A magic word that fulfills dreams does not exist only in fairy tales. It sounds simple - gold. At its core, it is an ordinary yellow metal, so it got its name. The question of how to get gold was of interest to people 7 millennia ago, in the distant Neolithic era. It was then that it began to gain incredible popularity due to its color, associated with the sun and the power given by the gods. Nowadays, few people connect it with celestials, but as a symbol of power and wealth, gold not only has not lost its significance, but has also become the standard of economic, and with it political independence of all countries.
Gold in nature
It is important to know not only how to get gold, but also where it came from on our planet. The answer to this question helps to understand where to look for this coveted metal. Scientists suggest that gold is formed by the explosion of neutron stars, when tons of dust are emitted into space, containing, along with other metals, gold. Subsequently, the dust is concentrated, forming stellar systems and planets. So it was with our Earth. Now the bulk of the gold is in its molten gut and "drop by drop" is thrown to the surface with lava. That is why gold-bearing veins, where gold can be mined relatively easily, are mainly located in places of post-magmatic and hydrothermal processes. Other igneous rocks, as lighter, are washed out over time, and gold remains in placers. The same thing happens with gold brought to Earth by meteorites. It can be found in its pure form (gold nuggets), or in some minerals, such as sulfides, arsenides, and 15 others.
Gold properties
Before telling how to get gold and from what, we will get acquainted with its properties. This knowledge will help not to lose a single milligram during extraction. precious metal. So, what are the properties of gold?
- It is very dense and heavy. A golden ball weighs just a kilogram in diameter! This property is used in the main method of its extraction - washing.
- It is very plastic, soft, and, as a result, malleable. Gold can be used to make threads the thickness of a human hair and translucent plates thinner than paper. This makes it possible to use it even in SIM cards!
- It can melt and boil, however, the temperatures should be quite significant. Important: in molten form, without even waiting for a boil, gold can quickly evaporate.
- It is unusually inert, that is, practically insoluble in acids (only in aqua regia and in a few other solvents).
All these properties of gold are used in methods of its extraction both in nature and at home.
Where is gold mined?
In the world there are several countries to which nature has given gold deposits. These are China (the leader of gold mining), Australia, Russia, Canada, the United States, South Africa, once the former Soviet Uzbekistan, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Indonesia, Ghana and New Guinea. Gold is also mined in other countries, but in too small quantities. Our country is in third place after Australia and China. Russian citizens are no doubt interested in where gold is mined in Russia. We have 37 companies involved in this business. The leader among them is Polyus Gold. Almost 95% of all gold is in the Far East, Amur, Krasnoyarsk, Magadan, Irkutsk regions, Chukotka, Khabarovsk Territory, Yakutia (Sakha), Buryatia, Transbaikalia, Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk Regions.Moreover, the maximum production is carried out in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and the maximum dynamics of its increase is observed in the Sverdlovsk and Magadan regions and in Chukotka. But in Transbaikalia, gold is mined less and less. Among the mines and deposits can be called the Dome, Kucius, Maisky, Caralvey, Vorontsov, Eldorado, Chertovo trough, Sukhoi Log and others.
Amalgamation
This is one of the oldest and most unhealthy methods of gold mining, officially banned in Russia, but used in other countries by our artisanal gold miners. It consists in the use of mercury. How to get gold by amalgamation? To do this, mercury is added to a plastic or glass tray containing sand and very small fractions of gold. She will not dissolve the coveted metal, but draw it into her balls. To help the process, you need to rotate the tray, allowing mercury to roll across the entire surface of the sand. Mercury balls with gold are called amalgam. It is collected, separated from sand and subjected either to treatment with hydrochloric acid, in which mercury dissolves, but gold does not, or by evaporation of mercury on a fire. You can do this in a simple frying pan. In acid, gold freed from mercury settles to the bottom with flakes, after which it is thoroughly washed. If there is no desire to lose mercury, you need to lower a piece of foil into acid. This simple technique allows mercury to precipitate. You can extract gold from the amalgam and simply filter it through suede or tarpaulin, but the losses of expensive metal are always great.
Flushing
This is the oldest and most environmentally friendly method based on high density of gold. Flushing is used both in industrial mining and in individual mining at alluvial deposits. It consists in washing the rocks with water. In this case, all light particles are removed, and heavy, including gold, remain at the bottom of the tray. The disadvantage of this method is that too small particles of gold are washed out with water, significantly reducing its extraction. Some are interested in whether it is possible to mine gold for private individuals. Yes you can. In Russia, a law has been passed allowing miners to work in small deposits and spent gold-bearing veins. To do this, you need to buy a license that is valid for 5 years.
Cyanide
This least laborious method is based on the dissolution of gold in hydrocyanic acid. How to get gold by cyanide? It is necessary to grind the rock in which there is noble metal pour it into a waterproof tray, pour hydrocyanic acid, in particular sodium cyanide. It will begin to seep through the rock, dissolving the gold. The resulting solution is poured into a separate container. The gold contained in it is precipitated, for example with zinc dust, and hydrocyanic acid is returned to the process again.
Flotation
This method cannot be called pure gold mining, but it significantly enriches the rocks and facilitates the further process. "Fleet", "flotter" in translation - this is what keeps afloat. It turns out that there are rocks that get wet and settle well to the bottom, and there are those that do not get wet, but only enveloped with particles of liquid, like air bubbles, and because of this, “float” on the surface. This is flotation. Using it, gold is mined from sulfide, gold-pyrite, gold-copper and some other minerals. The ore is crushed, poured with water and oil (for example, pine), mixed. Gold particles float to the surface. In industry, air can be used instead of oil through a mixture of water and crushed ore, and some other reagents. Further purification of gold is carried out most often by cyanidation.
How to get gold at home
The methods of industrial gold mining, of course, are interesting, but for most citizens it is not very practical. Not everyone can afford to go somewhere to Siberia, to abandoned mines.Yes, this is not necessary, because you can become a prospector without leaving the walls of your own apartment. How to get gold at home? There are several methods. The easiest and most popular since the days of the Union is the extraction of precious metal from watches and other yellow products. It turns out that earlier, using the inertness of gold, that is, its anticorrosion, very many metal objects covered it. Of course, the percentage of gold in them is small, but in the rocks it is small.
So, ore containing only 5-10 grams of gold per ton is considered rich. What to do with the watch? First collect as many of them as possible. Next, take an inert container (glass, plastic), fold the watch there, pour it with nitric acid and wait until it dissolves everything except gold. The resulting solution should be filtered through several layers of gauze, and the gold deposited on it should be placed in vodka and allowed to stand for a day. It will turn a brownish precipitate. Next, rinse all this thoroughly with water, filter again and set to melt. For the effectiveness of this last step, soda is added to the melting gold. It must be remembered that the desired metal can evaporate, but when melted, excess impurities leave it, and it turns into a small ingot.
Gold from radio parts
Circuit boards and radio components use gold due to its inertness and low electrical conductivity. How to get gold from radio components and microcircuits? For this, aqua regia (a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids) is suitable, which is prepared immediately before the process. This hellish mixture dissolves gold at room temperature. There is even a historical example of the dissolution of gold medals in aqua regia to hide them from the Nazis. In the process, an ion chloraurate is obtained in which sodium sulfite is added. Gold should precipitate. It is filtered, washed and smelted into an ingot.
Before starting the dissolution process, you need to sort the gold-containing parts from the others. Next, you should try to remove as much as possible from the "correct" radio components. Particular attention should be paid to metal parts, such as hats, legs. If possible, they should be assembled with a magnet. The boards can be placed in a mixture of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide in a ratio of 2: 1.
Gold from the water
It is incredible, but true: gold is contained in any water from which it can theoretically also be extracted. What concentration does it contain there? It turns out that about 5 kg per km square, and in sea water it is several times more than in the tap. There is also a relatively large amount of gold in meltwater flowing from the mountains, and in silt sediment, especially mineralized. It is assumed that in a ton of silt of the Red Sea - about 5 g of gold. The main way to extract it is this: add quicklime to the water, filter out the precipitate, drain the water back into the sea or river, and subject the precipitate to further processing, for example, cyanidation.
Virtual gold
For all gamblers who care about the gold mining process themselves, computer scientists invented the Minecraft game, the goal of which is to pass through dozens of tests to become a successful prospector. How to get gold at Minecraft? It is necessary to go through several levels, “work” as a miner, turn the mined ore into ingots, and only then use it to make, for example, combat armor. You can also search for the desired metal in ancient castles and dungeons, “ask around” people who meet on difficult roads passing levels. It seems like a real fun to gold miners, but the Minecraft game conquered all continents except Antarctica and brought its developers so much money that any prospector would envy.
