Is it gold or mica schist

[GeorgiaGold]

I am posting a video of my rock specimens at "Got A Rock you Want Identified? Post it here! gimme a good picture or 3 or 4!" contributor "Dusted You" on this site. My original question was about this being gold or mica. My YouTube site is Georgia Gold. You can see my "gold" videos there. I will try to post a direct link here soon. The new video is all types of rock specimens so if any of you would like to help identify them for the benefit of everybody, I would appreciate it.

A university professor and head of the department said of my samples, "the vial contained hydrobiotite, a form of mica, and the rest was either hydrobiotite or muscovite schists, in which the mica's have either a gold or silver colored appearance. The specific gravity (density ) test indicated mica with a range from 2.8-3.0. Silver has a density of 10-11 so its not silver. The wavy appearance of the large sample is the schistocity of the rock imparted by the platy nature of the mica grains."

I HAVE REMOVED THESE VIDEOS FROM YOU TUBE BECAUSE PEOPLE KEEP LEAVING COMMENTS ABOUT THEM. IT IS TOO TIME CONSUMING TO KEEP EXPLAINING THEY ARE NOT GOLD, ETC.





My question was why, when I took a sample to a place that buys gold and they checked it with a digital gold detector, did it say it contained gold? My metal detector also gave a gold signal and I did a test also of a gold ring at the same time. Who is correct? The professor did not use any type of digital gold testing equipment.

I read one post which said my videos would show people what to look for and give good advice for others so I am sending the link to my videos. I appreciate responses from all the gentlemen who have replied and have taken note of your advice and defense. The rest of you know who you are...

 

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[Treasure_Hunter]

TH, agreed and not refuting that one at all. Everybody make mistakes and that's why these things need to be moderated. I would hope you would agree there was some good information in the thread, that now seems a waste of space on this forum since anyone reading it will gain nothing without the videos to reference. The only value it has now is to show one example of what shouldn't be posted. Guess that's not all bad. Respectfully

I agree hunter, with videos removed it is a dead thread....






American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......

 

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[GeorgiaGold]

the vial has hydrobiotite
the crushed up metals are all mica

I am leaving the videos so others may learn as someone suggested. The silver is not silver.

 

[Lotus Geologist]

In the interest of educating, mica is not a metal. Mica is a phyllosilicate.

L.G.

 

[GeorgiaGold]

Hi TNMountains,
Thank you for your post. What I am trying to do is see how far out the gold belt actually goes. I have definitely located gold in a closed gold mine with my metal detector. It gives an incredibly strong signal, very deep. However, the mine is closed and a park built over it. So, from this location, which is in the Piedmont, I am trying to see how far out the belt actually goes.
That is a beautiful specimen you have and I would think it was gold.

 

[GeorgiaGold]

Thank you Mr. Geologist.

 

[GeorgiaGold]

Hi BHProspector,
I went back to the river and took my metal detector. It still signals gold on those little nuggets. There is nothing else there to give a false signal. I talked to a man there and he said it may have tiny gold flake in it. It beats me. I have no doubt its mica, but as a non metal it shouldn't signal on this detector. I guess I will go back with a long shovel and see what else is there.
Yes, the geologist said the gold in the vial was hydrobiotite.

 

[GeorgiaGold]

well, I'm not selling it anymore and gave a few refunds. It still signals gold on the detector, even in the river.

 

[Bucketfreak317]

:-)

I'm not being rude or making fun here but I had to chime in and tell this story,back about 4 years ago they were digging a footing for a cell tower near by my home I got word they had dug close to 30 foot deep I thought wow!!!
So I went over and got some of the dirt and started panning and eureka I've found it gold!!!!woo hoo!!!! :-)
But as I spent quite a bit of time panning this stuff one thing I noticed was it lost its golden color when it dried out come to find out it was some sort of silica with dirt on the back of it that caused it to look somewhat like a golden mirror fragment.
I learned two good lessons from this how to pan real fast and not everything that glitters is gold,I don't think I ever mentioned this on this site but to say I was disappointed would be putting it lightly I was a laughing stock at that point it was a while before I picked up a gold pan again.
Once I went out with knowledge of how to read the streams in my area the first time out I hit in less than a half hour and there was no mistaking what I had.
So this stuff happens I guess that's why its called prospecting and not gold finding.

 

[GeorgiaGold]

I guess I need to jump back in the river with a shovel. I was out there the other day. A guy went by and said he would get in but he had "cold feet"

 

[Desert Hermit]

GeorgiaGold, frustrating but I just went through the same mess, listen to the pros on here because they are right. For whatever crazy reason I threw out the age-old truth that gold in any size is heavy. You don't have to fight with gold to get it to the bottom. Even float gold after the jetdry trick is going to act like gold and move just like gold to the bottom. I finally took a pan full of this stuff and put it on a hard surface and ran the head of a hammer over it, funny how it all of a sudden turned to black powder and not one fleck of gold color left! The light test was another good one, in the light it screamed "I'm Gold." in the shade it lost its' luster and all of a sudden was screaming and laughing, "I'm the evil twin, LOL! I wish I had taken a sample to a university like you, that would have shut my mouth instantly. Good luck on the next one.

 

[GeorgiaGold]

Hi Desert Hermit,
What got me started with the whole quest was reading a story, probably true, that Hernando de Soto, a 15th century explorer, hid some gold in Georgia. He had used Indian labor to mine the ore and along the way caught two English men and made them laborers too. One of them escaped and hid in the woods to watch where the Spaniards hid the gold. Apparently the Indians from nearby attacked the Spaniards so they tore up their mining building and operations and took some gold and hid the rest.
Spaniards were also the ones who would coat their gold bars with copper to make everybody think it wasn't gold. I appreciate your sharing because it was pretty awful to realize I did not have gold. I do think there is some tiny gold flake mixed in with this. I also have some rock ore from another gold bearing area that I am pretty sure is gold inside but haven't gotten so far as to get something to crush it up with yet. more on that later.

 

[Kruzman]

my suggestion is buy as small bag of concentrate and pan it out so you know what real gold looks like. once you see the real thing in the pan, you wont ever mistake mica in your pan for gold again.

 

[goldhog]

my suggestion is buy as small bag of concentrate and pan it out so you know what real gold looks like. once you see the real thing in the pan, you wont ever mistake mica in your pan for gold again.

Best $10 worth of education you'll ever get.
Then mix the gold back in with your local dirt, and try and pan again.
Even a brain surgeon has to learn how to hold a scalpel when they begin.

 

[Desert Hermit]

GeorgiaGold, reminds me of stories floating around about an old desert miner, Burro Schmidt. For decades many have looked for a tunnel he had supposedly hidden, some believe this tunnel is full of gold. Long before I heard this story I did indeed find a (hidden) back-filled tunnel in this mine. The reason it was so hard to locate is the top of this tunnel begins at the floor of the main tunnel, if you can picture it, you are walking right on top of it, it isn't hidden in the wall. I found it by accident, just a small slit at the base of the wall, at the floor. I widened this slit and sure enough, there was a shaft there. As I shined my dim light into the space I could see back several feet, it was back-filled and over the years it had settled down a couple feet from the top exposing it was indeed an old tunnel. I covered the area and moved on, it's a historical monument now so one would be a fool to explore any further! From the verifiable evidence I have collected I doubt this tunnel holds any bullion, yet there is one fact that does still puzzle me and does not fit with all the evidence that Burro was a poor man, there were pouches of gold found in and around his old shack. So the mystery still remains. If anyone out there would like to spend a few years in prison, the tunnel is in fact there. Happy hunting everyone.

 

[YumaMarc]

my suggestion is buy as small bag of concentrate and pan it out so you know what real gold looks like. once you see the real thing in the pan, you wont ever mistake mica in your pan for gold again.

Another suggestion for the OP: take a few of the flakes, look at them under 10X magnification to see if some are different from others. Take a few of each (if different) and roll them on a flat surface with the back of a large spoon. If they crush into a blackish powder, they're mica. If they roll out into a thin sheet, they're gold.

 

[GeorgiaGold]

I have, indeed, ordered some concentrate and even a very small riffle to experiment with. The problem in Georgia is having permission to look for gold. I do have a place on the river that I have permission to pan and metal detect so that is great. Of course there is going to be ice and snow the next couple of days paralyzing us Georgians.

 

[GeorgiaGold]

Hi Yuma Marc,
That is excellent advice. I will try that. It just doesn't make any sense for the metal detector to signal gold, in the river, and every time these gold looking nuggets are there. (Mica) The detector also checks the level and the gold is at surface level not deep in the water. So, either these mica nuggets contain trace amounts of gold or there is gold dust in the water. It looks like if it was free floating gold dust that you would get the signal anywhere in the water but you don't. It is only where the mica gold nuggets are. All the normal tests, will it sink, etc. still led me to believe these were gold so I think your directions will work the best. Thank you!

 

[GeorgiaGold]

Hi goldhog,
I really enjoy watching your videos. They are very informative about gold prospecting. I will practice with this sample I bought and see how it goes. Thank you!

 

[GeorgiaGold]

I bought a small bag of "rich" paydirt. That was a disaster. I have ordered five one pound bags "guaranteed to have gold". I also got a mini sluice an a blue riffle pan. I have a large old metal pan which, rust and all, I think does a better job of panning. More later.

 

[cyberfish2]

I am posting a video of my rock specimens at "Got A Rock you Want Identified? Post it here! gimme a good picture or 3 or 4!" contributor "Dusted You" on this site. My original question was about this being gold or mica. My YouTube site is Georgia Gold. You can see my "gold" videos there. I will try to post a direct link here soon. The new video is all types of rock specimens so if any of you would like to help identify them for the benefit of everybody, I would appreciate it.

A university professor and head of the department said of my samples, "the vial contained hydrobiotite, a form of mica, and the rest was either hydrobiotite or muscovite schists, in which the mica's have either a gold or silver colored appearance. The specific gravity (density ) test indicated mica with a range from 2.8-3.0. Silver has a density of 10-11 so its not silver. The wavy appearance of the large sample is the schistocity of the rock imparted by the platy nature of the mica grains."





My question was why, when I took a sample to a place that buys gold and they checked it with a digital gold detector, did it say it contained gold? My metal detector also gave a gold signal and I did a test also of a gold ring at the same time. Who is correct? The professor did not use any type of digital gold testing equipment.

I read one post which said my videos would show people what to look for and give good advice for others so I am sending the link to my videos. I appreciate responses from all the gentlemen who have replied and have taken note of your advice and defense. The rest of you know who you are...

Couple easy tests - Put a drop of nitric acid on a sample. Gold will not dissolve. The miner's quick test - pound a small sample with a hammer. Gold will not fracture, but will pound out flat and thin, like a lead fishing sinker.