The Platinum Cannon Shipwreck - 20th Century Alchemy- Chapter 6- Synthetic Production- 2

The Platinum Cannon Shipwreck
A modern tale of Alchemy
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Chapter 6 Synthetic Production of Precious Metals from Black Sands

Simple Process to Produce Precious Metals

To synthetically produce precious metals, all one needs is the following:

Black Sands
Lead Powder (<200-mesh, reagent grade)
Charcoal Sodium Nitrate (NaN03)
Grinder
Scales
Fire assay capability
Inductive Coupled Plasma, Atomic Absorption, or available commercial facilities for platinum and platinum group metals (PGMs) analysis.

**Note: Almost any black sands which has been washed (gravity separated), consisting of Magnetite (Fe304) I or Chalcocite (Cu2S)or Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), etc .......

STEP ONE.

Individually pulverize the black sands, charcoal and sodium nitrate to a fineness of <200-mesh. This equates to a particle size of 75 microns. Use caution. A danger of pre?ignition exists from the friction of the grinder and iron associated with the mineral.

STEP TWO.

Before starting, take two samples for reference as follows:

1. 30 grams mineral before grinding.

2. 60 grams mineral after grinding (<200-mesh).

STEP THREE.

Next weigh out portions of the pulverized material as follows:

Black sands................... 100 grams
Lead Powder................... 50 grams
Charcoal......................... 200 grams
Sodium Nitrate............... 600 grams
Total .................................950 grams

STEP FOUR.

Combine the chemicals and material and mix thoroughly. I suggest using a large, clean plastic bag, tightly sealed. Shake thoroughly for no less than four to five minutes. A longer period of mixing is best. The homogeneity of the mixture is extremely important to the efficiency of the reaction.

STEP FIVE.

When complete, place the material in a clean 2.5 pound metallic can. I used an empty coffee can during many of my tests. Next, and probably most important, place the can with the enclosed mixture on a flat surface in a well ventilated area. In a laboratory, a fume hood with sealing view glass and high speed exhaust fan is excellent for this phase. If a fume hood is not available, place the can outside away from all buildings, animals and people. After ignition, be sure to stay well away from the smoke arising from the burning mixture.

STEP SIX.

By using a small torch, or equivalent, ignite the mixture by applying a flame to the surface of the chemicals. The mixture will ignite slowly within five to ten seconds. Within 20 seconds, the average temperature will be approximately 700°C and within 100 seconds, the reaction will terminate.

If the reaction does not meet this criteria, you need to check the following for the cause of failure:

1. Material was not uniformly pulverized to 200mesh.

2. Material was not homogenous in mixture.

3. The chemicals contained moisture (humidity). Note: the sodium nitrate is slightly hydroscopic.

4. The container used to hold the reaction was of such material that it absorbed the energy (heat) from the reaction.