Need some help

[DigEmAll]

I am new to gold country and haven't got a clue. I have found an old prospector's cabin in the upper areas of the mountains. He has three mines and about five test digs that I have found so far. If he spent his life there, and could afford enough TNT to make that many holes, he had to be finding something! Right? Anyway, I was wondering if anyone here can tell me what to look for while I am out detecting for relics. What are the indicators that I should be looking for? I don't even know if my detector will find a nugget smaller than a BB, so this is going to be a hands and knees job!

I found these rocks today up there... anyone know what the colors are indicitive of? Also found this copper nugget, but don't think that it came from this immeadiate area. But you should have seen my eyes when I picked it up after my detector hit it! Oh what could have been......

[aussco999]

The ore looks like a combination of malachite and azurite to me.

Both minerals are a copper carbonate. Malachite has an emerald to a dark green color, a hardness of about 4, a perfect cleavage, S.G. near 4, and a light green color on a streak plate. Azurite is about the same with the exception of a two directional cleavage, and a blue color on a steak plate.

Both minerals considered a secondary copper ore, normally in association with limonite and chalcopyrite. I doubt that the long-ago miner was looking for gold (as it is normally very disseminated in these types of copper ores), as much as he was looking for a large copper ore deposit.

Maybe this site is still worth checking out at today's high copper prices. If the ore body is large enough, some of the big boys might be interested in it. If not, it cost to much to mine and process the ore on a small scale, but you still might have some good mineral sample to sell.

Good luck,

John

[DigEmAll]

Thanks for the info John.

[DigEmAll]

Thanks for the info John.

[nebraskadad]

it does show mineralization.. Look for Quartz outcroppings in the area where you found this mineralization, if the area is copper/silver porphyry the AU might be sparce. Take the ore to the to an assayer... Check with your state geologist. they might be able to provide indications of what if they know where..

[MesaBuddy]

Boy oh boy Diggem, where theres copper gold is also found 90% of the time here in AZ , those are some exceptional species you have there , they look exactly like the one's me and and old friend took out of his drift back in the 80's in the Bradshaw's of AZ,that is blue Azurite as Aussco999 mentioned,used to get and sell blue Azurite for $5 a pound in the day, they use it on watch faces
I would keep the site to myself if I were you! or you could invite me down for a look-see
Best
MesaB

[nebraskadad]

I am new to gold country and haven't got a clue. I have found an old prospector's cabin in the upper areas of the mountains. He has three mines and about five test digs that I have found so far. If he spent his life there, and could afford enough TNT to make that many holes, he had to be finding something! Right? Anyway, I was wondering if anyone here can tell me what to look for while I am out detecting for relics. What are the indicators that I should be looking for? I don't even know if my detector will find a nugget smaller than a BB, so this is going to be a hands and knees job!

I found these rocks today up there... anyone know what the colors are indicitive of? Also found this copper nugget, but don't think that it came from this immeadiate area. But you should have seen my eyes when I picked it up after my detector hit it! Oh what could have been......

Check the BLM if the ground doesn't have an associated claim, Stake it NOW. With Copper at $3.00/lb you have a decent find.

[Rob66]

large picture looks like turquoise.