Auriferous Sand ? Please help with Microscopic ID

blacksand

Greenie
Sep 15, 2013
18
4
Dear Fellow Treasureneters,

Please assist me in identifying the following.Its a sample of blacksand under microscope from a auriferous area.

Thanks.
20190722_140154.jpg 20190722_140154.jpg 20190722_122709.jpg 20190722_122709.jpg 20190722_122709.jpg 20190722_134254.jpg 20190722_140154.jpg
 

Upvote 0

IMAUDIGGER

Silver Member
Mar 16, 2016
3,400
5,194
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Yup definitely gold.

Seriously though..no way of telling from photos.
Yellow colored...doesn't mean much.
If it WAS gold, would it be recoverable at a profit? Perhaps some assay testing would tell you that.
 

Last edited:
OP
OP
B

blacksand

Greenie
Sep 15, 2013
18
4
Yup definitely gold.

Seriously though..no way of telling from photos.
Yellow colored...doesn't mean much.
If it WAS gold, would it be recoverable at a profit? Perhaps some assay testing would tell you that.

It was in blacksand.Nothing is visible to the eye.So it could be micron gold.Now sure anyone has profitably mined it
 

IMAUDIGGER

Silver Member
Mar 16, 2016
3,400
5,194
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I've heard of people selling black sand concentrates to companies that extract the precious metals.
So on a large industrial scale...

There are old mining ponds that are full of large quantities of black sand concentrates.
Someday they might be worth looking into.

Gold is not really that rare of a metal. Gold in accessible concentrations to mine profitably is what's uncommon.
 

Last edited:

et1955

Hero Member
Jan 10, 2015
910
1,780
Shoreline,wa
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
It was in blacksand.Nothing is visible to the eye.So it could be micron gold.Now sure anyone has profitably mined it
Not knowing where you are mining it is hard to give you a proper analysis, if you are in a gold rich area your mining skills are poor but if you are in a gold poor area you are doing great. At least, good job on finding a piece of gold. Suggest you find a place to mine where you can see the gold in your pan , not threw a microscope. Good Luck
 

OwenT

Hero Member
Feb 11, 2015
572
858
Moses Lake WA & Provo UT
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I am inclined to say it's not gold. My reason is that I recently got a look at a pan of concentrates under a microscope which was separated down so that it was almost all zircon crystals and some gold, all very fine and when you looked at the pieces of gold, they were so clean and golden, there was no mistaking them. I think it is a general rule that the finer gold is, the purer it tends to be. So I imagine whenever you are looking at microscopic placer gold, you will typically see it very pure and not attached to anything else.
 

Clay Diggins

Silver Member
Nov 14, 2010
4,862
14,180
The Great Southwest
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I don't see any gold in your pictures. I've scoped a lot of fine placer gold deposits and as Owen says - if it's gold you will have no doubt.

Heavy Pans
 

OP
OP
B

blacksand

Greenie
Sep 15, 2013
18
4
Not knowing where you are mining it is hard to give you a proper analysis, if you are in a gold rich area your mining skills are poor but if you are in a gold poor area you are doing great. At least, good job on finding a piece of gold. Suggest you find a place to mine where you can see the gold in your pan , not threw a microscope. Good Luck

Great.Thanks for the insight.
 

OP
OP
B

blacksand

Greenie
Sep 15, 2013
18
4
I am inclined to say it's not gold. My reason is that I recently got a look at a pan of concentrates under a microscope which was separated down so that it was almost all zircon crystals and some gold, all very fine and when you looked at the pieces of gold, they were so clean and golden, there was no mistaking them. I think it is a general rule that the finer gold is, the purer it tends to be. So I imagine whenever you are looking at microscopic placer gold, you will typically see it very pure and not attached to anything else.

Thank you for the comment.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top