Gold mining. Gold mining methods. Mining gold by hand

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Gold mining began in ancient times. In the entire history of mankind, approximately 168.9 thousand tons of precious metal have been mined, almost 50% of which goes to a variety of jewelry. If all the mined gold was collected in one place, then a cube would be formed as high as a 5-storey building, with an edge - 20 meters.

Golden Story

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

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

It has always been prestigious to own this metal. Not only we alth was estimated by the amount of gold, but also the position in society depended on it. This is how it is to this day.

It was gold that was often the cause of wars andcrimes, but at the same time it has played a huge role in the progress of mankind in general. On its basis, the 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 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 layer, gold is contained in small quantities, but there are quite a lot of such deposits and areas. Russia is in 4th place in the ranking in terms of its production and has a 7% share of the world share.

Industrial mining of gold began in 1745. The first mine was opened by the peasant Yerofey Markov, who reported its location. Subsequently, they began to call him Berezovsky.

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

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

Gold mining process

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

However, this is not the only mining process. For example, in the past, gold nuggets could often be found along rivers. They were thrown onto land during the erosion of gold-bearing veins in a natural way. However, by the 20th century, there were no rich placers left, and gold was mined from ore.

Now manual gold mining is rarely practiced, the process is fully mechanized, but at the same time it is very complex. A deposit is considered profitable if it contains 3 g of gold per ton. At 10g it is considered rich.

Methods of extracting gold from ore

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 simply stuck to it. After that, 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, she still does not give away gold completely, since very tiny particles of the precious metal are poorly wetted.

The second way is moremodern - 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 already abandoned deposits, which makes them profitable again.

Getting gold at home

Gold mining by hand is also possible at home. In order to mine it, you do not need to go to the mines and shake trays for hours. There are more calm and civilized methods. There are a lot of items around that contain gold. For example, the 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 watches in very large quantities. Then you will need a plastic bucket and basin, an electric stove, razor blades, a glass heat-resistant pan, a brush and cotton filter cloth, rubber gloves and a moisture sprayer. Of the chemicals, nitric and hydrochloric acids are needed.

Refining starts when you already have 300 hulls on hand. The process will take only 4 hours, while you will use 4 liters of acid. From this number of cases, you can get 75 grams of pure gold.

Obtaining gold using the etching method

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

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 "royal vodka" is required, which is made from concentrated acids: hydrochloric and nitric. The liquid is orange-yellow in color.

Gold from water

Gold mining is also possible from water. It is contained in it, and in any: sewer, sea, water, but in very small quantities. For example, in the sea it exists in a proportion of 4 mg per ton. Despite this, it is still possible to extract it using 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 some time, the liquid must be released back into the sea, and the precious metal should be extracted from the sediment. Kirov engineers offer 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.

Gold bacteria

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

Both were found in 2006 in "gold" mines. Canadian studies have shown that bacteria that accumulate gold manage to avoid poisoning due to the gene nature.

Draghi

Gold is also mined with the help of 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 waste rock.

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

Types of dredges

Drags are divided into two classes.

1. Sea, with the help of which deposits of the coastal zone and deep mines in lakes and oceans are developed. They are mounted on keel-towed or self-propelled vessels that provide operation during storms.
2. Continental, which are used to develop deposits on the continents. Mounted on a flat-bottomed vessel.

Drags are classified by:

• the type of energy used by the drive mechanisms;
• deep excavations of rocks in the section below the water level;
• apparatus type (many buckets with intermittent chain, solid chain, rotary complex, dragline bucket, clamshell bucket);
• scoop capacities (large, medium and small);
• maneuvering method (rope-anchor and rope-piling).

On the territory of the Russian Federation, dredges are now used for gold mining, mainly this happens in the Far Eastern Federal District. However, mining by this method can adversely affect the ecosystem, destroy river landscapes, and heavily pollute the territory located downstream.

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

How to make your own gold dredge

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

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

Some important detailscan be found in an ordinary landfill, and they can be purchased for a pittance, for example, an engine for an 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, then you need to purchase an air compressor, diving equipment and an air intake tank. However, this is not the first need, you can do it 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 doesn't hurt to buy a welding machine. You can buy second-hand parts, but some, especially important and problematic or difficult to replace, are better to buy new ones in the store.

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

The dredge bell should be installed at the head of the lock so that it directs water and soil flows 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 dredging without a valve.

The hydraulic elevator is located at the end of the hose, while water is supplied to the beginning and a vacuum is created. Here it is best to use a suction nozzle. It is difficult to control the elevator on large dredges, so the application is mainly 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, they 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 drag manufacturers use plastic pontoons. They are quite reliable, but also heavy. However, there are many options here as well. Some dredges that are assembled at home have various 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 cheaply. If you are not sorry to spend 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's cheap and requires almost no effort. If the frame turns out to be flat, then tires from the truck are simply attached to it.

You can check the work of the dredgeafter complete assembly. For this, two dozen small pieces of lead are taken, which are leveled and painted in a bright color. Soil is collected in the reservoir, and they are placed there. That's just on it and you can try the dredge. See how many pieces of lead came back after washing the rock. During normal operation of the dredge, losses are possible only up to 2 pieces. If the lead is not enough, then you should once again check the entire assembly according to the scheme, and, if necessary, make additional improvements.

Gold mining plans in the future

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

According to experts' forecasts, the reserves of minerals that contain gold can be developed for another 50 years. Then they will run out. Simply because humanity 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. Gold leaching technology is considered the most promising method.

In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about ocean exploration as another way to mine gold. There are a lot of sea placers, 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.