Fire Assaying

Concepts, Theory, and Application

What is Assaying?
 Generally defined as the quantitative
estimation of the metals in ores and furnace
products
 Also referred to as the determination of all the
constituents, both metallic and non-metallic,
of ores and metallurgical products
How important is Assaying?
 an assay defines and ascertains the existence
of metals of economic value in deposits
 The definition of a DEPOSIT from an ORE

VS.
How important is Assaying?
 provides a basis for process
control
 metal content determination in
metallurgical process streams
How important is Assaying?
 ascertaining values in metals for economic
purposes
 Appraisal of metal values for trading
Assaying Methods
 Wet Processes
 Acid Digestion, AAS, ICP
 X-Ray Spectroscopy
 XRD, XRF, EDX
 Fire Assaying
FIRE ASSAYING

Title Page of
Lazarus
Ercker's
Treatise on
Ores and
Assaying,
First Edition
1574
What is Fire Assaying?
 It is the quantitative determination of metals
in ores and metallurgical products by means
of heat and suitable dry fluxes
 Involves the separation of the metals from
other constituents and weighing it in its pure
form
What is Fire Assaying?
 This method is applied principally to the
determination of GOLD, SILVER, and
PLATINUM group of metals
- metals which are easily reducible
 In some instances, it may also be used for
lead, tin, copper, and mercury in ores
Fire Assay of Au, Ag – dependent on:
I. The very great degree of solubility
of these metals in molten metallic
lead; also, their almost complete
insolubility in slags of suitable
composition
Fire Assay of Au, Ag – dependent on:
II. The decided difference in specific
gravity between the two liquids,
lead and slag, which permits the
completion of the separation of the
precious metal-bearing alloy from
the slag
Fire Assay of Au, Ag – dependent on:
III. The lead may be practically
completely removed from the
precious metals by a carefully
controlled oxidizing fusion,
involving differential filtration
Fire Assay of Au, Ag – dependent on:
IV. The readily solubility of silver and
the complete insolubility of gold in
dilute nitric acid
Advantages of Fire Assaying
 Provides a cheap and quick
elimination of practically ALL of
the associated mineral substances in
a simple crucible fusion, requiring
only less than an hour and using a
substantial amount of ore
some terms in Fire Assaying…
 Ore
 Natural mineral substance from which
a metal, alloy, or compound may be
extracted at a profit
some terms in Fire Assaying…
 Flux
 A substance that converts compounds
infusible at a certain temperature into
others that melt at this temperature

Na2CO3 Quartz Fusion

some terms in Fire Assaying…
 Agents
 Dry substances that causes separation
of metal from the substances
chemically combined with it
 Examples are REDUCING,
OXIDIZING, and
DESULFURIZING AGENTS
some terms in Fire Assaying…
 Slagging
 The formation of immiscible layers
with different SG to separate gold and
silver values from associated
substances
some terms in Fire Assaying…
 Dore
 An alloy of Gold and Silver, a product
of fire assaying after cupellation
Steps of Fire Assaying
 The steps in conducting a Fire Assay may be
generalized into five major groups, which are:
 SAMPLING
 CHARGING/FLUXING
 FUSION
 CUPELLATION
 PARTING AND WEIGHING
SAMPLING
 The usual procedures for sampling
are used to ensure the integrity of the
assay
 ASSAY TON
 29.16667 grams
 used as a basis for the amount of ore
in a charge
CHARGING / FLUXING
 Mixing the right
combinations of fluxes
to ensure efficient
slagging and separation
of precious metal values
from associated
substances; placed in the
assay crucible
FUSION
 Melting together of the ore and the fluxes
(charge) at 10000C for 40-50 minutes
 Composed of three stages:
 1st stage – preliminary heating
 2nd stage – melting / chemical reactions occur
 3rd stage – quiet fusion / settling of immiscible
layers
FUSION
 Fusion products include:
 Lead Button – lead with Au and Ag
 Slag – mixed oxides
 Matte – mixture of sulfides
 Speiss – arsenides and
antimonides
CUPELLATION
 The lead is separated from the Dor by
oxidation and subsequent absorption of PbO
into cupels
 Cupel – a flat, shallow crucible made of bone
ash, cement, and other refractory material; used to
absorb lead from the button
PARTING and WEIGHING
 Parting is the final separation of Ag from Au
using HNO3 Ag is dissolved completely while
Au bead remains
 Inquartation – the addition of a known
quantity of Ag to the Dore bead to ensure
efficient parting
PARTING and WEIGHING
 Weighing – value determined at least up to
0.000001 grams accuracy
Fire Assaying Equipment
 Muffle Furnace
 Assay Balance
 Cupel
 Fire Clay crucible
 Iron Mold
 Annealing Crucible
 Parting Dish