Smelting and Roasting Ores to recover gold, silver .
For small scale treatment by individuals, t he method is to grind the ore up finely, put it in some sort of tub and keep it moist. Stir and turn it over from time to time to allow the air access to the material. Natural bacteria found in sulfide ore will do the rest. Add a tiny bit of lawn fertilizer to the water you mix in to help the bacteria along. Don''t submerge the ore, just keep it ...