The copper didn't drop out until it hit the steel cone, because it was still held in solution as a soluble salt, due to too much free acid in solution. If you run that again with the nails, the result will probably be better. All the nail metal that is eaten up is making iron salts, and when there's more iron left but no more free acid, it will start replacing salts of the less reactive metals, leaving them as free metal.

I 'borrowed' our microwave from the kitchen to experiment on quick drying, in cycles, 12" wooden bowls I was carving in green wood in my shop. The process worked great but my wife wouldn't let me put the microwave back in the kitchen. The 'old' microwave became another shop tool and my wife got a new (yes, and better) microwave for the kitchen.

I really appreciate how you show the ideas that fail. It’s better to learn from the things that don’t work then from the things that you just just happen to get lucky that they work but you not sure why. That was a hell of a sentence…but, I’m just gonna leave it like that. lol

Merry Christmas to you and your family. I enjoy how matter of fact you are with everything. It makes you hilarious for those of us that enjoy dry humor. The freezing shots of the molten pours are keepers while you explore this e-waste processing as both scientist and businessman.

Very cool stuff today Jason. I wish I knew more that I could help you. But I'm learning from you so that is also very cool to learn from someone not willing to give up on it. Thanks for bringing us along. I wish you and your family A Very Merry Christmas this holiday season . It's been a great year of learning.

Wish I would have known about you when I was running my technology business. Great job!

Thanks for the break down of the reasons for the flux ingredients, that's very useful 👍

The metal coming out of the cone mold was so pretty! I was sad to see it melted again. It was so satisfying to see 200g scaled up to 2kg and get exactly 10x the weight as the result. 😍

Hi Jason, I am not a Chemist or Metallurgist, just a Mechanical Engineer. I would like to toss in my two cents purely from physical properties of different metals and chemicals. When heated, the mix melts in the crucible. Heavier metals stay in the bottom of the crucible. When poured, once again the heavy metals sink to the bottom of the cone. Right? For this to happen, the mix has to be really hot. If you observe your second, third and last pour, the mix was very thick meaning the mix is near to its solidifying temperature. I am visualizing that the mix has not melted sufficiently. The heavier metals are not hot enough to flow (observe the last few drops when you are pouring. they stuck to the sides of the crucible). In theory, the heavier metals are at the bottom of the crucible and are the last to flow out and as temp is low, all of them have not gone into the cone. What ever heavier metals which flowed out into the cone are not sufficiently hot and before they sink to the bottom of the cone, they solidified in the slag and you could not find a pyramid. This is just a theory. I am a big fan of yours, I learnt a lot about gold extraction from you. I may not be right but as you are asking why you did not find the metal pyramid, I thought I should toss my two cents.

What a learning curve Jason thanks for a wonderful video. Hope you have a wonderful holidays

Hi Jason, Thank you for the info, I watch all your videos multiple times every second is extremely valuable, thank you for sharing your knowledge and expirements in detail!!

Several metals have a high affinity for sulfur, meaning that they readily form compounds with sulfur. Some examples of metals with a high affinity for sulfur include: Lead: Lead has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as lead sulfide (PbS) and lead disulfide (PbS2). Copper: Copper has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as copper sulfide (CuS) and copper disulfide (CuS2). Mercury: Mercury has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as mercury sulfide (HgS) and mercury disulfide (HgS2). Nickel: Nickel has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as nickel sulfide (NiS) and nickel disulfide (NiS2). Iron: Iron has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as iron sulfide (FeS) and iron disulfide (FeS2). Cobalt: Cobalt has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as cobalt sulfide (CoS) and cobalt disulfide (CoS2). Manganese: Manganese has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as manganese sulfide (MnS) and manganese disulfide (MnS2). Zinc: Zinc has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as zinc sulfide (ZnS) and zinc disulfide (ZnS2). Tin: Tin has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as tin sulfide (SnS) and tin disulfide (SnS2). Tungsten: Tungsten has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as tungsten sulfide (WS2) and tungsten disulfide (W2S3). Molybdenum: Molybdenum has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS3). Platinum: Platinum has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as platinum sulfide (PtS) and platinum disulfide (PtS2). It is worth noting that the affinity of a metal for sulfur can vary depending on the specific conditions under which the reaction is taking place, such as temperature and the presence of other elements. More metals? Gold: Gold has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as gold sulfide (AuS) and gold disulfide (AuS2). Silver: Silver has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as silver sulfide (Ag2S) and silver disulfide (Ag2S2). Palladium: Palladium has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as palladium sulfide (PdS) and palladium disulfide (PdS2). Cadmium: Cadmium has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as cadmium sulfide (CdS) and cadmium disulfide (CdS2). Antimony: Antimony has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as antimony sulfide (Sb2S3) and antimony disulfide (Sb2S5). Gallium: Gallium has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as gallium sulfide (Ga2S3) and gallium disulfide (Ga2S5). Selenium: Selenium has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as selenium sulfide (SeS2) and selenium disulfide (SeS4). Tellurium: Tellurium has a high affinity for sulfur, and the two elements readily form compounds such as tellurium sulfide (TeS2) and tellurium disulfide (TeS4). I hope this information is helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions. Please lost those metals in ascending order according to thier affinity with sulfur. Sure, here is a list of the metals I mentioned earlier, arranged in ascending order according to their affinity for sulfur: Lead Copper Mercury Nickel Iron Cobalt Manganese Zinc Tin Tungsten Molybdenum Platinum Gold Silver Palladium Cadmium Antimony Gallium Selenium Tellurium It is worth noting that the affinity of a metal for sulfur can vary depending on the specific conditions under which the reaction is taking place, such as temperature and the presence of other elements. This list represents a general trend and should not be taken as a definitive ranking of the metals' affinities for sulfur.

you have really become a lot more comfortable in front of the camera over the years this video shows that good job keep up the good work

I love your work, Jason, and your presentation is wonderful. The last smelt had me laughing out loud. That nasty little button at the end is a perfect metaphor for life. I'm not a chemist, sorry.

Thank you for taking us Along with you

Really like your honesty in your videos. Makes for good watching

Jason, you’re still the man! Enjoy your videos!

Cu + CuO ----> 2 Cu2O Copper reacts with copper(II)oxide to produce copper(I)oxide. (You need to add nails, maybe not from the beginning but later during the smelting?) To test this theory, take the slag and reheat it with nails. This should produce additional copper.

These are great videos Jason!

I'm so amazed at the comments. You guys are awesome. I have so much to learn. I've been try this too from nothing.ive have red salad and no idea what it was. I appreciate all the comments I read them all it's nice having so many back rounds contributing. Thanks Jason! Merry Christmas!!!

I do not have an education in chemistry, so no advice to give. I just love to watch your videos!

This was great - I'm all about testing all theories with real life experiments.

One day I forgot what video but Jason threw or dropped that stainless container and it sounded so funny. Now everytime he grabs that container or sets it down I smile.

Loving your wholesome content!

How's your gold mine doing? I would love to see a video of the progress.

Damn dude you have an intelligent and decent fan base, these comments inspire confidence in humanity.

You could try to chemically retrieve the gold/silver first, then smelt the copper based ore by itself. This may help with the electrolysis process too.

Sulfur reacts with all elements except for gold, platinum, iridium, tellurium, and the noble gases. This is right out of the chemistry book. Hope that helps fella.

10:56 that looks amazing, I'd buy it just for the artistic value

That is very nice to know thanks for teaching us some good stuff to know

Another Great video... And you are getting so close to 100K :)

this was very cool my friend i have just started smelting so this is all new to me

BTW, even many mine operations don't refine their products, they sub that out. Near me is the Golden Queen mine. They make large ingots that are mostly silver by weight, and gold by value. The ingots are shipped to a refiner. It was a refiner in Japan last I heard, but just to give you an example. After refining, the refiner sends them funds based on everything contained in the ingots.

13:08 greenish tinge to the flame as you pour the mix into the crucible is very cool

21:50 gotta be one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a very long time. As it cooled it became like a tv frame around it, then the top started to cool but still movement in between the circles Just wow Thanks for that

i think metals affinity for sulfure, and many other elements, could be highly dependent on pH, so it might not be so simple of a chart.

Merry Christmas to you and your family Jason.

I don’t know anything about this stuff. I just enjoy watching it. Have you ever seen the KZfaq Cody’s lab? I recall he did a lot of refining in the past.

all i've to say is ...thank you teacher. ♥️

WOW 😮... Jason..... 93k subs... that’s quick compared to when you started!! 👍

You added 75 g of CuO (Mr. 79.5) which is about 0.94 mol. To reduce all of therm with iron, you need to react 0.63 mol of iron (~35.3 g) if it went to Iron(III) or 0.94 mol of iron ( 52.6 g) if it became Iron(II). So in the last experiment, not enough iron reacted.

Jason I appreciate you buddy.

The blender, to break down kitty litter. Nice video and interesting.

I slole nylons and used it as filter for my 12 V bilge pump for dredge and highbanker... Works great, no more small stones in my pump...

I think the thick liquid you poured off the bottom was actually glass. It seemed to act like molten glass in the video. I really enjoy your videos on recovering metals.

awesome episode Jason :)

Love the pyramid mold.

Lol he's dinging the pan with the hammer and dropping the hammer and trying to explain hi tech big word stuff. And it's super funny. I'm glued.

Have you ever watched Sreetips videos? He does a lot of chemistry stuff to refine his gold, but the video on processing computer boards might interest you. Perhaps involving some acids would help in this computer project? I dunno. Love the content man!!

Good work Bro

@Reactivity series and Sulfur: The reactivity series is only valid for the metal and its ions in water solutions. It can give a hint on the behavior in other domains, but a lot of other effects can occur and are sometimes more important. Sulfides have strongly covalent bonds, so there are more things to factor in.

When you showed the blend with the copper oxide, I commented to my husband that it wasn’t going to work (and why)… Usually I have to wait much before being proven correct :-D - I know you asked chemical engineers or chemists for advice, so I’ll wait for them. If you decide a metallurgist’s opinion will also do, let me know…

No chemistry here, but your recipes are intriguing, and like the recycling of printed circuit boards (PCBs) ! Still elusive are the precious metals.

That's funny Jason's wife knew once her husband got her scale it was gonna get trashed and beat up like a rusty crescent wrench that gets used like a hammer. :)

Add powdered charcoal and a lid to your crucible. The Carbon will react to any oxide pretty much and reduce it down while the lid keeps out further O2

Yes Yessssss a NEW VIDEOOOOO!

Well Jason, I have borrowed from the kitchen a classifi.....I mean a collinder. which is still working well😁

you got some balls the way you move that crucible

That looked cool oxidized fast too

If you check that last one out with a scan you may find it to be pure copper just a guess outstanding video two thumbs up my friend thank you

These videos may save me. Made a trip recently to Tennessee to do some panning and check a couple spots I researched. I brought home a bunch of quartz that looked good, and it's full of gold. More than I've ever seen, and I've only busted up a few fist sized rocks. I've got some fairly big quartz samples in the 40-50 lb range....all full of gold. Problem is that 90% of that gold is super fine flour gold. The rest is small flakes (like you would expect for the Coker area). There's so much that I'm really worried how I'm gonna separate it from the rock, and then collect it all. I know I'm missing a lot of it. I've used acid, crushed it down to powder and panned it using a magnifying glass, I have a little crucible and hand-held torch etc., but at this rate I should be finished (probably with only half the gold) around the year 2045. I've gotta go another way. I've never tried smelting, etc., but that's probably my route. I've been going through videos, built me a little furnace in the yard, and hopefully whichever process I pick will give me success.

The reactions of metals and alloys with sulfur are governed by the same principles as metal-oxygen reactions. For many metals, however, sulfur behaves much more aggressively than oxygen. The stability of various metal sulfides as a function of temperature is given by the Ellingham diagram for the sulfides.

That cool neet pyramide, perhaps it has more value as an artwork.

nice video😎 you look like robert whittaker ,the mma fighter🤜🤛

Jason Super, like...!!!!💪👍

Heya 😊 nice video 👍 you just need some background music when the machinery’s is cooking 😊😉 And Mary Christmas 😊

Look up "Hard Soft Acid Base". Basically splits elements into 4 groups based on how they react.

would more iron surface area increase the reduction rate of the oxides. Perhaps you can get cuttings from a machine shop to add to the crucible. You might see if you can get cast iron versus steel cuttings.

Very interesting.

I took my wife's make-up lamp from her vanity (she never used it)and now I use it in my shop. It's pink and every time someone come into my shop they ask why I have a pink lamp, and I always say the same thing, it works.

Thanks Jason, I appreciate your organic chemistry experiments. After watching your videos I need to go back to my college chemistry books to remember what I have lost. How about an update on your mining operations. Have you recovered sufficient precious metals to offset the time and equipment used to extract and recover it in the first place? Wishing you and your family a blessed Christmas holiday. Peace brother

Very good

TX you for the information about FLUX (soda ash + silica). I badly need this tip to smelt my gold powder obtained by Aqua Reggia method since I have no metal furnace but a low power torch. I have some experience with sodium metabisulfide but none with pure elemental sulfur so I am sorry to not being able to help on your reactivity issue. However the information should be readily available in inorganic chemistry textbooks and some online sources (Wikipedia) as well as gold refining forums. Finally one YT channel I recommend is (Nation of our hobbies) Just visit and drop a comment. The guy over there is very nice, knowledgeable & professional. Have a nice day.

Hey Jason, I see a Princess Auto bucket. I tried to buy some louver dies they had on clearance and they won’t ship to Washington State (or the rest of the U.S.A. For that matter). I was bummed out about it. Anyway, I made the dies instead in the end.

Would it help if you roasted the starting materials?

سپاس وتشکر بابت راهنمایت

I'm wondering about the affect the doping compounds used to make ICs have on the melts? Galium for instance; what does it do to the chemistry?

Get Nigel from Nile Red / Blue in on this. Massive chemistry dude, will work it all out properly and might even have a competition with you. Good content for all.

The special "Reactivity Series in Sulfur" that you're looking for is the same one that you're familiar with. The weird experience you're having with Tin is because tin has weird solubility issues. It's essentially why it's not simple to recycle electronics.

Jason you should make medal bucket or contraption that rejuvenates cold water on to the pyramid mold.

I do this type of stuff also myself it's very interesting at how much people throw away on a daily basis we need to start making better ways to recycle.

Man I watch your program all the time and that was awesomeness to see the finished product you do an excellent job I appreciate just how difficult it is to recover gold from any sort of electronic products. my question is do you believe it is cost effective rather than smelting directly and what are the pros and cons of chemical versus smelting in your opinion

I think, first main error happened when crushing pcbs. The gold is mostly in form of just few microns thick "plating", often on plastic parts. When crushing and then shaker table some Gold gets lost in the waste fraction. Only solution ( besides incineration and chemical way) is to crush the pcbs much more finer.

Just seen the catalytic converter video and wondered if this channel had tried refining Road powders for platinum group metals

I hope this helps I hope this is what you're looking for I love watching you I never miss anything you do I love your new mind great job all the woodwork you've done look forward to seeing more of you I'd love to meet you in person I have something I'd love to discuss with you

For metal reactivity. The general trend for sulfide should he similar to oxides. However if you want exact numbers. Look into the gibbs free energy. This is a measure of how thermodynamically stable something is, compared to its elemental form. So a gibbs free energy for CuS looks like -86 kj/mol. The lower the number the more stable the compound. If you are interested, i could try and compile a list of values from the published chemistry literature.

What is more efficient, the pan water and shake, or crucible method to extract gold and the like?

I wonder if a light high speed vibration system would help the melted metals and other materials separate?

Good!

940👍's up thanks for taking us along with you

Copper Oxide is a oxidizing agent. Like Lead Oxide. You were reducing all of your metals into an oxide and driving them off into the refractory, or what you call your slag. Once it combined with the flux it dissolved all the metals into itself and thus mad a refractory. On your anode, don't smelt the slimes, if you do you'll melt your precious metals into the tin. There's nothing like trying to get the tin out and away from your precious metals. Take the pm's out first chemically, only other option is trying to slag the tin. Good luck with that. Tin dissolves in alkaline solutions. Maybe molten alkaline?

Be warry of adding sulfur to anything that you want to recover silver from...silver has a strong tendency to form silver sulfide ( this is why silver table utensils tarnishes slowly in air and faster with certain sulfur containing foods ), so you will lose silver to your slag. To be sure of recovering silver values, you might need either: - a longer time at molten, for the relatively large pieces of iron to fully react with silver sulfide - iron in smaller sized pieces ( to react faster ) - a more reactive metal ( like aluminum ) In all honesty, I would probably shy away from sulfur, unless you are also dealing with metals that are more reactive than iron. I have to wonder if your nails are sinking to the bottom of the crucible, thus becoming unavailable to react with lower density sulfur salt compounds higher in the crucible, so you get poor mixing, resulting in incomplete thermochemical reactions during your melt

Can you include the approximate cost of fuel and chemicals you have to use to get to the end product somewhere in these?

Can't wait to see you refine that anode!

Do you ever run your equipment so long to see which part fails first. Have you tried extra bubble plates to seperate the gold by gravity

Hello from Denmark

what kind of dishwasher do you use for those cups?

sometimes your pours look quite syrupy, is this because they need heating more or for longer? Would also love to see a pour into a very hot pyramid and continually heated with a slow cooling to see if the elements separate into more defined layers. Might make it easier to remove the top waste metals quicker.

38:30 I think you turned the whole thing into copper oxide. Try reducing the final bead with lead. You might have managed to get ALL the precious metals out with this method.

34:30 isn't that basically how thermite works? wonder how that smelt looked like while it was going