Quartzite

[yolderboy96]

Hello!
I have been digging back in my forest, and I've been finding a good amount of quartzite under (about) 2ft of clay, a layer of sandstone. And jagged gravel. I have done some research on it, and heard rumors that it can be gold bearing. I understand that quartzite is created when there is a presence of quartz, sandstone, an extreme amount of pressure with little heat, or extreme heat with little pressure. The area i've been digging in used to be under Lake Bonneville. I was wondering if any of you have had experience with it? Any help would be appreciated!

Thank you for your time.

 

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[tamrock]

I think I'd start with simply washing the jagged gravel layer you mention. See what comes up in the heavy elements. No telling what you'd find. Quartzite was white sand beaches or deserts transformed in to stone by pressure, heat and chemical change over time. I've not herd before of quartzite with precious metals associated with it before, but maybe some deposits have been found? I know quartzite deposits have been mined for producing glass and to me an excellent word to use in a game of Scrabble, if you can pull that one off. Just get those high points Q & Z and the rest are fairly common letters in the game. Look for a fit and you'll blow past everyone on points. The word quartz is also good. It be neat if lake Bonneville never did drained away. I am amazed at the ancient shore lines I see driving along I80 to and from the northern Nevada mines. That was a big lake for sure many eons ago.

 

[Eu_citzen]

I just had the pleasure of examining a quartzite which seems to be copper and gold-bearing. Just shows it can happen, but it isn't common.
In 15 years prospecting this is a first for me.

 

[DesertNuggets]

I've seen copper rich quartzite. Gold normally isn't far behind..

 

[tamrock]

Well yeah! That be quartzite most likely subject to hydro-thermal replacement and is that then still considered quartzite? GRANITIZATION AND HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATION AT BINGHAM, UTAH. Quartzite on it's own would be just quartzite I'm thinking?. All kinds of rocks on the earth crust can be the host-rock. So, yes there are more then a few ways I would think quartzite could end up an ore with metallic value.

 

[yolderboy96]

Thank you all for your posts! I'm still waiting for all the snow to melt. I'm hoping to get some work done on the sight this summer. I've had it in the back of my mind while working some dry creekbeds lately. Hopefully there'll be a nice surprise in store! There was a good 2-3 feet of clay just above the quartzite. I have a bunch sitting and drying out in my backyard. Im thinking of crushing it up and running it through my mini highbanker. Done a couple text pans of it and have gotten some nice looking rock. Thoughts?