[mafiaparty303]

Ok, so I found this rock and theres a corner on it with some gold looking crystal/stuff on it, and throughought the rock there are also shiny specks of gold color metal, If I were to get HCl and place the rock in it, would the gold (if it were purly just gold) become AuCl? Would that be the only product or would there also be some other substances due to the make up of the rock? How would I be able to extract the gold from the AuCl? Would it just be a single replacment with something higher than gold on the reactivity series of metals?

Thanks,

Filippo

[AWK]

See: reactions of gold
 in
http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Au/chem.html

[mir]

Gold seldom form crystals.

You probably have fake-gold: Like pyrite, FeS₂ (if you have cubic crystals often with stripes). Chalcopyrite, CuFeS₂, another gold-looking mineral, is also not forming crystals - But often follows pyrite, they look very much like each other. If you make a small scratch into the mineral, you might see a black trace along  the scratch, a certain sign of fake-gold - Since gold is leaving a metallic yellow colour. Pyrite is smelling slightly sulphur if you heat it, and it also gets magnetic.

But there might be gold in very small scale in the rock (1 gram per Ton rock). Many iron mines is extracting the traces of gold as an extra bonus.

[mafiaparty303]

hmm.. interesting, so I guess my way wouldn't work without aqua regia, ill try to heat and and scratch it and see how it comes out, if it smells etc.


Thanks

[mafiaparty303]

well interestingly enough i cant find the rock anymore .... o well...

[AWK]

Gold and silver can be dissolved using KCN

and finally

find something on hydrometallurgy of gold

[science2000]

To dissolve gold, all you would need to do is add some peroxide to the HCl. That would generate chlorine in the solution and would bind with gold. It may create some gas too, so it shouldn't be done inside. That is what I have done in the past with success.