Gold nuggets when found in their natural state often have clay, dirt and pieces of host rock attached. They can also become dull and lifeless do to handling by greasy humans such as myself who love to play with their nuggys. Water and a brush will remove some of this but another way to clean them is by using a mixture of salt and vinegar. Make sure your nuggs are not too fragile before doing this to them as breakages may occur. I clean my nuggs this way before selling them so any little bits that are likely to break off will do so before they are sold. I have weighed this lot before and after cleaning to measure weight loss of host rock. Items needed are: A container with a lid...plastic is best. Table salt...fine works better than rock salt. White vinegar...although brown is probably equally effective. A dish for rinsing. A sink...not compulsory but very handy. Natural gold nuggets that need a clean...compulsory. Step 1 Place a plug in the nearest sink, even if your not near one. Dont want to lose nuggs down plughole, its too time consuming and potentially costly. Step 2 Half fill container with salt. Add nuggs then top up with vinegar. The salt will not dissolve in the vinegar which creates a great cleaning solution. Step 3 Place lid on container (very important) and shake the living daylights of your container for a minute or two or until exhausted...whichever comes first. Step 4 Pour everything into a dish and rinse several times in warm-hot water to dissolve salt and remove vinegar. This is where a sink comes in handy. Good rinsing gives better results. If unsure stick a nuggy in your mouth, if it tastes like a samboy chip you need to rinse more. The loss of weight from the nuggets is 0.03 grams which is less than 0.5%. Step 5 Dry nuggs on a towel and examine them. Then say something like "Wow! they look even more unreal!" Results can vary depending on the type and amount of host rock attached. These nuggs were heavily coated with ironstone and did not greatly benefit from the cleaning. These are currently not good enough for retail sale and are kept by me for possible acid treatment. Step 6(optional) Live happily ever after.
