Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

-----

Need Hydrogen Cyanide For Gold Recovery

We need to purchase small quantities of Hydogen Cyanide.

Small Quantities of Hydrogen Cyanide. For a small at home Jewelry Fashion Business.

Larry McDonald
jewelry - Hastings, MN, USA
2005

Safety concerns. I just wonder if someone here ever bothered checking if the author of letter 36709 is still alive...

Anton Cheglov
electrochemical engineering - Auckland NZ
2005

Oh, don't start, Anton :-)

We have dozens of letters online here where the inquirers have accused anyone who urges caution about at-home plating of being a money-grabbing trickster interested only in keeping dark secrets in order to line their pockets :-)

Yes, cyanide is one of the most powerful fastest-acting poisons known and can be easily ingested, leading to instant death. And, yes, accidentally acidifying it will release the same hydrogen cyanide gas used in California's gas chambers. And, yes, many experienced professional electroplaters have died from it. In my opinion it has no place in a domestic environment! But, no, we don't know whether people seeking it actually obtained it or whether they used it as safely as possible under the circumstances.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2005