Ever since the time of the alchemists, mankind has been trying to find a way to get gold from mercury and lead. What experiments have not been conducted by ordinary people and scientists. And, oddly enough, it is possible to make gold artificially, but only with the help of nuclear chemistry. Still, mercury is needed in gold mining. What is it for, we will understand below.
The story of Nicolas Flamel
The story of Nicolas Flamel, a copyist of books from Paris, is still considered mysterious. This man for a long time tried to get gold from mercury. There is a legend that in the XIV century he unraveled a secret that had been interesting for centuries to people: is it possible to artificially produce precious metal. It all started with the fact that an ancient manuscript fell into the hands of this person, with strange signs and symbols. Nicolas tried to decrypt this text for 20 years, but all efforts were unsuccessful. None of the connoisseurs of ancient languages whom Flamel addressed could help him.
To unravel the secrets of the manuscript had to travel outside France. And only in Spain, after two years of searching for the right person, luck smiled at him. Here he met a true connoisseur of the ancient Jewish language. The scientist, learning about the manuscript, immediately went with Nicolas to Paris, since the scribe did not dare to take the texts with him. But the scientist was unable to get to France, along the way he fell ill and died. But still, he managed to tell something to Flamel.
Armed with the acquired knowledge, Flamel proceeded to decipher the manuscript. His works were not in vain; in January 1382, Nicolas was able to get silver from mercury, and soon experiments with gold were crowned with success. Perhaps this is just a legend. But the fact that a modest copyist in a short period of time became the owner of a huge fortune is reliable. After his death, many seekers searched his house for gold, but no one was able to find anything. There is still no evidence that Flamel knew how to make gold from mercury.
One more example
Many years have passed since the discoveries of Nicolas Flamel. But the question of how to get gold from mercury remained open. Only at the end of the XIX century, the chemist Stefan Emmens declared to the whole world that he managed to get a substance that can be called a precious metal.
The chemist called the substance obtained experimentally "argentaurum", and it was made of silver, with the participation of mercury. Researchers from the United States carefully checked that substance and bought at the price of gold. These were three test bullion. The scientist himself said at the time that he was not going to reveal the technology and put gold into mass production, as this could adversely affect the economy of not only the United States, but the whole world. But still, Emmens agreed to hold a demonstration of experience in Paris, at a world exhibition. Shortly before the performance, the chemist disappeared without a trace. Most likely, his discovery was considered too dangerous.
Modern experiences
In the 1940s, through experiments, scientists proved that the conversion of mercury into gold is possible. But only with the help of nuclear reactions. The resulting material will be unstable and will quickly decay. And the costs of its manufacture significantly exceed the cost of natural gold.
What is mercury?
Mercury is called live silver. This metal is silver in color, at temperatures up to -39 ° C, remains in a liquid state and at the same time has extraordinary mobility. At temperatures below -39 ° C it becomes a solid metal.
Mercury is odorless and tasteless, and easily evaporates at room temperature. Vapors of this substance are very dangerous for human health. Therefore, in a domestic environment, a broken thermometer can cause severe poisoning.
Pure mercury is extracted from ore called cinnabar. This mineral is specially heated to high temperatures so that the mercury can evaporate, and then it is condensed. The densities of mercury and gold are 13,600 kg / m 3 and 19,300 kg / m 3, respectively.
Liquid mercury has the ability to roll into a ball, and it also has a pronounced ability to wet some metals. A mercury ball can attract gold dust and absorb it into its mass. Ultimately, when the ball can no longer take gold particles into itself, as a single mass it will begin to crumble.
Amalgamation method
This method of gold mining with mercury is considered one of the oldest. It is very harmful to health, therefore it is banned in the Russian Federation, but in many countries it is still used.
Amalgamation is the process of mixing mercury and metal, such as gold. Mercury balls do not dissolve the metal, but only wet it, absorbing it. Subsequently, using different methods, for example, evaporation, pure gold is obtained.
This method is used if washing black sand does not help , and gold particles are smaller than one millimeter.
It is forbidden in Russia
Since 1988, mining of gold from mercury has been banned in Russia. At that time, an order was issued by the USSR Comrade Dragmet "On the cessation of the use of mercury (amalgamation) in technological processes in the enrichment of gold-bearing ores and sands." Before the publication of this document, the mercury method was widely used in gold mining of the USSR. And the consumption of "liquid metal" in the gold mining industry reached hundreds of tons per year. In this case, a huge amount of mercury was released into the environment. Gold miners still find mercury wastes in places where factories were once located.
Dangerously
Mercury vapor is very toxic. Therefore, when working with this metal, safety precautions must be observed. Vapors must not be inhaled; this can cause serious poisoning. In addition, mercury and its compounds should not get on the skin. When interacting with mercury, it is best to wear safety glasses and gloves, and the procedure for gold mining with mercury should be performed in the open air. In this case, it is advisable to make sure that the wind blows in the opposite direction from you and apartment buildings.
Contact with acid is just as dangerous as contact with mercury. Nitric acid is used to react gold and mercury, or rather, to remove excess "liquid metal" during the amalgamation process. Therefore, you need to be especially careful during the manipulation, protect the skin, eyes, it is undesirable to inhale acid fumes. In order to wash off the acid that has got on the skin, you can use clean water.
There is another rule: when preparing a solution, it is best to pour acid into water, and not vice versa. This will help to avoid splashing. You can neutralize the effect of acid with soda.
When working with acid, clean water should always be at hand in order to quickly dilute the acid in case of contact with skin or equipment.
Acid, falling on the body, causes burns if not washed off immediately. Even getting on clothes, most likely it will penetrate to the skin. In this case, you need to take off your clothes and rinse the burned place. It is also recommended to wear a special mask when working with acid, this will help not to burn the lungs when inhaling vapors.
Training
In order for mercury to absorb gold, it is necessary to clean it of impurities, as they will interfere with the amalgamation process. Sometimes a precious metal is coated with a film of oil or other impurities. For purification, a ten percent solution of nitric acid is used. They pour the washed concentrate.
During this process, a gas evolution reaction may occur. It is necessary to wait for the cessation of all signs of the reaction and the field to rinse the concentrate with clean water, thus washing off the acid.
The process itself
The whole process is carried out in a steel or plastic flushing tray. The amount of mercury should be equal to the amount of gold in the concentrate. Too much mercury is not needed, since it will then be inconvenient to work with it. It’s better to pour less initially and gradually add more. Also, during the process, a small amount of water should be in the tray:
- We take the tray in our hands and make circular motions until all the gold that was visible is connected to a ball of mercury. Black sand does not absorb mercury.
- After that, wash off the black sand in a basin with water.
- If during this process a small amount of amalgam merges into the pelvis, we don’t worry. It can always be easily removed from a basin of water.
- Keep in mind that mercury does not trap platinum. Therefore, we carefully look during the final rinse.
- If during the process the mercury ball begins to separate, add a little more mercury to absorb all the gold in the sand.
- A fully filled gold mercury ball will consist of 50% mercury and 50% precious metal.
How to make mercury gold
When all the gold is amalgamated, and the amalgam itself is separated from the sand, you can begin to remove excess mercury. This can be done using extrusion. To do this, take a thin and wet suede or any other dense material. All excess mercury must pass through the pores of the tissue. The container that will be under the material is best filled with water. In this way, excess mercury will not be sprayed and can easily be collected later on. This process is best done with rubber gloves to prevent mercury from being absorbed into the skin.
The mercury that was squeezed out of the amalgam will contain a small amount of gold. These residues will help collect more precious metal in future amalgamation processes.
Once all excess mercury compounds have been removed from the ball, gold can be released from the mercury. To do this, you can use one of two methods: evaporation, by heating the amalgam or dissolving mercury in nitric acid.
Evaporation
Mercury evaporates at a temperature of 357 degrees, which is present in the upper parts of the flame of gas burners. Since mercury vapor is highly toxic and can cause fatal poisoning, this procedure should be carried out outdoors. In this case, the wind should not blow in the direction of man. Mercury can be on gold in the form of a thin invisible film, so if the metal seems clean, you should not think that there is no mercury on it.
A steel tray or pan can be used for this process. Aluminum containers are not very suitable for evaporation, since aluminum can react with mercury.
Before warming up the amalgam ball in the tray, remove as much mercury as possible from the tray using the method described above. Initially, the ball is heated slowly, gradually increasing the temperature. If gold contains a small amount of mercury compounds, you can not be afraid that they are sprayed.
Acid Method
To isolate gold from mercury, nitric acid is often used after the amalgamation process. Reacting with mercury, it dissolves it, while not having any effect on gold. Before you begin, you need to make sure that the amalgam does not contain excess mercury and impurities of black sand:
- Put the mercury ball in a glass jar.
- We pour in a solution of acid in a ratio of 6: 1, it can be stronger.
- We wait until the chemical reaction passes.
- Rinse the jar well with clean water and pour into a separate container.
- If the gold has not taken its natural form of flakes and powder and the remains of mercury are visible, drain the water and pour another portion of nitric acid. In case of another failure, we make a stronger solution.
As a rule, with a small amount of mercury, purification occurs the first time. If there is a lot of mercury, all items will need to be performed several times.
If using this method a large amount of “liquid metal” is dissolved and there is a desire to preserve it, you can use the following method:
- Drain the acid after the process in a separate jar. It will contain mercury that has been removed from the amalgam.
- Dip aluminum foil into the jar.
- Acid will react with aluminum and precipitate mercury at the bottom of the can.
- Drain the acid from the container, neutralizing with drinking soda, until the gas evolution is complete.
The use of mercury in modern industry
Mercury has a number of unique properties, which allows it to be valuable in almost any industry. Here is a list of industries where this metal is used:
- Chemical industry. The largest amount of mercury is used in the production of chlorine components, it acts as a cathode in the production of sodium and chlorine. Mercury is also used as a catalyst in the origin of certain compounds.
- In nuclear energy, this metal is used to dissolve uranium. Mercury also helps with the thermochemical reaction of the breakdown of water into oxygen and hydrogen.
- Metallurgical industry: here, with the participation of mercury, a number of the most important alloys are formed, which are necessary for engraving, lithography, and electroplating. The ability of mercury to absorb many metals is also appreciated in this area, forming amalgams.
- Mercury compounds are often used in the production of precious metals.
- Electrical production: fluorescent, quartz and fluorescent lamps, current rectifiers operate using a liquid mercury cathode, batteries. On dry batteries, the production of which uses mercury, modern hearing aids work.
- Heavy machine-building industry: various vacuum installations, current mercury diffusion pumps, heavily loaded hydrodynamic bearings, a large amount of mercury in liquid form is found in mercury-steam turbines.
- Even in astronomy, this metal has found its application. In this area, a horizon device is often used, in which mercury is needed to form a flawless mirror surface, which is necessary for observing celestial objects.
- Used in mining for gold mining.
- Instrumentation: used for the manufacture of instrumentation, barometers, thermometers; necessary for the assembly of washing machines, air conditioners and refrigerators.
- In oil refining, metal in the form of vapors is used to adjust the temperature required for refining.
- Mercury is widespread in medicine: it is involved in the creation of diuretics, antiparasitic and antiseptic agents. And in dentistry, it helps in the manufacture of dentures and fillings from the amalgam of certain metals.
- Also, mercury compounds are used: in photography, leather processing, in dyeing fabrics, in pyrotechnics, during the production of porcelain.
- In the military industry, liquid metal is used to make explosives, the so-called "explosive mercury." This substance is placed in the detonators of shells and grenades.
- Shipbuilding. It uses paint containing mercury. With its help, the surfaces of ships under water are processed. When interacting with marine chlorine, this paint forms a film that kills harmful bacteria.
- In agriculture, mercury compounds are used as herbicides.
We learned about the purpose of mercury in various industries.