл бұрын

ok. an idea to improve your design a bit. wrap copper tubing around the botton an pump cold water thruoght it.

@MartyDolgellau 9 жыл бұрын

Haha nice one mate! Love the way you measure time in beers!! Don't know if you will see this, was wondering how much Mercury it took to hold that 21g of gold??? Cheers

@Diggerdude29 9 жыл бұрын

martin humphreys Glad you liked the video Martin. I had 2oz of mercury in there to begin with, most of the mercury is recovered while squeezing it through the cloth, there's only a few grams left in the amalgam when it goes to the retort.

@adhawk5632 10 ай бұрын

Gold goes 1/1 with mercury, so 21gms

@snowshoemountainresources2528 2 жыл бұрын

I am working on a mining documentary. May I use some of this video in mine?

@Diggerdude29 Жыл бұрын

No worries 👍

@obengineering9408 6 жыл бұрын

Hi mate, I use the same retort and usually have mercury fines stuck to the stem of the cup- I sand it down before use and make sure it's clean, how does yours end up Cheers enjoyed the vids

@Diggerdude29 Жыл бұрын

Never really noticed it anywhere except in the bottom, it is very hot where I live might make the difference.

@tamoortariq8234 4 жыл бұрын

Tell me the weight of the wood you used in this process process how much time later we put water on fire

@dinidina3654 5 жыл бұрын

Mantaaap I Like 👍👍👍

@brettwhite6777 6 жыл бұрын

HI Trent .. can I get the plans or link to the plans for the retort please ?

@lloydcarpenter2044 8 жыл бұрын

how long did you burn that over to fire

@Diggerdude29 8 жыл бұрын

+Lloyd Carpenter 3 Beers. Incase some people dont drink at the same pace as me, about 1 hour. ;)

@ianmcleod3631 9 жыл бұрын

Oh and after you clean up and sit down and relax how many beers does that take...

@wolfy9005 8 жыл бұрын

+wally mack 1/2 a carton to relax

@tamoortariq8234 4 жыл бұрын

Hi trent tell me how many gram mercury you used in thia process i am waiting for your reply

@Diggerdude29 3 жыл бұрын

About 2oz, 60g

@asimawan1654 6 жыл бұрын

Hello Trent plz send me this complete msg and any things name

@StonemanRocks Жыл бұрын

Nice result! Do you get most of your mercury back? Do you know the % you lose if any? Im assuming you have to lose some right?

@Diggerdude29 Жыл бұрын

You do lose a small amount, never measured the weight but I do notice the container going down a bees.

@StonemanRocks Жыл бұрын

@@Diggerdude29 have you ever thought about focusing the sun through a fresnel lens on the end of your retort? You can get them off old projection tvs. They make one hell of a lot of heat! Or an old sat dish or wok chromed or painted with chrome paint does as well. Any of them would require making a stand to hold them thats adjustable and the sun! You have plenty of that in AUS right?