COULD THIS BE SILVER ORE?

[Frank D.]

I am clueless to what kind of rock type this is. The dark stuff streaks silver gray, and the lighter silverish/white stuff streaks metalic silvery white. Pretty heavy stuff in weight, solid, and very very smooth surfaces almost with a kinda slick feel.

 

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[ywevis]

It's galena, not silver ore but gold runs in conjunction with galena.

 

[Goodyguy]

Silver can also be associated with galena

 

[ywevis]

Silver can also be associated with galena

Yep true

 

[Goodyguy]

I would suggest sending the heaviest sample off to be assayed.

Even lead is valuable if the quantity is sufficient.

 

[Frank D.]

Thanks ywevis, and Goodguy. Thats good to know. There is tons of this stuff at the spot I am prospecting along with quartz, what looks like ironstone, pegmatite, tourmaline, and two I could live without,.....schist and mica. I haven't found any visible gold yet, but have found alot of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and arsenopyrite. I'm thinking if there is gold, it's smaller than the eye can see, or I'm not focusing on what I should be, and haven't found the visible gold yet. I'm going back Thursday to do some more prospecting. Any tips or pointers for someone new at this? It's Piedmont origin.

 

[Goodyguy]

Thanks ywevis, and Goodyguy. Thats good to know. There is tons of this stuff at the spot I am prospecting along with quartz, what looks like ironstone, pegmatite, tourmaline, and two I could live without,.....schist and mica. I haven't found any visible gold yet, but have found alot of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and arsenopyrite. I'm thinking if there is gold, it's smaller than the eye can see, or I'm not focusing on what I should be, and haven't found the visible gold yet. I'm going back Thursday to do some more prospecting. Any tips or pointers for someone new at this? It's Piedmont origin.

Never underestimate the values that are locked up in sulfides.

When you're new to prospecting it's easy to step over a dime looking for a nickle. In other words you could be missing out on a fortune in hidden values looking for visible signs of precious metals when they were there the whole time locked up in sulfides.

That is why getting ore samples assayed is so important.
The assay report will tell you what minerals are present and in what quantities.

Assays are not cheap but in this business sometimes it takes money to make money.

Gold is also often associated with pyrites, and not always visible to the naked eye.

GG~

 

[Frank D.]

Thanks Goodguy. Thats an eye opener to me, and much appreciated. I wil do that

 

[ywevis]

Lol ya gonna make that poor guy go broke assaying everything. I would crush and it to a fine powder, and see what you got.. I am pretty sure it's galena if your in the piedmont area. So am I.

 

[Goodyguy]

Ok, Good point ywevis,

Crushing your samples first is always good advice.

Although crushing to a fine powder may or may not reveal any unseen values to the naked eye.
Under a microscope though micron sized gold would be revealed.


Jayrock, before you do any assaying read this: Recovery of gold in pyritic sulfide ores

 

[augoldminer]

Make a small cup with damp bone ash and dry it good.

Put a sample in the cup and heat it with a oxy.act torch.

The lead will soak into the bone ash leaving any gold or silver as a button.
http://goldrefiningforum.com/~goldrefi/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=5650

 

[Goodyguy]

First were going to bankrupt him and if that doesn't work we'll kill him or at least make him sick breathing sulphur dioxide fumes.

Jayrock just do your homework and take proper precautions when smelting any heavy mineral ores, especially where lead sulfides are concerned. Very toxic fumes.

GG~

 

[Frank D.]

Hahaha @ goodguy and ywevis..... Bankruptcy and death? I'm hoping the symptoms of gold fever are more mild than that. goodguy, I have a 60x jewelers loupe, and am gonna crush a little bit like you and ywevis were mentioning, and look at it through the loupe and see if I see anything. Looking at the rock surfaces through the loupe I am seeing some type of silverish metal spread out through the ore. augoldminer, I like what you have mentioned here, and thinking about giving it a try. The sample you mention about puting in the cupel,....is that just a sample of the crushed material, or a sample of the crushed material after panning out the heavies if possible to do?

 

[Goodyguy]

Instructions


Testing for Silver Ore

• 1 Gather a test-concentrated portion of the suspected silver ore. A bean-sized sample is ideal to get a visible result from the test. From the ore, you can either chip off a portion of the silver or scrape off the equivalent amount of powder.
• 2 Collect a sample of chlorine-free water for the silver ore test. Chlorine test strips can be found at home improvement or pool supply stores. Once the water is filtrated and tested free of chlorine, the test can begin.
• 3 Add 2 cubic centimeters of chlorine-free water to a test tube and 1 cubic centimeter of nitric acid with the specimen collected from the silver ore. Boil this solution until the silver specimen is dissolved.
• 4 Add a few drops of hydrochloric acid to the dissolved mixture. If silver is present, the solution will turn milky in appearance, which indicates it is a low-quality specimen. If the acid is added and the result is a thick, curdy mass, then it is a high-grade specimen of silver. Again, take all safety precautions necessary. Toxic fumes, burns, and explosions, from handling hydrochloric acid as well as nitric acid are real dangers to be taken seriously.
  
  Hope this helps.
  If it seems to be more than you are comfortable with then you could always have it assayed at a refiners.
• TCB Metals and Refining
  
  GG~

 

[mtau]

Good information Goodyguy. Around here, galena runs about 1oz of silver for every % of lead.

 

[Frank D.]

Thanks for the great information you posted Goodguy. That is the test I'm going to do. I already have hydrochloric acid, and can get the rest of the stuff very easily. I'll put the results when I test the stuff within the next week. Snow or not on the ground, I'm heading out early for some prospecting tomorrow. The creek should be turned upside down from the snow melt, and bit of rain we had today. Thanks again, and have a good night

 

[tamrock]

people need lead.

 

[huntsman53]

If I am not mistaken, you can also test for Silver and/or Gold with Borax and a torch. I am not sure of the amounts of each (Borax and crushed Ore) but you should probably start with small amounts. Mix the Borax and Ore in an appropriate iron or ceramic pot, bowl or other. Make sure to use a breathing mask and eye protection and heat the mixture with a torch. Once the Silver and/or Gold reaches their melting point, they will melt to the bottom of the container and form into little beads that can be recovered.

If I am wrong about this process, I hope someone will post otherwise!


Frank

 

[Frank D.]

Thanks huntsman53. Gotta get a torch though.

 

[Frank D.]

Hey Goodguy. I did this test and it turned milky so I guess that means it's low grade silver?