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    4 views14 pages

    AQ Del Ororecovery and Refining of Precious Metals

    Uploaded by

    Edmundo Alfaro Delgado

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    12 Fire Assaying Ie uncnain how old he proces of easing saying i, roedes 4 basi easy were pblied by Vanoario Benguccs ne cenury.Inmon cass iis ued meted of untae sma that so detine the amounts of god sve, and oer vals inthe ea ames pr ton However i joe ay of ae sve ti cng You di not previously now it cones, the peers eel considered a qualitative analysis. * we Vasouscompanis sell fre asay equipment, nes and dections. Te i fe, i usu pth tha fie assaying ie smple and foul pot Some cis share Universal x siabl foal ores. Ths clam ie suply uote The fr assy isan exremely versatile ol i tok if propery don, it works we, butt takes grt sil by the tage and many yn of enperones Bete the problems encore even by x sll anajer a Sil aay mean ee Hue, The problemi ot so much qualtatve--even ie tgp hre seat seoriicaon wl indict the preseeof some vales-s goanave Ae tate Se i ey det oc, he lis lad meio offi aseyng, in which he lead quntave ‘xc and cle he various noble malo present int say sede today. The myst is even more loaded whee ccomes forenoon segs and thaium, as tes ent ae not very aie mon ad ‘The obj ofthe fir assy is take 9.16 (easton) sample of an gel ae, epee pres vs snogue by skectvely disolving then the lad then separ he sen ‘@ group from the lead; then to separate the vi ey Pn Chemical means and hen o weigh rn weight in he sample, which corespend exsuto tu : exact thle weighs in ounces pr 1 ofthe of bring asyed. This ele the iuyton jem of ee One assay ton (AT) equals 29.166. Not al asys ar done With sans 302 Fire Assaying 1 303 weighing 1 AT; other commonly used multiples and divisions of the assay ton fe 2 AT. (68332 ), AT. (7.291 g), and Ye AT. (14583 8) “there are 28,166 woy ounces in one avoirdupos tn; therefor, if the bead recovered fiom a ie assay ofan ore sample weighing 9.166 g (1 A.) weighs Ting (0.001 2), the or in question contains 1 ounce of precious metal per ton. This is shown by the following proportion: 0.001 929.166 g ~ 1 ounce! 25,166 ounces. Tn fie assay, there are seven basic steps to perform, Siep 1: Combining the material o be assayed with a suitable fx that includes collector, such as litharge; and placing the assay and fux ina suitable crucible ‘Sup 2: Fusing the mixture in the crucible in an assay furnace to produce 1 metalic esd by the reduction of the litharge, which collects the precious real vals. ‘Step 4: Pouring the fsion into a conica-shaped cetiron mold to produce a Jead button or pall that contains the precious metals ‘Stop 4: Separating the lead button from the slag, and hammering the button into a cube. ‘Step 5: Cupeling te lead cube fom the fusio ina bone ash cupel to oxidize the lead back to liharge, leaving behind in the eupel head composed ofthe precious metal values thet were present in the assy sample ‘Siep 6: Parting the bead (separating the various values in the bead). ‘Step 7: Sconfcation, if necessary ‘The first sep is the crucial one. Unless you have the proper fux for the parila ore being assayed, you wind up witha undesizable couclosion: A lead ‘tion too large or too smal to cupel properly. I the slag produced is too heavy (ot uid enough at assay temperatures), you can wind up with reduced lead particles—globules trapped in the slag. You can also wind up witha lea button that you cannot cupe back to Iitharge. Fluxes Most fluxes are made up of one or another combination and weight of the following components: sodium carbonate (Na,CO,) (also known as soda ash and sal soda), ltharge (PbO) (lead monoxide), silica (SiO) (sand, quartz, flint), sodium teraborate (Na,B,0;) (borax), calcium fluoride (CaF.) (Quorspar), wheat flour, potassium nitrate (KNO}) (saltpeter), and potassium carbonate (KCO3) (potash, pearash). ‘The purpose of the flour (common household flout) is to reduce litharge to metalic lead, wiich collects metallic values. You can also use argol, sugar, or charcoal for this purpose. Flour is the most commonly used reducer when the nature of the ore is oxidring or neutral ‘When the nature of the ore is reducing, potassium nitrate is used (sulphide- 208 / Fire assaying earings ae reducing and sliea-bearig ors ar oxitiving), Potassium cag, reeset 52 Mx when major amounts of aluminum aren the or or ante Ta fusing chromate or chromite oes, hydrous potasium carbonate 2K;CO, 31,0) is used in place of anhydrous potassium carbonate (K,CO,), Jeane to combine the conect amount of conecly formulated fx ang ere iarge) wits your of sample, so dt when te combination i fase aicient available litera is reduced 1 create a lead button with a weigh approximately 28 g A lead buton ofthis weight will effectively cole st Precious metl valves tata present. At the same tne, you want the figs ‘duce the ganguc to a slg that is easy to separate from the lead collects jhe ore sample can be reducing in nature, neutral in nate, or oxi fn are Ifthe ore is reducing in nature, the constituents of the ore sample Sat £82" ther reducing powers upon the ltharge and reduce a percentage of ot Jead. Ifthe ore is oxidizing in nature, the opposite reaction wil take place, Without knowing the extent to which an ore is reducing or oxidizing, you would be hard pressed to come up with the correct formula and amount of tue 4nd litharge for producing a lead buton after reduction that weighs inthe dascy 28-30-g range. This weight of colector-ead bution is necessary to collet ie Precious metal values that are contained in a 29.166 sample (assay) effectively [7 fisting you noed to establish is how much availabe deoxiizr(edcing materi fo put in the flux, or how mich onder, in oder to ast the oxiiing reducing power of the ore isl, always leaving sufficient avalable redocing ‘agent to reduce the remaining available ltharge to 2 2830-g lead button, ‘This calculation is extremely easy if you have on hand an optical emission Spectrograph, but forthe purposes ofthis book 1 will assume that you do nor ‘The alternative is to experiment. Make up a charge (ore flux, and ltherge) without adding any matetials of a ‘educing nature—such as flour, argol, or sugar. Next, add an excess of liharge to the charge: when you make the fusion, whatever elements are reducing ‘nature in the sample ore will reduce some ofthe excess ldharge to metalic ead, Producing a button. The weight of this bution gives you a benchmark for the {ductive power of the particular ore in question. Using the benchmatk, you can formulate, reasonably accurately, the flux necessary to produce an optimum button after fusion. Remember thatthe reducing and oxidizing (redox) reactions ‘cur simultaneously. You cannot have one without the other, ‘Suppose that your fusion with excess ltharge and no added reducer produced ‘no lead bead at all. This indicates thatthe sample either has no available reducer oF an excess of oxidizer. Now suppose instead that your fusion produced a lead bution weighing in excess of 30 g. This indicates that the sample contains excessive available reducer, requising you to make up a ux that has just enough oxidizer (Saltpeter) to lower the natural reducing power of the ore inte ihe desired range ‘The variables you need to fix are the amount of litharge to use, the amount Fire Assaying / 305 ee ee eee 1d natural oxidizers in the same Soy poein bore ot iia le einen = co tt eho mee veo ca - ‘is left over (available) after the natural oxidizes and eer in sete, Gees acta a i ‘There are many reducers that can be used in fire assaying. Argols, also called rac cu wif ase ol sd cx ar arte obese ak {fine its used in the production of eream of aga. Wheat flour iste most popular reducer simply because it is so readily available. = os = : ee aaa a a ied : a Establishing the Reducing Power of an Ore ender oelet an propriate x, you mot teal the reducing power (89) aw The Rf wo ped yo aman of maid 1 goth ox potas dtm) when fed wh a eof Ueda eeepc a nc 9 gece wine Ron $d sai, 1 gt sadn atone 0 yo ig le x Srl i), fle (en get fm ere Pes tee ih he hrs nay cree ing th amas po 18°. We th nes es pre, en temper ack on Cd cn in the 20 mina 900 ie th temperate back o 100°C aad old tat 000°C reson ow poten he con tin mall he ag nov tome aon ad eaten ge Tenn ores OP) of eo in gestion the weight ofthe lea baton Gvded by 3p (Be wight of Migr etample, the weight ofthe lad rednced fom he Iitage wa 15 Charge: 3 g Ore, 10 9 Sad Catone (NCO, 469 ‘ihape P0,3g Sten '504, ana Bore gos 8,01) D= is Fusion: 20 Minutes at 800°C: 20 Mites a 10000 ‘escent Ay ad Pe Pal Weight +3 = AP, Figure 12.1. Establishing the reducing power ofan ore 3 oe ray ide by 3 and get 5 the LP. of de oe. The oe is able to reduce 5 g of lead per gram of sample. See Figure 12.1 crest Se isto Figure a charge that will produce a 28-30-g bation fom Fea Of the 5 RP. ore weighing 4 A:T (asay ton)—i4.58 g. Besrone 15 g for your ore sample, 71208 do nothing to counteract some of the ore's natural RP. the sume wll produce 5 fof reduced lead per gram of ore. This, multiplied by 15. meme a 75:3 button of lead from your ¥ A:T. sample—45 g more than you want Yon ‘must include a sufficient amount of oxidizer to take care ofthe cxctse, {Looking under “Oxidizing Power” inthe table of oxidizers, you will see that sicr(atpeer—KNO,) has an oxidizing power (O.P) of 42, meaning tat aed eae il oxidize 4:2 g of lead. If you divide the excess of 45 g of ‘edteed lead thatthe ore would naturally produce by 42, you will se thet 407 § of nite must be incorporated in your charge to produce a lead button af tke desired weight (30 2) ce accompanying uble shows the composition of some typical charges. If Feral these carefully, you wil see thatthe diferenees influx, reducers, or ovidinees among them is dv to ther different reducing and oxidizing powers Reducing and Oxidicing Powers of Common Minerals and Reagents Reducers Reducing Power Arsenopyrite (FeAsS) 7 Carbon (C) (charcoal) 18 25, Chaleoeite (Cu,8) 5 Chaleopyrite (CuFes,) 8 Fire Assaying 1 307 Flour (wheat flour) own Galena (PbS) ote Metallic Iron Fe) A Pyrite eS,) i Pyrthotite (FeS) 3 Sphalerite (ZnS) 8 Stibnite (Sb,S:) Oxidivers Oxidicing Power ena 20) 1B netite (Fey Y Magnetic Tate oatoos Niter (KNO,) (saltpetes) a Pyrolusite (MnO) Some Typical Charges ‘ore: Iron pyrite (eS) with a reducing power of from 10.56 to 11; Fe constitutes more than 10% of the sample. Fusion Charge VAT. pyrite oe 30 g NaC, 60 5 POO 12g Sio, 10 g NasB.0, Og CaF, Og flour 30 g KNO, Ore: Pyroxenite consisting of Si, Al, Fe, Mg, and Ca Fusion Charge “AT. pyroxenite 30g NaCOs 35 g PLO 4550, 35 BNSBO; 2g 32g for Og KNO, Ore: Pyrtotite consisting of Si, Al, Fe, Mg, and NL Fusion Charge: YA. pyrhotte 35 g Na,CO, 702 PbO 10g Sid 10 gNaBO; Og CaF, 0g flour 15g KNO, Ore: Rhyolte consisting of Si and AL Fusion Charge: WAT. rhyolite 25 g NCOs 50g PbO 1 8Si0; SE NaBO, 1gCaR, 3 g four Og KNO, 408 / Fire Assaying Lead Assay itevege is very important hat you aay the tage a any eae sve npr Gayla oi ed in say ation er termine proses eae ™ lues in these materials. If the litharge or lead contains ne aes beet weg an dls fom tens gs A ones porated. Litharge and lead purchased for anes I SSCP gale ray ge cary an ay on lie hore ae ane seat incorrect, and it pays to check each batch yourself, ah ns loving Aes, ith he sono igen 2 apt qo an be used tasay for precons metal vas. Fux I: 4 pat by weigh Rae Parts potassium carbonate, 2 parts borax glass, and 1 ‘part a B Parts by weight sodium bicarbonate, 10 parts potassiur a Se borax glass, and 214-4 parts flour. The usual amount of ih oa te are sys abot par y weigh pat of ete hae a ‘resulting button from the fusion is cupelled in the usual ‘manner, a aia pane with ite aid 6 ste eran gold rakes es see moaning for extremely ‘small values, the bead produced can be extreme soul aig eat 0 wh one nash ca ye oh assay scent pure 099998) gold osiverto neces saa ste ofthe bead produced in he opel Of couse tis pion ee seat hnt pa : is dedi "he ed fl you wih ay i : assy isnply weighed and cate to a in cs ofits, Jour might aoa gl rain teeone he 2 age cnih es uc an fe a can ey cee Ayla res. As you se by th ake you add ae will also make a good crucible flux and collector for assaying gold and silver ors, Flux Combinations ‘The three general fuxes given in 7 et edema fans ren ia he following ble re very sit te wo General Fluxes for Gold and Silver Ores x (Parts by Weight) Sodium Bicarbonate 5 parts B. Sodium Bicarbonate 1 part Possum Cun 4 parts Borax Gite 1 pur eee Glass 2 par Liang 5 pane our i put Oe 1 pat Litharge 8 parts * C. Som Bicarbonate 3 pas ithe 5 pore Bor Glas 2 pura Fire Assaying / 308 pictsiclead ore or lend aay fax canbe used asthe starting pace for making ‘ton Huxes fr a wide variety of ores. You may think of his Bux as our basic fase 0x House Flux: Sodium Bicarbonate 8 Potassium Carbonate 8 Borax Glass 4a ‘Wheat Flour 28 Mix up a sitable supply ofthe above and store i ina lrge ark, glass jar with a tight Kid. Re [noted before, ores can be basic, acidic, or neutral in nature. A neutral eis one that has no reducing power (RP.) oF oxidizing power (O.P.) such as Shicous oxide or carbonate ore containing no sulphides, ersenides ntimonies, Se telurides. A reducing ore is one that has a natural reducing power capable of eveing some ofthe litharge to metalic ead during foston—ores that contain ‘Riponaceous matter, sulphides, ascnides, antimonides, or tellusides. An oxidiz~ fag ore is one that exerts a natural oxidizing power on th Ftharg, thereby ‘Garding or preventing reduction of the litharge to metalic lead. Oxidizing ores ibe those containing feric oxide, manganese dioxide, or other oxidizing agents. vn ordet to flux the gangue to a slag that is thoroughly liquid, you need to follow one very basic rue: Ifthe gangue is acidic in nature, you must use a basic ux; if the gangue is basic in nature, you must use an acidic fx. Silica is acidic; nonetheless, itis easily fusible at assay Furnace temperatures. ‘Alumina is both ecidic and Basic and requires an acidic-basie flux mixture. Oxides of iron, manganese, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, lead, zine, ‘and copper are besic in nature Sodium oxide (Na,0), potassium oxide (K;O), land lead oxide litharge) (PbO) are readily fusible at crucible assay temperatures, ‘whereas the remaining oxides are not fusible at assay temperatures ‘Given below sre 14 recipes for flux makeup, using the house fux (H.F.), with additions, to obtain 28-30 g lead buttons from various Ys AT. assay ore charges. ‘After crucible fusion, the ead button ia each case will contain the precious metal values of the ore in question. #1, A neutral, oxidized, lead-free ore. Ore (15 g) HLF. 0 g) Litharge @5 g) Cover the charge with borax or sal; if you use salt in place of borax, add 3 cor dg of borax tothe salt cover. #2. A neutral quartz ore. (re (15 2) Litharge (75 g) Argol @ 8) Cover the charge with borex;iFiton oxide is present, add some soda tothe cover. 43, A neutral quartz ore. ‘Ore (15g) HP. (20 g) Sodium bicarbonate (30 g) Litharge (20 8) Cover the charge with salt (sodium chloride). 310 / Fire Assaying 4. A be (ola leader oe Ore(15) HT G40 g) Buren qutzorsiien 15) Cie age nt me age a the cover 2 or 3 g of argol. 2 45.4 bse (old oe conttnng bart (Ba609. Ge O58) HE 0g) Solim Beato Lite os» Barren quartz of silica (15 g) Iron nails (2) Cover wil rae 46. Galena ore concentra to 85% lead values, Or concent (15 ILE. 20) foun fey 10 Cover chepe i t yslolanle ae bingo fin tempera #7. Silico gala ore, Or (5) TELS p) Sat Heston 208) Lihage Nes B oer he che wi alt The ano thar: wiv to beau up or down depenting on he lead conten ct 48. Nesta en carbonate Ores TEGO) Som bicbome (10g) Lite (5 ‘ove the shge with borat the quany of ua SD depending on the ead conten of th ‘8. non pyrite ore Oe (5) Sodium Becton G52) Litre 205) Nir (5) Bares ganz or sla (15 ne Tats Cover he ge wth ox Colt ay ae at oma and zt wie te lead or wth he ay bon. (Man mea a i ‘and copper.) i. Concentrated copper pes ore Qe) Solum brome GS») Lidar G05) Nero) Barren quartz or silica (15 g) Iron nails @ Cover the shrge with bora Scr any mate tht fms with ln, cke purpose of ails nan ast Iso came spe nso (it siious tlre crucible assay #12, Siicious tellurides. Ore (15 g) Litharge (80 8) Argol (2 2) Cover the charge wit sal, 13. Arsenieal ore. Ore (15 g) Sodium bicarbonate (15 g) Litharge (30 8) Potassium ferrocyanide (17 g) Cover the charge with salt. Most arsenical ores are assayed by scorifcaton, Fire Assaying / 311 tags from all operations. _ He SAM(19.16 g) Cores as LAT) ELF. G08) Son Sra lt (109) iaibnse Og) Litrs (10) Box ga 10 cao tie hah dag cots mate a 1 7 al ‘toss sig tee ct cin delet rial being assayed. You should always examine your ls na ea le Se et ee acne Se Figure 12.2. Scorifer Stags sess aerate ee weenie aeneer ease eT at terse wl sh evn, Ti pn alr cones fom Crnbinuon of the ble prodied by cup slicate andthe yellow prod a ag pace im at ee amas Ca ee te covered wih a ck lm of green nickel oie if much nickel was pres x preser yanganese. Slags of other colors Sie aca oeea name tate ome ‘Tin Slag Coating Left fom Seoreation Seosfeation Dh Slag color a8 indicator 412 / Fire Assoying Crucible Assay Stags ‘The colo of a emis ile gt ifeent sory, de to he di Be cots os ri 3, de othe een th cat sys Sg ia ea ssays do, along with smaller ints of ond seg Green slags indicate ferrous silicates, not. copper. inn Brick ed sags ines coper and the betes of ro. The. eine cope tz or capo ote ag NE fr white Copagte) slags dca caleu, Cob bu lags neat cba Ful gt ink slg ly ioe manganese attr flor nations, slags unt be exam fos nya be assayed for value. ines: from being amped ofthe es oper ements inte comet propo fora parca oe god fax must have te following charcteneee color comes from ‘magresium, aluminum, 1. Ie must have a formation tem Heed bers perature within the temperature range of ae Sree es teen sae rnc papain comme _ nad po oat 3. It should become sufficient! ited pnsipege brea pentane » Romar fr ive a very low affinity for gold and silver. " ss eel oases attack or flux away the crucible. that ese encaiely 4 ts pci gravity soa below ‘between the lead and the slag. aaa 7. When the slag is cod, it from the buton, should be homogeneous and easily removed sp ofa emi a ie impurities present in the gangue. me i i should be fee of sulphides (unless you are using nails inthe assay) When you hve worked phe des dup the desired bse on you pi to dezrmine th reducing power of tor and on your eaniaion tiie Fire Assaying 1313 pave caefllyastyed your reagents, you can proced wih your fusion. See Figure 123, cupettation copllation consists of oxidizing the lea fusion (containing the values) back Cam tharge (PbO), at which point the cupe will absorb any base metal oxides, raving the precious metal values in the cupel “the cupel isa shallow cup made of compressed bone ash with or without & tinder added. A high-grade bone ash cupel will absorb its weight im ltharge ‘The cupel should weigh approximately one-third more than the weight of the read button being cupeled. See Figure 12.4 “You ean make your own cupels or purchase them. There ere several substitutes for bone ash—such as cement and magnesia. However, these are not really ‘atisfactory, and bone ash cupels are both effective and inexpensive. ‘The end product of cupelation is a small doré bullion bead composed of the tess readily oxidized metals—gencrally, silver and gold, but also any metals of the platinum family that were present in the fusion. “the cupellation procedure is simple: Ifyou follow it step by step, you should got good results with few problems. If you are careless, though, you can lose Pr excess of 5% of your silver value during cupellation. Cupellation most be done methodically. ‘Sep 1: Heat the cupellation farnace (assay furnace) to 850°C. ‘Step 2: Set out some cupes that are sound, dry and free from dust, Purchased cupels are usvall the proper density and are sound, The cupe as tobe sufficiently permeable to allow the litharge to be easily absorbed, but atthe same time not be s0 porous 25 to allow the bead or Jead to sink in. The surface tension of the ead and of the sesulting doré bead is such that neither will penetrate into the ‘cape. Place the cupels inthe furnace with an extra row of empty cupels between them and the door. Sec Figure 12.5. "The reason for this row is to prevent the cupels in use from eracking due to the thermal shock to which they would be subjected when the door of the farace fs opened. If a cupel eracks when in use, it is lost. Heat the eupels for 15-20 ‘min with the door closed and the temperature at 850°C. ‘Step 3: Hammer the lead fusions into rough cubes (“pills”). Open the door, ‘quickly place the prills in the hot cupels, and reclose the door. See Figure 12.6. tise the peep hole in the door to occasionally observe what is occurring inside. ‘Each lead cube quickly melis and spreads out. The top ofthe lead pool in the cape is covered with a black layer of lead oxide, slag, dirt, and other solids that have floated to the top. See Fighre 12.7. In a minute or two, this covering layer flows to the edge of the cupel and slats to soak info the cupel. The metallic lead, which had been covered, is then exposed. This is called "opening up” or “uncovering.” See Figure 12.8. 5 i Ch Z 2 ie fe . i el x Wf Preheat Crucblomy, Let 1.000°6 for 30 Minutes 4. A ie 3M Remove Slag ond Cube Button Figure 123, Flowchart forcible fon Fire Assayng 315 los Figure 124. Bove ash cupel ‘atthe opening-up stage, the remaining solids are swept aside and the exposed tore surface of the lead begins to bum. The lead oxide continues to dain off et soak into the cupal, although a small percentage ofthe lead vaporizes. These lead fumes should be avoided a all costs. See Figure 12.9. “Lead ean be an extremely dangerous substance. It is cumulative, building up in your body tissues and bones, and Tasting for years. One milligram of lead for vary 10ce of air is toxic. Daily absorption of only 1 mg eventually results in a fethal amount in your system. vA iota of 25 gf lead adsorbed in your bones and system is more than enough to cripple or kill you. The lead vapors (lead smoke) from the assay furnace, if tneathed, go direely from your lungs into your bloodstream in a matter of Pris Being Cupid Figure 2.5. Capel setup in assay furnace B16 7 Fire Asoaying Tongs Front Row (Blanks) Figure 12.6. Loading pels ito cupels Black Lead Oxide ad Gangue LZ Liquid Less Soups Figure 12.7. First action in cel Figure 12.9. Burning the lead to fon Iiharge Figure 128. Cupel “opening up" Figure 12.10. “Opening” the cupel using ‘splinter of wood Fire Assaying 1317 cans, Yo cn pick up ed fumes while working wit the bow pipe, solering | Sed soler, handling wed cupels which can contaminate your hands and thes) or breathing dust from lead ores o other lead soures ree moms of lead poisoning vary from person to person but may include june, shisng of speech, and a blue fine above the teeth on the gums. Once $rte bloodsuean, lad gots pumped all dough the body, 8 it can end up i ping all he bodys orgens. Lead poisoning has sent so many asayers the fiz essay shop in dhe sky that, in the trade lead poisoning is refered 10 as vi Ser’ Disease. Painters handling lead-based pant usd to fall victim to lead soning also There are a number of safety measures that you should observe to minimize tte sk of lead poisoning. Wear a respirator or have good draft, wear gloves, feep the work area free ffom dust, and do not under any circumstances handle ted cupels or Scorfication dishes with your bere hand {cope that fails to “open” is called a “frozen cupet”; it usually results fom acapel’s having too thick a layer of material over the lead to get rd of i all, trom a cupel’s being too cool. If you open the door (avoiding contact with fame), place a small splinter of dry Wood on the unopened eupel, and then close the door the wood will do two things: It will burn, raising the temperature of ihe cupel; and when the wood is reduced to carbon, the earbon—being reducing innature it will usually reduce some of the lead oxide to metallic lead, thus opening the eupel. See Figure 12.10. if you have several cupels that fail to open, you ean lay a stick of dry wood in front of them on the hearth and this will usually open them. See Figure 12.11. ‘Daring the entire operation, keep the door closed until all the cupels have opened ‘open the peephole only for an occasional quick look, then close it promply From ime to time, a cupel will nt open segacdless of what you do; itis simply part ofthe game. ‘sep 4: When the cupels have all opened and the lead is being oxidized and absorbed by the bone ash, the oxidizing of the lead is exothermic, and the eupel js acting as an insulator. This significantly raises the temperature of the lead Unopened Cunels |r Sick Binks Front of Funace Figure 12.11. “Opening” a row of cupels using a stick 318 / Fire assaying bing kn an ne forest anne eon fe ae i aa erence te 108s of silver. In such a case, the lead becom: es iter than the furnace walls. This is c “ cn Sie a sed "vg Sc a One cp hv gee te = ‘ te mes ape point a which the forming lharge fs maintained sighly ove te eo tempera. A hsp he rig la i iteado yelow ets Yello: whe. As ongas he ad nd ge aka empertae at teks continues to burn and at which the forming litharge remains mo ah ah an te ne pel ol eas eg col some of he liane that vaporizes condenses as dendrite rsa *e xl te bring ie a ey god sig ut nyse ne tor. These dendritic crystals are called “feathers.” See Figure 12, E Sep 5: Near the end pont, when the ad is eal gone ad nly tg coming i left on the doré bead, raise the temperature ofthe furnace to very iten alloy of silver, gold, and other values in a liquid state and inte ithe last bit of lead remaining. oe Wine yo 6 ct te ed pot i cut pm he ayo an cunt al shou ap ay nny cme vy bh rescence ‘or “wink.” The cause is ic x

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