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Whether you are mining using a gold pan, a sluice box, a high banker or a gold dredge, you will end up with a large quantity of black sand concentrates. This black sand concentrate must be saved. It can contain a significant amount of what is known as float gold, flour gold, or fine gold. Some of this type of gold is so small it takes magnification to see it. But it is heavy and will add up if you have significant quantities and a way to recover this fine gold. A gallon bucket of rich black sand can weigh 30lbs. Recovery of the microscopic gold contained in the concentrate is a perplexing problem for all prospectors.
When processing your concentrates or sending them to a professional testing facility, it is good to know the exact location they came from. If the concentrates yield an economical amount of fine gold, you will want to return and work that location again.
Below I will go over several ways of recovering this fine gold.
Commercial Recovery Methods
Cyanide leaching is the standard method of gold recovery for all commercial opperations. It allows for the processing of a large amount of material on the cheap. Cyanide, forms a stable complex with the gold and separates it from the material around it. Cyanide is extreamly toxic and is not a method recommended for recreational prospector.
Mercury is another chemical that can be added to gold concentrates to help separate out the gold. It binds to the fine gold particles and then binds to its self. The mercury is then burned off leaving the gold all gathered into one place. Many of old time miners would take the mercury and place it in a hollow potato. They would bake the potato, this cause the mercury to dissipate off into the potato leaving the gold in the center. Again, mercury is toxic and extreme care must be taken when working with it.
Manual Recovery of Fine Gold
Before starting this process it is good to sieve your concentrates through as small of sieves as you can get.
Working with just a couple of tablespoons of concentrates at a time spread the concentrates out onto a large piece of white paper. Using a pair of needle-nose surgical tweezers, pick out any visible tiny nuggets or flakes and transfer these to a glass vial for storage. Place a magnet in a ziplock bag and move the magnet gently through the concentrates. The magnet will pick the black sand particles. Remove the magnet from the bag, and the particles will fall away. The gold will remain on the paper and can easily be transferred to a storage vial.
Mechanized Recovery of Fine Gold
Mini-sluice boxes, centrifuge concentrators and wheels are popular automated systems for fine gold recovery. Some work well, others do not work. Make sure you read any reviews you can find on them. Go to your local mining store and request a demonstration on the different models they carry before choosing the one that is right for your application. Many times they will let you bring in some of your gold concentrate for the demonstration. These machines will pay off if you have a large amount of black sand concentrates to process.