Nice try, but you missed on several counts. You see, I bought that dude's instructions, and compared it with a particular state geology report on same method that I own, and their accounts differ significantly from yours.
For starters, who the heck carried nitric around in their pockets in those days? Certainly not Klondike miners.
Secondly, a broke miner doesn't particularly have a ready supply of "real tinfoil" as you claim, there were no funds left over to buy "tinfoil" in those days either.
Thirdly, most amalgamating was done on a mercury coated copper goldpan left in the fire and the copper oxidized...definitely a frowned upon practice nowadays.
Fourthly, it didn't take 8 hours to dissapate the mercury, either in this dude's report nor in the state geology handbook on this practice. 8 hours may have passed for the drunken miner to wake up because he's boots had frozen solid or some such, but no one, not even back in those days, left their gold unattended in a campfire for 8 hours whilst they slept or panned or whatever...
Fifth, and finally in this intellectual skirmish, why did you overlook the customary disposal of the now poisoned potato in the waste not, want not hard world of the starving klondike miner?
This ought to be good...<grin> Oh, and I have a rebuttal for you on another one of your posts...you remember talking about microbial gold digestion and acidity a few posts back...you missed big time there too...rather take that one on or the tubular tell all above... |
