I Am a Blooming Idiot

[OreCart]

Okay, I know, that is not a big revelation as I have proven that quite a bit on here. Here is the thing; I think I might have tossed out a Platinum Nugget yesterday.

I was at a new stream yesterday and sampling it for gold, when I found what I thought was a silver nugget so I threw it out and kept panning for gold. But after thinking about it, I realized silver tarnishes, so it probably was not that as it was silvery in color, and not black. But it was also not rounded over. It was very spikey in shape, not very big at all...big enough to pick up with tweezers, but probably not your fingers. The only way I can describe it, is that it looked like a silvery maple leaf with all its spikey edges, but again very small.

Now the area nearby shows heavy mineralization, and gold and silver are confirmed here both visually and by fire assay. That vein that was assayed, was probably 50 feet or less from the stream I was panning. It is possible it was lead because I found Galena in that vein (host rock, galena, quartz, galena, host rock as sampling across the vein. I have also found copper and of course iron pyrite.

I did some checking and found out Platinum was indeed discovered in Maine. (US Geological MDS Map) It is nowhere near where I found this nugget (and stupidly tossed it out thinking it was a silver nugget), but maybe I found some platinum

 

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[OreCart]

Are you a member of Maine Gold Prospectors?

No. I looked on their website and they did not seem that active. That in and of itself does not mean anything as a group may be more about getting outside than an online presence, but I am kind of a loner. I farm alone, I trek up and down these hills alone, and I even do logging alone.

 

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[placertogo]

No. I looked on their website and they did not seem that active. That in and of itself does not mean anything as a group may be more about getting outside than an online presence, but I am kind of a loner. I farm alone, I trek up and down these hills alone, and I even do logging alone.

What part of Maine do you live in? I am in Pittston, about 8 miles south of Augusta.

 

[Bejay]

Heavy silvery nuggets. Mercury covered gold. Platinum. Galena. I have found all three. Additionally I have found other silvery metals. One very large one was melted silver dollars that became molten and reshaped into a ball the shape of the void it entered as a molten mass.

Bejay

 

[Bonaro]

One time I dredged up a 2 gram gold nugget that was coated in mercury and completely silver. I got out of the water and handed it to my buddy who tool a look and it and started to toss it...I nearly tackled him.
Never toss anything cool looking

 

[russau]

Large Platinum nuggets are rare ! Plat is normally found in small bits. I think what you found was a lead slug from a ole musket . BUT you never know until you find it again ! GOOD LUCK !

 

[OreCart]

Large Platinum nuggets are rare ! Plat is normally found in small bits. I think what you found was a lead slug from a ole musket . BUT you never know until you find it again ! GOOD LUCK !

No, it was not lead. I looked up pictures of old lead bullets and they were whitish and crusty. This was very silvery...shiny/silvery.

But I never said it was big. It might have been around an eighth of an inch in size. But very spiny...

 

[placertogo]

No, it was not lead. I looked up pictures of old lead bullets and they were whitish and crusty. This was very silvery...shiny/silvery.

But I never said it was big. It might have been around an eighth of an inch in size. But very spiny...

The spiny description says melted and splattered to me. Platinum has a very high melting point so it rarely found melted. Placer platinum would be generally rounded or flattened although it is somewhat harder than gold. It is rarely found in crystallized form. Find the darn thing and have it tested!

 

[OreCart]

The spiny description says melted and splattered to me. Platinum has a very high melting point so it rarely found melted. Placer platinum would be generally rounded or flattened although it is somewhat harder than gold. It is rarely found in crystallized form. Find the darn thing and have it tested!

If it was only that easy! :-)

You have no idea how hard it is to get to that stream! It is not exactly in my back yard...or anyone's backyard. This place is out there! :-)

Did you see how much snow we got today? We were supposed to get a little snow, and heavy rains, and instead we got heavy snow and NO rain! Now you see why I call weather forecasters soothsayers! (LOL)

I contacted a company to see if they do ICP Testing. I have just been fire assaying for Gold and Silver, but I can see what the nearby outcrop has for mineralization. That will confirm what I found for sure.

I really think it was platinum by process of elimination. It was not colored like lead. It was too heavy to be zinc. It was not tarnished like silver. And I cannot fathom what would have caused it to melt. I am not kidding, this spot is in the middle of nowhere, and that is from a guy who lives on the edge of the abyss. (LOL)

 

[placertogo]

If it was only that easy! :-)

You have no idea how hard it is to get to that stream! It is not exactly in my back yard...or anyone's backyard. This place is out there! :-)

Did you see how much snow we got today? We were supposed to get a little snow, and heavy rains, and instead we got heavy snow and NO rain! Now you see why I call weather forecasters soothsayers! (LOL)

I contacted a company to see if they do ICP Testing. I have just been fire assaying for Gold and Silver, but I can see what the nearby outcrop has for mineralization. That will confirm what I found for sure.

I really think it was platinum by process of elimination. It was not colored like lead. It was too heavy to be zinc. It was not tarnished like silver. And I cannot fathom what would have caused it to melt. I am not kidding, this spot is in the middle of nowhere, and that is from a guy who lives on the edge of the abyss. (LOL)

Like gold, platinum is where you find it! Nice thing about Maine is you never know what you are going to find, including a few characters like me.

 

[OreCart]

Like gold, platinum is where you find it! Nice thing about Maine is you never know what you are going to find, including a few characters like me.

Yeah I know what you mean.

I had two Maine wives, but when that led to divorce court, I figured I had better import my third wife, so I went to New Hampshire to find her. Katie and Randy James Dio (lead singer for Black Sabbath), only the best come from New Hampshire.

I like New Hampshire since they take freedom pretty seriously, "Live free of DIE! Yeah, DIE, now that is pretty serious. Not to mention what they call a "fire cracker" is the equivalent of C-4, and could blow up half a hard rock mine shaft. In Maine...whippeee...we can now have bottle rockets!

In any case, Katie was okay with marrying a guy from Maine, but said she would NEVER marry a guy from Vermont. (LOL)

 

[Johnnybravo300]

You could go back to where you tossed it and redig and repan it. You might have to fill a few buckets and maybe just set up a sluice right there. It's probably sitting around the surface still.
Sucks to dig it twice tho hehe.

 

[mobile miner]

I have found gold while panning in Colorado that was coated with mercury. Looked like bits of silver. Just a thought.

 

[et1955]

You just learned an important lesson, don't throw anything away until you bring it home to do your final cleanup, Pan down to where you can see the gold and then put it in a ziplock bag, I have seen so many miners waste time in the field panning their gold so they can snuff it out, time in the field is limited, don't waste your time.

 

[OreCart]

You just learned an important lesson, don't throw anything away until you bring it home to do your final cleanup, Pan down to where you can see the gold and then put it in a ziplock bag, I have seen so many miners waste time in the field panning their gold so they can snuff it out, time in the field is limited, don't waste your time.

I think it depends, as everyone is different.

I do as you suggest, but I am not panning for gold at the moment, but just sampling to see what my farm has for Lode, Placer and Eluvial gold deposits.

Since I am just sampling, I do take my concentrates back home with me to further pan, but in that case it has nothing to do with time, but having my wife attest that there is gold. I just do that so another person confirms or denies that there is gold in a particular location.

Ultimately, I have a computerized spreadsheet of each location based on whether it is Lode, Placer, or Eluvial, with questions I answer based on each type. By answering the questions, such as what it has for gold, silver, gemstones, or other mineralization, as well as a host of other questions, it generates a "score" compared to other locations.

For instance, a stream that flows all spring, summer and fall is going to have a higher score than a stream that only flows in the spring. Or a lode deposit that can be surfaced mined, as well as an adit struck, will have a higher score than one that can only be surface mined. Ease of access, and other factors all contribute in a long list of questions, to generate that particular locations, "score". Cross referenced on a map, not only can I score what each site has on the map, I can get a better idea of where the gold is concentrated on my farm. (Right now it looks like the Northeast corner has a higher concentration, but I am just starting to get assays back from the lode deposits in the south and western portions). In the end I will have a very good idea what my farm has for minerals, and I can get a better plan on how to make the most of it. This is no different then my Forest Management Plan, or my Grazing Plan for my sheep...it is just an assessment of what my farm has for total resources.

What does that mean in the future?

I am not sure. I am 44 years old and retired, so there is no hurry on grabbing anything right now.

The platinum I found? That was a split second decision to toss it out. I will not do that again so casually, but consistency is everything. A big oak tree is meaningless because it takes 100 logs to make a truckload. So it is with platinum. One nugget is interesting; a bunch more found means there is a valuable resource. Finding more nuggets in the stream holds curiosity of course, but assaying the lode-rock nearby for platinum group metals is far more important.

What I like about gold...or platinum or even gravel is...unlike forests or livestock that are far more fickle in nature, it is long-term. One powerful ice storm can change my ten-year Forest Management plan, but bedrock is rather unchanging.