Ore

monita.secreta

Jr. Member
Jul 18, 2014
22
20
Tarragona
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Sand Shark / Fisher CZ-21 Quicksilver
Primary Interest:
Shipwrecks
a piece from the drift wall

IMG_12262013_073730.jpg

IMG_12262013_074215.jpg
 

Clay Diggins

Silver Member
Nov 14, 2010
4,885
14,258
The Great Southwest
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Interesting. Doesn't look like any ore I've ever seen. Looks like a piece of broken pot melt from the lip of a smelting crucible.

What sort of mine was the drift cut for? Is it a carriage drift? How far from the entrance? Tell us more about what you think it is?

It's always hard to tell from a photo. More information would be appreciated.
 

littleneckhalfshell

Sr. Member
Jun 21, 2005
335
81
just some further information, since it was asked "what type of ore" Chalcopyrite is a Copper-iron sulfide (CuFeS2) It used to get me all excited when I was up in Northern Ontario and I would find some, it does look a bit like gold to the untrained eye. But then again, it is all about how much per ton there is, and just a few good specimens don't make it a copper mine.

Chalcopyrite: The mineral Chalcopyrite information and pictures
 

Clay Diggins

Silver Member
Nov 14, 2010
4,885
14,258
The Great Southwest
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Pretty darn familiar with chalcopyrite over here littleneckhalfshell. You'd have to dig a few tons of it to pay for your lunch. :laughing7:

The "ore" monita is showing doesn't look much like chalcopyrite to me. Some sort of lead mineral, galena possibly? I'm not seeing any sort of crystal structure like chalcopyrite but pictures aren't a good way to judge minerals. It's just out of focus enough that it could be several things. Still looks like pot melt to me. :dontknow:

I guess we will just have to wait for monita to add some information to his post besides "ore".
 

littleneckhalfshell

Sr. Member
Jun 21, 2005
335
81
Clay Diggins, did you look at the sample picture I put in my post on Chalcopyrite, no defined crystals there either. Crystals are nice for collecting, but are not always present in beautiful form. I am just going off of the view of Monita.secreta's pictures and they look a lot like the Chalcopyrite picture I presented. Also he said it is off of the drift wall, so it can't be pot melt. And I can't find any Galena that has that brassy color. I will admit I am basing my guess a lot on the color similarities between his picture and the one I saw on the internet, but it is both the brassy and the blue grey colors that seem to relate between the two sample pictures. So...... Monita.secreta, what were you showing us? or were you too asking a question as DesertNuggets posed, "what type of ore?"
 

Goldwasher

Gold Member
May 26, 2009
6,077
13,225
Sailor Flat, Ca.
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
SDC2300, Gold Bug 2 Burlap, fish oil, .35 gallons of water per minute.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Looks like re- deposited vaneer from seeping water. I've seen it inside some portals near tin deposits in Southern Ca. Ground water was seeping through and leaving the mineralized shell on the head wall....
 

Fullpan

Bronze Member
May 6, 2012
1,928
1,528
nevada
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Looks like re- deposited vaneer from seeping water. I've seen it inside some portals near tin deposits in Southern Ca. Ground water was seeping through and leaving the mineralized shell on the head wall....

I agree with GW, if that wall was wet, its probably minerals recently deposited. I've seen the same colorization on old adit timbers.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top