where can i get mercury for refining gold?

Answer 1

mercury is very toxic, and very environmentally hazardous and in many countries its illegal to use Mercury to refine gold, and/or it requires a specialized license. if you handle Mercury you must insure you have good ventilation and dispose of it properly and not breathe it or allow it to come in contact with the ground water. its a heavy metal so it does not reduce its toxicity with time. do a search under 'chemical suppliers' and you should be able to find someone near you who can supply it to you. in third world coutries, like in africa mecury is still used by small artisinal miners, to refine gold and it is a very economical way to refine small amount of gold, as most refiners will not handle small amounts of gold or the charge is so high. interestingly enough, gold miners in california used to chase whiskey with a 'shot' of mercury, before it was found out the long term health effects. If you inadvertently ingested a small amount of mercury, a tiny amount it would not be toxic to you, in fact fish contains and amazing amount of mercury. now cyanide is HIGHY toxic if you ingest a small amount, but breaks down quickly in the enviroment, and is used only in very large operations as a specialized license is required even in the third world to handle it. i have refined gold using mercury and you can recover it and use it fairly safely environmentally, but now in the usa there are too many restrictions. small miners in mexico and south america and africa still use mecury. and there are many alternatives now to cyanide, so it wont be used. imo, you should be an experienced engineer, or chemist, to refine mercury using gold, and you should check your local laws. In Mexico you can refine gold legally using mercury still if your a small miner. Using mercury is the simplest way to refine small amounts of gold for small artisinal miners. if you're not an adult you MUST not try this, and MUST consult your father or a responsible adult to show find out if you can do this legally in the country your in, and make sure you do your refining safely and in an environmentally safe manner. there are many 'hoods' that can scrub the mecury vapor. gold refining is very fun, but dangerous work, so make sure you get the appropriate guidance and education and license and check local laws!!

Answer 2

Home gold refining is not cost effective. It also uses chemicals that are DEADLY poisons like cyanide and mercury which are almost impossible to dispose of safely and could well kill you even before you have time to dispose of them.
Your best bet is to find a refining company who will give you a fair price for your scrap gold and sell you refined gold of whatever carat standard or colour you require.

Answer 3

You may still be able to find something called quicksilver in a hardware store, maybe. Otherwise I'd check with a scientific supply place or a meteorological supply (since is sometimes used in barometers).

Answer 4

Hardware store and Chemical shops.