A description of new philosophical furnaces, or A new art of distilling, divided into five parts. Whereunto is added a description of the tincture of gold, or the true aurum potabile; also, the first part of the mineral work. Set forth and published for the sakes of them that are studious of the truth. / By John Rudolph Glauber. Set forth in English, by J.F. D.M.

How impure Gold may be separated and purged by Antimony.

THis work is necessary to be known if you think to have any benefit by the aforesaid extraction of flints by the spirit of Salt, which without this separation and reduction is of no moment: and what profit I pray is there by the extra∣ction of immature Gold which by the common way cannot be purged, requiring the industry of the Artist in fusion, whereby it may be separated from its sulphureous faeces and fixed? For it is easie to conjecture, that such spirituall and volatile gold mixed with Iron, by that common flux is not reducible into a body, but rather into dross: for experience testifies that gold dissolved with the spirit of salt▪ & also iron, or any other sulphureous thing, the spirit of salt being ab∣stracted cannot be reduced whole by th•• ••ulgar flux made of Nitre and Tartar, going into dross: which if it happen to

corporeall, pure and fixt gold, how shall it be otherwise with that which is incorporeall, unclean and volatile? for the Gold being ironish commonly, which is extracted out of stones, and iron having great affinity with gold (by reason of which being neerly united, it is difficulty separated, so that it easier goes with iron into drosse than parted from it) you must of necessity make a flux not only attracting that impure gold, but also purifying and cleansing it; that which antimony alone doth, which with its combustible fusible Sulphur works upon that ferreous Gold, or iron easily mixt: But by its Mer∣cury it attracteth the pure corporeall gold, and cleanseth it, and separates it from all dross without any losse: wherefore there cannot be a better flux, but requiring industry, or an in∣genious separation of the Antimony from the gold, without wasting the gold; which is done as follows.

And first your ferreous gold, that is left in the abstraction of the spirit of salt, must be finely powdered in iron retors or pots, & mingled with it two or three parts of Antimony pow∣dred, and mixt in a very strong crucible filled and covered, & then fused in our fourth furnace, until that flow like water; which soon appearing poure them together in a heated Cone, smeered within with wax, and when they be cold separate from the drosse the Regulus (having most of the gold) with a hammer, and keep it by it selfe. Which done you must again melt the drossie Antimony (as yet containing much gold) that was left, in the crucible, and adde to it a little filing of iron, mixing them with a crooked wier, and that antimo∣niall combustible sulphnr will be mortified by addiug iron and will yeeld a Regulus containing the rest of the gold, which as a regard is had to the quantity of iron added, will be more or less, and for the most part will answer weight to the weight of iron; then cast the mass (well flowing) into a Cone heated and smeered on the inside with wax, which being cold separate again the Regulus from the drosse with a hammer, which also is to be kept by it self; melt the drosse again as before, and precipitate it with iron, and extract the Regulus thence, which keep by its self, for it contains gold and silver mixt. For the best gold is precipitated the first time,

but afterward the baser sort, and at last only silver. Where∣fore every Regulus is to be kept by it self, that the purest gold may be a part, and the silvered gold by it self.

N. B. And if the antimony by the the addition of iron doe loose its fusibility, and therefore can yeeld no Regulus, it's re∣quired that you at every time when precipitation is made, by adding iron, that you doe also cast in some Misy, to make the mass to melt in the crucible and precipitate the Regulus. All the gold and silver being reduced into three or four Regulus's you must keep the drossie parts by themselves that were left, of which we shall speak hereafter.