| Search our quarter-million Q&As |
Home of the finishing HOTLINE since 1989
-----Recovering Gold from Mercury
Hello, I'm Shawn
I have some Mercury that a relative left that was in mining for +-20 yrs. I am familiar with evaporating the metal off but I would like to
(1) recover the mercury/ be environmentally friendly (2) reduce processing and exposure (3)not have to dig to deep into equipment? Is distilling the best way? Any home remedies ?
Respectfully,
Shawn
- San Antonio, Texas, USA
August 15, 2008
In the old days, they just burned (vaporized) the mercury off.
That is extremely hazardous to do. Distillation with a proper set up would minimize the problem. You will need a very good cold sink, and possibly two coils in tandem, circulating cold (ice) water. Get a MSDS on mercury , read it until you understand all of it before you buy anything. Glass is probably the best way to go. It boils at 356C, but will slowly vaporize at a lower temp. The remaining sludge will contain some mercury, so it would be best to send it off to a professional for the smelting. The mercury that you recover is valuable also. finding a willing buyer and legal shipping will be a problem.
- Navarre, Florida
August 20, 2008
Sorry! Finishing.com is temporarily Read-Only.
Ted Mooney is retiring but I have several offers to take it over.
We're working hard to make sure we find it the best new home.