Types and features of artisanal gold mining. Gold mining. Gold mining methods. Gold mining by hand Gold by handicraft

21.10.2021

Gold is one of the most famous metals on earth. Humanity has been engaged in its production since time immemorial. For its yellow color, which is no longer characteristic of any metal, gold has received the nickname "gift of the sun" among many peoples. Therefore, various ceremonial and everyday decorations were made from it, a statue was erected to rulers and the most valuable coins were minted.

Historical excursion

Gold mining in Russia is associated primarily with the beginning of the 19th century, when Siberia was seized by a real fever. Now it is no longer possible to establish for certain who started the rumor that one of the fugitive (according to other sources - exiled) peasants found a deposit with large nuggets in the channel of one of the rivers. But many industrialists of that time immediately went to the emperor to obtain a patent for the development. This is how the era of gold mining began on the territory of Russia.

Surprisingly little has changed in technology in nearly two centuries since then. Of course, now no one washes away gold sand with wooden sieves, but the principle of extraction has remained the same. Its efficiency has only increased due to the use of the latest technologies. Now it is possible to choose among the garbage even the smallest grains of sand that would be difficult to see with the naked eye. All production is strictly controlled by the state, although numerous cases of illegal fishing are recorded every year.

The so-called "black prospectors" cause significant damage to the economy of the region, since they do not pay any deductions to the treasury. Artisanal gold mining is not as efficient as the industrial approach. But the owners of illegal mines still receive fabulous profits, and the hired workers are not left out.

Even in spite of the regular monitoring of observers, it is still possible to hide at least a dozen large nuggets, which can then be sold at high prices and earn much more than wages.

In total, there are two methods for extracting gold from the earth's interior. The use of a particular option depends on the type of metal being mined. When it comes to nuggets, they are mined by flushing large volumes of earth containing a small amount of metal.

Therefore, mines are often located near large rivers so that there is regular access to a large amount of water. If we talk about gold-bearing ore, then it is mined by the mine method, and then sent for processing, as a result of which it is possible to extract pure metal from the rock.

In the industry, the most applicable method is electrolytic gold mining, since it allows you to get metal of the highest standard, with a minimum amount of impurities. The process of gold mining from the moment a deposit is discovered to its very melting into a target product is very interesting and informative. It is imperative that you familiarize yourself with it for general development. You can watch a video on gold mining in Russia on the Internet.

These methods of gold mining have been known to mankind for many centuries and a more effective method has not yet been invented. A century ago, many were ready to take an adventure, sell all their property and go to the mines in search of untold riches.

But now in many countries illegal gold mining is a serious economic crime, so there are practically no people left to search for it. Although another type of "gold rush" has survived - the search for treasures. According to the approximate calculations of scientists, there are at least a hundred real caches in the world, which contain several hundred kilograms of gold coins and jewelry.

World gold mining

The production of gold in the world at the moment is about 3 thousand tons per year. Moreover, more than half of all the metal obtained is used for the production of jewelry and investment coins. Only 12% is used in industry to create technical elements. The rest of the material is used to make ingots of various weights, which are stored in the vaults of state banks.

This is done in order to form the so-called "gold reserve", which shows the well-being of the state and provides its external debt to creditors. The higher a country has this indicator, the more seriously it is taken in the international arena and the easier it will be to get a targeted loan from any state or organization.

In 2013, the following countries became the leaders in gold mining in the world:

1. People's Republic of China - 12.8%;
2. Australia - 9.4%;
3. South Africa - 8.9%;
4. United States of America - 8.89%;
5. Russian Federation - 7.9%;
6. Peru - 7.7%;
7. Uzbekistan - 6.3%.

At the moment, there are no particular trends towards an increase in gold production in the world. The indicators have fluctuated at approximately the same level for many years. This is because many of the investments and savings of influential people are in gold and it is necessary to maintain a stable price for it. A shortage or surplus of material on the market will cause significant fluctuations, which always worsen the state of the financial sector.

Therefore, the powerful of this world try to maintain balance. And there is no particular need for a sharp increase in production volumes, because gold is a rather rare metal, so it is difficult to extract it from the bowels. And the cost of each gram is then transferred to the finished product. And the growth of production volumes will immediately require huge investments, which will pay off for many years.

In this article:

Gold mining has been going on since ancient times, when there were no special machines, devices, prepared and explored gold deposits. But even then, gold was mined both for the benefit of the people, and handicraft was secretly carried out. To date, nothing has changed: there are still two. It is believed that during the entire existence of civilization, people were able to mine about 200 tons of precious metal by handicraft method.

Gold mining methods

Artisanal gold mining

Of course, the amount of gold that remains in the ground is much less than at the beginning of the companies' activities, but miners are attracted by the preparedness of the soil and the accuracy of the location of the gold. It is in this way that residents of countries that are developing, for example, men from African countries, make a living. Often gold mining is the main job, people look for precious metals and sell it illegally for processing and refining gold. And you can also independently engage in refining and metal remelting.

Volcanic gold deposits are especially popular among black diggers. Since it is there that the metal is on the surface and there is no need to look for equipment for its extraction. Such deposits can be found in Siberia: Khakandzha in the Far East, Kuranakhanskoe in Aldan. Copper-nickel deposits in the Krasnoyarsk region are being developed in pyrite-polymetallic mines in Altai. If the gold is deeper in the ground, the diggers have to excavate the rock, which is difficult to do by hand.

Illegal gold mining and responsibility for it

It is believed that every year the miners mine about 20 tons of gold illegally. In many countries, artisanal mining of precious metals by private traders is prohibited. For example, in Russia there is an article that provides for criminal liability for working in mines or along the banks of rivers without a license. Violation of this law can face a fine of up to three million rubles, and if a group of people was involved in the activity, you can get imprisonment for up to seven years.

Illegal gold mining

To obtain a licensed gold mining license, you must provide all documents that represent your purpose, as well as be part of a registered enterprise and follow the gold mining quotas at the site. The process of obtaining a license is long and arduous, so small firms without capital should not count on obtaining a license. In order to circumvent the law and not be responsible under the article of the Criminal Code, the miner has two options for action:

Conclude a mediation agreement with a gold mining company. After that, you can engage in activities on their territory.
Get into the staff of a gold mining company, which not all enterprises agree to.

Countries such as Australia and the United States have a license purchase procedure. The license can be bought for a period of one year to an individual for $ 30. It is also driven by tourism. Visitors often want to feel like they were in the days of the "gold rush" and try to launder the gold on the banks of the river. Therefore, the process of obtaining a license is quite fast and, one might say, formal.

What is done with the mined gold?

Since illegal gold cannot be sold and sent for refining, people process and refine it on their own. The further fate of illegally mined gold can develop according to the following schemes:

Amalgamation. The method is suitable for washing small particles. It consists in combining precious metals with mercury and then separating the amalgam from other elements. At the final stage, gold and mercury are also separated.
Cyanide treatment. Gold goes through several stages, including leaching. The purity of the obtained precious metal is much higher than after the previous method. But cyanide vapors are hazardous to health.
Chlorination using chlorine and hydrochloric acid.

Of course, gold mining using artisanal methods is a difficult physical job. But in the end, she fed more than one family. While there is economic instability in countries, the activities of black diggers cannot be avoided.

Traditionally, the extraction of the precious yellow metal is subdivided into industrial and non-industrial. In the case of non-industrial gold mining, we mean the artisanal gold mining. This mining method is characterized, in particular, by the fact that it is usually practiced by small groups of gold miners. Large-scale gold mining will never rely on artisanal methods.

Simple ways

Gold mining, in its essence, is a simple matter. To do this, you need to take a tray if available, and if it is not there, then you can use, for example, a plastic basin and a shovel. Using such a simple tool, a few gold tokens can be washed in the river in half a day.

Reference! The badge is a small piece of gold that is barely visible to the eye, the size of which ranges from 0.07-0.1 mm, and the mass of which is too small for weighing.

In order for gold mining to become a truly profitable business for you, you need to have certain knowledge.

It is important to note that all large deposits, as a rule, have already been found and worked out.

Handicraft gold miners are left with only small deposits that were not included in the list of developed deposits either during the Soviet Union or after its collapse.

Artisanal gold mining - available to everyone

Nevertheless, today gold miners are given the opportunity to extract the yellow precious metal from small placers, the development of which was not carried out in Soviet times.

As for the gold mining itself, it is important to note that the prospectors, before the start of washing the placer, are looking for an area with a significant gold content, the indicator of which, as a rule, fluctuates within a few grams per one ton of rock. To carry out this process, they beat pits along the banks, the depth of which reaches several meters.

If we talk specifically about the method of gold mining, in which only a washing tray is used, then it is worth noting that such a tool, as a rule, is a large cup with a rounded bottom and made of wood or metal.

It is interesting! As a rule, gold-bearing sand is rare in nature, so gold prospectors have to wash a mixture of sand, gravel, pebbles and other rocks in river water.

It is this mixture that is mined in the pit that is scooped up with a tray.

Thus, the algorithm of the gold miner's actions can be as follows:

You need to go to the water and lower the tray there.
The tray in the water must be rotated in smooth movements to set in motion the rock that is in it.
As a result of such actions, large stones will move along the edge of the tray and fall out.
Progressive actions must be performed until all stones are washed out of the tray.
Make sure that only concentrate remains in the tray, which are particles of various hard minerals with a high density.

Such a concentrate has a black color, due to which gold particles will be clearly visible in it if they were in the washed rock.

With the help of prohodnushki

Experts point out that one of the most professional and profitable methods of artisanal gold mining is gold mining through the use of a propeller.

Reference! A walk-through is called a wooden tray, knocked down from several boards.

The pass-through is installed directly by the stream; water is supplied to it, which usually runs by gravity through a self-made water conduit. Water intake is carried out slightly upstream.

Gold can be found in almost any body of water

The pass-through must be installed at a slight slope, on its bottom it is worth laying special ribbed rubber mats, on top of which a sheet of iron should be placed, in which holes are punched. It is on this metal sheet that the rock is poured, which must be agitated with a shovel.

Such progressive actions allow small fractions to fall into the washing tray, and large stones to "move away" to the side.

Flushing allows the gold particles to linger on the rugs and the waste rock to be carried away by the water.

After a few hours, you need to carefully remove the rugs, and then collect the gold from them.

Using a metal detector

At their core, metal detectors are geophysical instruments that are endowed with the ability to influence various metal (or metal-containing) objects that are in the ground. The operation of metal detectors is based on the electromagnetic principle.

Did you know that all, without exception, metal detectors are equipped with special antennas, which are made in the form of a ring or an ellipse. It is with the help of such an antenna that the device is endowed with the ability to emit electromagnetic waves that cause special currents in the search metal. Thanks to these currents, the target, that is, the metal, "generates" a response signal to the device, which, in turn, is picked up by the antenna. This signal is amplified as the distance between the instrument and the target decreases.

When considering the principles of operation of metal detectors, it is important to understand the term "anomaly".

So, under the anomalies in the context we are considering, we should understand any changes in the structure of the soil. Since the presence of various metals in the soil is not a normal state for the soil, we consider it (that is, the presence) as an anomaly.

The manifestation of an anomaly when working with metal detectors is accompanied by specific sound vibrations, the appearance of sounds that the metal detector emits.

The problem of finding gold with a metal detector is, in particular, that gold particles are usually small, and, accordingly, when they are detected, the metal detector will emit subtle sounds. It is often difficult to detect that a metal detector has detected gold.

TO important characteristics of metal detectors that you should pay attention to when choosing and purchasing them include:

Search depth.
Sensitivity limit.
Recognition of metals.

Each of these characteristics must be studied in detail without fail b take into account when choosing a metal detector.

In addition to metal detectors, other devices for the extraction of gold by handicraft have been invented and successfully used today. Among them, for example, automated and (or) mechanized walk-throughs and much more.

Artisanal Gold Mining Videos

In general, there are many ways of artisanal gold mining. We have covered just a few of them. Summing up the article, we note the methods we have considered:

Gold mining using a simple wash pan.
Extraction of gold with the help of prohodnushki.
Gold mining using modern equipment (metal detectors, automated and mechanized walk-throughs, other sophisticated equipment).

These methods can be roughly divided into two groups:

Methods associated with the use of improvised means.
Methods that require special devices.

In modern conditions, artisanal gold mining is becoming more and more accessible. However, one should not forget that in the Russian Federation such activities are subject to mandatory special state registration. However, this is a topic for a separate article.

UDC 553.041 (411): 553.8: 351.823.3

LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT OF INDIVIDUAL SKILLS PRODUCTION
V.P. Orlov, Yu.S. Sergeev, B.V. Khakimov (Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Moscow)

Victor Petrovich Orlov, Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Protection
Sergeev Yuri Samuilovich, Advisor
Khakimov Boris Vasilievich, expert

Russian legislation permits the extraction of precious metals and precious stones only by organizations - legal entities. The article provides the rationale for the need to introduce into the legislation legal norms on granting the right to the extraction of precious metals and precious stones to individual entrepreneurs - citizens of the Russian Federation.
Keywords: precious metals; mining; free delivery; law.

Members of the Federation Council V.P. Orlov, G.D. Oleinik, A.N. Lotorev, V.A.Ozerov, M.E. Nikolaev and V.A. Novikov supported the initiative of the leadership of the Magadan region to legalize the so-called "free "mined gold and some other minerals by individuals, in this case - individual prospectors. The corresponding draft federal law "On Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Russian Federation" On Subsoil "and Some Other Legislative Acts" has been submitted to the State Duma.

Free donation as an individual artisan, silver and non-ferrous metals existed in Russia for over 100 years, including during the Soviet period until 1954 inclusive. In other countries, free donation in various forms still exists and allows you to extract precious metals and precious stones in subsoil areas that are not of industrial importance, primarily on dumps and mining waste.
Currently, the relevance of legislative permission for the so-called free delivery of gold has increased for the following reasons:

1) the financial and economic crisis and the growth of unemployment, especially in the Far North and in regions equated to it;
2) bankruptcy and closure of many small miners' cooperatives, as a result of which experienced personnel are released;
3) depletion of the mineral resource base of alluvial gold, the prevalence of the smallest deposits in the unallocated subsoil fund with reserves in the first tens of kilograms that are not of industrial interest;
4) the importance of solving the problem of the most complete and rational use of residual reserves and resources of liquid raw materials;
5) the need to exclude the possibility of hidden artisanal mining and shadow gold turnover.

Currently, the extraction of precious metals and precious stones by individuals (citizens) is not permitted by the legislation of the Russian Federation. Nevertheless, according to the Union of Industrialists and other sources, illegal gold mining in Russia is annually from 15 to 20 tons (about 10% of legal production), which is in the shadow circulation, maintaining an unfavorable crime situation.
To legalize the mining of alluvial gold and other precious metals and precious stones by individual entrepreneurs, back in 2003, the Federal Assembly adopted the Federal Law “On Amendments and Addenda to the Federal Law“ On Precious Metals and Precious Stones. ”It solved this problem. was rejected by the President of the Russian Federation.

The rejected law provided for the default of subsoil plots that are not quantitatively and qualitatively objects of industrial development to plots of "local importance" with their subsequent provision for use by the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The legislator wanted to solve two problems at once - granting the right to use the subsoil to individual entrepreneurs for the extraction of precious metals and precious stones and expanding the rights of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation on the disposal of a part of the subsoil fund not only in relation to common deposits, but also other minerals. The second problem concerned the delineation of powers for joint management in the field of subsoil use. It has been repeatedly raised by many raw material regions of the Russian Federation. Despite the importance of the problem, the federal authorities are not ready today to share their powers in the issue of the disposal of subsoil resources. Therefore, it is necessary to solve the main goal of the bill - the admission of citizens of the Russian Federation to the extraction of minerals.
To do this, it is necessary, firstly, to establish the right of citizens of the Russian Federation, registered as individual entrepreneurs, to use the subsoil, for which they must be included in the list of possible subsoil users established by the Law of the Russian Federation "On Subsoil" (Article 9). Secondly, it is necessary to make it as easy as possible for such a subsoil user to obtain this right.

In our opinion, it is advisable to allow the extraction of precious metals or precious stones in the subsoil area assigned to each prospector, which is not an object of industrial development (old waste dredging landfills or otherwise worked out areas of placers, residual reserves in overburden and enclosing rocks, dumps or mining waste mining operations, substandard or previously written off reserves, areas of subsoil unclaimed by the industry, small and smallest subsoil areas in terms of reserves and predictable resources in watercourse valleys or on slopes, where data on the presence of placer gold content are absent or negative, but, in the opinion of the applicant, may be of interest ).
Since the subsoil plots that will be provided for the use of individual prospectors contain only insignificant amounts of precious metals or precious stones and therefore are not objects of industrial development, there is no point in holding a tender or auction to determine a subsoil user. A bidding mechanism should operate here and the well-known Canadian principle "first come - first received".

It is also necessary to simplify the licensing procedure for such cases, providing, in particular, that an individual entrepreneur can not only determine the subsoil plot he needs, but also select it from the list proposed by the territorial management body of the state subsoil fund.
It is also necessary to limit the list of required data in the application for obtaining the right to use, excluding such indicators and conditions as the preparation of a technical design, the date of reaching the design capacity, the provision of geological information for state expertise, the agreed production level, an agreement on the ownership of geological information obtained in the process of subsoil use, the procedure and terms for preparing projects for the liquidation and conservation of mine workings and land reclamation.

The procedure for considering applications for individual entrepreneurs to obtain the right to use subsoil for the purpose of extracting precious metals and precious stones (with the exception of diamonds) in a subsoil area that is not an object of industrial development in quantitative and qualitative terms should be established by the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia. At the same time, the simplest form of accounting for the extracted raw materials and sectoral statistical reporting should be established, and possibly the requirements that the applicant must meet.
The basis for acquiring the right to use subsoil, granted to an individual entrepreneur for the extraction of precious metals or precious stones in subsoil areas that are not objects of industrial development, may be a decision of the territorial body of the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra) in accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation "On Subsoil" (it is necessary making a corresponding addition to Article 10.1).

It is imperative to provide for the most simplified procedure for issuing licenses for the right to such artisanal mining, their registration and other formal procedures, and give the territorial bodies of Rosnedra the authority to issue and register these licenses.

It is extremely important to provide in the law for the possibility of using a simplified taxation system in the extraction of precious metals by individual entrepreneurs. The use of such a system is allowed by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, for example, in the extraction of widespread minerals (Tax Code of the Russian Federation, part two, art. 346.12). Therefore, the addition of this article with an amendment on the applicability of the simplified taxation system also to cases of mining of precious metals and precious stones by individual entrepreneurs would be quite justified.
A separate question is about the points of reception of gold and precious stones mined by individual entrepreneurs-miners. The Government of the Russian Federation will need to develop and approve an appropriate procedure, using the capabilities of the existing banking system, which traditionally serves gold mining.

In conclusion, let us draw your attention to the fact that the Federal Law "On Currency Regulation and Currency Control" (No. 173-ФЗ dated March 26, 2003) does not classify precious metals and precious stones as subject to legislative regulation (for the purposes of the said law, they are neither "the currency of the Russian Federation", neither "foreign currency", nor "currency values" (Article 1). Consequently, the need has ripened to consider the feasibility of further action of the Federal Law "On Precious Metals and Precious Stones", adopted on March 26, 1998 from the purpose of regulating relations in the extraction of precious metals and precious stones, their protection and processing at a time when precious metals still belonged to currency values.Today such regulation is unnecessary, but it is associated with the obligation of a number of permissive, supervisory (control) and prohibitive legislative norms significantly complicating the work of mining enterprises.
The main argument of the opponents of the proposed legislative changes towards the admission of free donation is the fear of expanding illegal mining of gold and other precious metals from placers located in remote regions of Siberia and the Far East, or embezzlement in artisanal artels.
Opponents assume that illegal mining and theft are absent today. Far from it. The initiated bill, if adopted, will legalize free donation as a traditional type of activity, as well as eliminate the basis of illegal mining and shadow circulation of gold, silver, platinum, amber, other precious metals and precious stones and, most importantly, create thousands of new jobs. , to save the inhabitants of many settlements in Siberia and the Far East from poverty and despair.

Moreover, this measure does not need investment expenditures from the state. Additional costs of the state for the implementation of this law will be expressed only in the fact that the territorial bodies of Rosnedra in the main 15-25 gold-mining regions are expected at the initial stage to issue such licenses on a massive scale without holding tenders or auctions, which may require the involvement of a certain number of specialists ( 30-50 people).

However, the growth of production volumes, the withdrawal from the shadow of a significant part of the business in this area will give not only a positive social, but also a budgetary and general economic effect.

Solving the problem of individual entrepreneurship opens up an opportunity for organizing the development of another type of activity - artisanal tourism. Its essence is to provide an opportunity for extreme tourists to get acquainted with the technology and conditions of mining placer gold in the traditional artisanal way, personally wash several tens of grams of metal and receive a certificate for them confirming the very fact of mining. Foreign experience shows that the interest in this type of tourism is quite high and stable.

Gold mining began in ancient times. Throughout the history of mankind, about 168.9 thousand tons of the noble metal have been mined, almost 50% of which goes to a variety of jewelry. If all the mined gold were collected in one place, then a cube with a height of a 5-storey building would be formed, having an edge - 20 meters.

"Golden story"

Gold is a metal that humanity was introduced to at least 6500 years ago. The most ancient treasure is considered to be found in the Varna necropolis, which is located in Bulgaria, and the items are dated to 4600 BC.

Gold has played an important role throughout human history and is still considered a safe investment. Currencies have come and gone, but it has remained a universal and stable benchmark for thousands of years.

It has always been prestigious to own this metal. The amount of gold was used to assess not only welfare, the position in society also depended on it. This is the case to this day.

It was gold that was often the cause of wars and crimes, but at the same time it played a huge role in the progress of mankind in general. On its basis, a monetary system began to take shape, cultural values and architectural masterpieces were created, which are priceless and still amaze everyone. Thanks to the desire to produce this metal, scientists have obtained many chemical elements, and gold rushes helped to discover and develop new lands.

How gold is mined in Russia

In the upper crust of the earth's stratum, gold is contained in small quantities, but there are quite a few such deposits and areas. Russia is in 4th place in the rating for its production and has 7% of the world share.

Gold began to be mined industrially in 1745. The first mine was opened by the peasant Erofei Markov, who announced its location. Subsequently, they began to call him Berezovsky.

Today in Russia there are 16 companies that mine this precious metal. The leader is Polyus Gold, which has 1/5 of the entire mining market share. Diligent artels mainly mine metal in the Magadan, Irkutsk and Amur regions, in Chukotka, Krasnoyarsk and Khabarovsk territories.

Gold mining is a complex, time consuming and costly process. Reduce such costs by closing low-profit and unprofitable mines. Reducing the volume and introducing new technologies that save capital are quite effective measures.

Gold mining process

As the centuries passed, the process of extracting this metal was constantly changing. Initially, manual gold mining was popular. Prospectors obtained golden dust thanks to simple primitive devices. River sand was collected in a tray, and then shaken in a stream of water, the sand was washed away, and grains of metal remained at the bottom, since they are heavier. This method is often used today.

However, this is not the only mining process. For example, it used to be common to find gold nuggets along rivers. They were thrown onto land when the gold-bearing veins were naturally eroded. However, by the twentieth century there were no rich placers left, and they learned to extract gold from ore.

Nowadays, manual gold mining is rarely practiced, the process is completely mechanized, but at the same time it is very complex. A deposit is considered to be profitable, in which 3 g of gold are accounted for per ton. When it contains 10 g, it is considered rich.

A few years ago, a method such as amalgamation was often used, which is based on the special property of mercury to envelop gold. Mercury was placed at the bottom of the barrel, then the gold-bearing rock was shaken in it. As a result, even the smallest particles of gold just stick to it. After that, the mercury was separated from the waste rock, and with strong heating, the gold exfoliated. However, this method also has disadvantages, since mercury itself is very toxic. At the same time, it does not give away gold completely, since very tiny particles of precious metal are poorly wetted.

The second method is more modern - gold is leached with sodium cyanide, which is capable of converting even the smallest particles into water-soluble cyanide compounds. And then gold is extracted from them with the help of reagents. In this way, it is possible to obtain precious metal even from the already existing ones, which makes them profitable again.

Getting gold at home

Manual gold mining is also possible at home. In order to get it, you do not need to go to the mines and shake the trays for hours. There are calmer and more civilized methods. There are a lot of items around that contain gold. For example, old Soviet watches in their yellow cases contained the purest precious metal without impurities.

In order to get it from there, you just need to buy such a watch in very large quantities. Then you will need a plastic bucket and bowl, an electric stove, razor blades, a heat-resistant glass pan, a brush and cotton cloth for filtering, rubber gloves and a spray bottle. Of the chemicals, nitric and hydrochloric acids are needed.

Recycling starts when you already have 300 hulls in your hands. The process takes only 4 hours, and you will use up 4 liters of acid. From this number of cases, you can get 75 grams of pure gold.

Who would have thought, but everyone, even children, carry gold in their pockets and bags every day. It's simple - each SIM card for a mobile phone contains a certain amount of precious metal. It can be retrieved from there as well. This is done in two ways: electrolysis or etching. For the latter, the chemical reagent "aqua regia" is required.

Etching is considered the simplest method, in which gold is obtained due to the chemical inertness of the precious metal, namely, its ability to react with other elements. For etching, an oxidizing agent "aqua regia" is required, which is made from concentrated acids: hydrochloric and nitric. The liquid is orange-yellow in color.

Gold from water

Extraction of gold is also possible from water. It is also contained in it, and in any: sewer, sea, water supply, but in very small quantities. For example, in the sea, it exists in the proportion of 4 mg per ton. Despite this, it is still possible to extract it with the help of quicklime, which will require only a ton for 4.5 thousand tons of water.

In order to get gold from sea water, you need to mix it with milk of lime. After a while, the liquid must be released back into the sea, and the precious metal must be extracted from the sediment. Kirov engineers propose another waste-free method, in which lime is replaced by ash from thermal power plants. This method is considered the least expensive of all known.

Golden bacteria

In Canada, scientists have generally found bacteria that are capable of separating gold from various solutions. Amazing, isn't it? For example, the bacterium Delftia acidovorans has a substance that separates the precious metal from the solution. And the reason is simple - it just defends itself, protecting itself from gold ions, which are toxic to it. The second bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans, on the contrary, accumulates it inside itself.

Both were found in 2006 in gold mines. Studies in Canadians have shown that the bacteria that accumulate gold avoid poisoning due to their genetic nature.

Draghi

Gold is also mined with dredges. They are called floating mining machines that have dredging, processing or other equipment that provides comprehensive mechanization of the mining process. They enrich minerals and remove

The purpose of the dredges is to develop watered mineral deposits and extract valuable components (gold, platinum, tin, etc.). They are used mainly in alluvial, deluvial, deep and coastal marine sedimentary and placer deposits. The only exceptions are bouldery, hard rocks and viscous clays.

Types of dredges

Draghi are divided into two classes.

Offshore, with the help of which deposits of the coastal zone and deep mines in lakes and oceans are developed. They are mounted on keel-type towed or self-propelled vessels that provide operation during storms.
Continental, which are used for the development of deposits on the continents. Mounted on a flat-bottomed boat.

Dredges are classified by:

the type of energy used by the drive mechanisms;
deep excavation of rocks in the section below the water level;
the kind of apparatus (many scoops with an intermittent chain, with a continuous chain, a rotary complex, a dragline bucket, a grab bucket);
scoop capacity (large, medium and small);
method of maneuvering (rope-anchor and rope-pile).

On the territory of the Russian Federation, dredges are now used for gold mining, mainly in the Far Eastern Federal District. However, mining using this method can negatively affect the ecosystem, destroy river landscapes, and severely pollute the territory that is located downstream.

Therefore, this method can only be used with careful adherence to development projects. Their implementation will require reclamation of lands that have been disturbed by mining operations, as well as restoration of forests, soil and vegetation of river valleys.

How to make a dredge for gold mining yourself

Many gold miners would like to have their own dredge, while saving a lot on costs, as the prices for this equipment are very high. In this case, the easiest way is to do it yourself. Despite the fact that the materials will be purchased at the most inexpensive, still a certain amount of money will be required to create a dredge.

Initially, you need to draw up lists and assembly diagrams, for this you can take as an example the most famous dredges for gold mining at the moment. Basically, the first stage is studying, the more you know about them, the better and better you will make your own.

Some important parts can be found in an ordinary landfill, and you can buy them for a song, for example, the engine for the apparatus. Next, you need to decide on the size of the dredge, the larger it is, the more soil can be processed, but its weight and cost will also be higher than that of a small assembled product.

You need to build it with a hose diameter of up to 12 cm, so that you can handle the dredge yourself. The most optimal size is 10 cm. If you need compressed air, you need to purchase an air compressor, diving equipment and an air intake tank. However, this is not the first need, it can be done only later.

In order to build the coveted apparatus, you will need: an engine with a pump, a variety of tools (hacksaw, hammer, wrenches, screwdrivers). It will not hurt to purchase a welding machine. You can buy used parts, but some, especially important and problematic or difficult to replace, it is better to buy new ones in the store.

Some dredge parts are often impossible to make with your own hands, so you still have to purchase them: an engine, a water pump, an air compressor, a hose, an ore washing chute. It is the latter that is the most important detail, without it, the gold is simply not captured, respectively, the entire constructed apparatus loses its meaning.

The dredge bell should be installed in the head of the sluice so that it directs the flows of water and soil into it. The suction valve takes water into the pump (this is also one of the important details). If sand is sucked in, the pump can quickly break down, so you cannot dredge without a valve.

A hydraulic elevator is placed at the end of the hose, while water is supplied to the beginning and a vacuum is created. It is best to use a suction nozzle here. It is difficult to operate the elevator on large dredges, therefore it is mainly used on small machines, if the work takes place in shallow water.

The buoyancy of the apparatus is a separate stage in the creation of a dredge. It can be provided in several ways. Initially used tires from trucks, they weigh a little and are cheap. The only obstacle is that getting them is not as easy as it might seem. However, this would be the best option.

Now many manufacturers of dredges use them. They are quite reliable, but also heavy. However, there are many options here as well. Some homemade dredges have different plastic pontoons. One of the interesting ways is when they use plastic containers or barrels with a capacity of up to 40 liters. You can buy them quite inexpensively. If you do not mind spending a large amount, but buy ready-made, then it is easier to purchase from the manufacturer.

Another important part that affects buoyancy is the frame. It is on it that the motor and the ore washing chute are attached. If you do it yourself, you can take simple pieces of aluminum that are easy to find in any landfill. It will be inexpensive, almost no effort is required. If the frame is flat, then the tires from the truck are simply attached to it.

You can check the work of the dredge after its complete assembly. To do this, take two dozen small pieces of lead, which are aligned and painted in a bright color. Soil is collected in the reservoir, and they are placed there. It is on it that you can try the dredge. See how many pieces of lead came back after flushing the rock. During normal operation of the dredge, losses are possible only up to 2 pieces. If there is not enough lead, then the entire assembly should be checked again according to the scheme, and if necessary, additional improvements should be made.

Gold mining plans in the future

Gold deposits are becoming less and less, they are now being discovered mainly in South Africa, others are significantly depleted, and it is simply unprofitable to develop deposits with a low and medium content of precious metals.

According to experts' forecasts, it will be possible to develop mineral reserves that contain gold for another 50 years. Then they will run out. Simply because mankind has been mining gold very intensively in recent decades. And it becomes less and less in nature. Now we have to find new opportunities for the extraction of this metal in the coming years. The most promising method is considered to be gold leaching technology.

In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about the development of the ocean as another way of mining gold. There are a lot of sea deposits and deposits, but the bottom has not yet been fully explored. It is possible that it is in the ocean that most of the deposits of the precious metal are hidden. Our descendants will have to find out.