This silver thou shalt by fusion reduce into grains, and shalt separate the gold from the same in Aq. fortis. And thou shalt again apply the silver thus reduced unto a new labour, in which labour thou proceeding without intermission shalt have a continual separatory operation of gold and silver; and this labour thou mayest exercise with great profit in all places.
XXXIX. Another manner of reducing a fugacious or volatile silver, with greater profit.
Place thou at the Stern of this little golden Ship, a little fish whose name is Remora, that it may be spoiled of its swiftness and may be at a stand, cast this silver little Ship with the little fish Remora, sitting at its Stern, into a close and square Tigil or Crucible, that by fusion they may depart into one body. In this fusion not onely all the silver is returned without any loss into its former body, but also is by the white Finns of the little fish, augmented with a certain increase of its weight, and becomes more golden; so that by this additament more of better silver is gotten, than if by the addition of other things it had been restored to its former body.
What other profits any one may be able to obtain through the help of this volatile silver, we will God willing hereafter teach.
These are the things which I at this time have been willing to teach, concerning the extraction of a volatile gold out of stones, and the more poor minerals, as also of the extending or bringing forward silver by successive degrees into gold; of which matter more things shall be spoken in other places.
XL. An operation, teaching to extract Stones and Minerals, or Mines that are poor in Silver, and Copper by a moist way.
These matters being made bright burning hot, are to be quenched with water, then moistened and extracted with Aq. fortis; after the same manner as was taught above concerning the minerals of gold, and no difference is here met with but in the waters extracting, since gold is extracted with Aq. Regis, and silver with Aq. fortis.
If the minerals or mines of gold and silver are at once in readiness, the gold is extracted by Aq. Regis, and the silver by Aq. fortis, and the solutions are to be united, in which dissolving, the silver being precipitated by the Aq. Regis, doth also snatch with it the gold from the Aq. Regis; and although copper shall be present with the mine of silver, and it be extracted together with the silver by Aq. fortis, yet it is no impediment to the operation, for the silver and gold do sink to the bottom, and the copper is retained by the Aq. Regis to be afterwards administred for a new operation, and that indeed as often as any one shall be willing.
The copper is recovered from the Aq. Regis by thin plates of iron being put therein, which operation makes the Aq. Regis red, and wholly unfit for the like labours.
Therefore the iron being then spiritual, promotes something out of the lead unto the degree of gold, and so the Aq. Regis being thus often used, it is again rendred profitable.