Quartz with gold veins

[therobertsmith]

Okay yall first post but not the last. I needed a new hobby but I have always been a finder. Seems I have a nose for sniffing out old bottles and such. So now I have turned to metals and minerals etc.
So I found an old creek bed that washed out some time ago. It is loaded with shale, granite, and quartz. When I say quartz I mean there is so much you trip over it.
I decided today to work the upper half of the creek and found a quartz vein. This piece was huge. Unfortunately I had to break just a corner chunk off and washed it in washout container.
The soil around this area is orangish/red but the top and middle its blood red. The metal detector just goes off the chart in the washout area.
I have never found raw gold before but plenty of junk. Hopefully I can get some opinions about this and if it is worth digging out. Sorry for the long post guys

RS

 

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[snakejim]

Okay yall first post but not the last. I needed a new hobby but I have always been a finder. Seems I have a nose for sniffing out old bottles and such. So now I have turned to metals and minerals etc.
So I found an old creek bed that washed out some time ago. It is loaded with shale, granite, and quartz. When I say quartz I mean there is so much you trip over it.
I decided today to work the upper half of the creek and found a quartz vein. This piece was huge. Unfortunately I had to break just a corner chunk off and washed it in washout container.
The soil around this area is orangish/red but the top and middle its blood red. The metal detector just goes off the chart in the washout area.
I have never found raw gold before but plenty of junk. Hopefully I can get some opinions about this and if it is worth digging out. Sorry for the long post guys

RS

I think I'm seeing pyrites, not gold. But photos are deceiving. Crush it to powder. Any gold present will flatten like lead and pyrites will shatter.

 

[djui5]

Photos are very deceiving. That looks like Micah. Poke the shiny stuff with a knife point, if it flakes off or breaks up, it's not worth working.

 

[huntsman53]

I agree but try taking some pics with a Magnifying Glass or Gem Loupe lens held up against the camera's lens. Hopefully, you can get some very close closeups of the areas which appear that they could be Gold and the pics will be in focus as well! Also, what kind of metal detector are you using? Is it a VLF or PI unit? Are you searching only rocks and dirt or searching in water? If searching rocks and dirt, then the soil could be highly mineralized causing the metal detector to go off the chart. If searching in the water and if it is a VLF unit, then the mineralization in the water will cause the metal detector to go off the chart.


Frank

 

[therobertsmith]

I just had my 10x loupe but my daughter's stole it to play with. I know the pics are bad. I went out today on the top of the dried creek bed and started digging at a low spot under a small tree. I have a lot of material I need to pan but these were the first out. I used the detector yesterday further down and it just went crazy. I have a lone star pro since I didnt want to spend to much in case I lost interest. I have always had a keen eye for stuff out of place. I havent run the detector over those yet since the wife was po'd for me being in the woods for hours.

 

[therobertsmith]

Just tried a 7x loupe and it turned out bad. I need a better camera. Here are two bad pics. I will try again tomorrow.

 

[snakejim]

Just tried a 7x loupe and it turned out bad. I need a better camera. Here are two bad pics. I will try again tomorrow.

Do the hammer test and smash it. If there are flattened pieces it's gold if it turns to powder it's not gold.

 

[fatman45]

I would have that assayed if I were you.

 

[gollum]

Why spend money on an assay?

Just use a hammer on it. Simple and cheap. Like Snakejim said, if it flattens out, its gold, if it crushes, its either pyrites or mica.

Mike

 

[fatman45]

Because pyrites can contain gold, too.

 

[gollum]

Because pyrites can contain gold, too.

....and like we said, if there is gold present, it will flatten out, while pyrites and mica will turn to dust.

Mike

 

[stefen]

Kinda like talking to my wife...give her an opinion by the best in the industry...and she'll argue...

 

[gollum]

Does your wife also like to spend a lot more money than is necessary to find the same information? HAHAHA

How about this: Go out and buy an XRF (X-Ray Flourescence) Gun! It will only set you back about $28,000, and it will tell you EXACTLY every bit of mineral in your specimen. I am joking. My whole point is that you don't need to spend a bunch of money to find out if there is gold in your rock. A hammer is all you need to get. Maybe a gold pan too.

Mike

 

[fatman45]

$25 is a lot of money? You're in the wrong business!

 

[gollum]

HAHAHA Compared to pulling a hammer out of the toolbox? Yep! $25 plus gas, plus my time spent driving to the assayer (none close to me in L.A. that I trust). Just to see if one little pebble actually has a trace of gold in it? The most valuable thing in the whole equation to me is the time spent going to and from the assayer. I get precious little of that as it is.

Mike

 

[gollum]

I do recommend also getting an acid gold test kit. If it passes the hammer test, the give it an acid test.

Mike

 

[DDancer]

Put it in a dolly and grind it up then pan it and see what comes of it. Don't worry about the pyrites you would have to roast them and the mica's will just pan off.... seriously folks.... an X ray tester. Blah.
Its ok looking stuff but it needs some refinement. Old school because most people don't need the gizmo or the retort to figure it out.
My thoughts DD.

 

[Hard Prospector]

Falcon MD20 anyone?

 

[therobertsmith]

I took a good look at them with the 10x and seems like they are encrusted on the quartz. I took a knife and it did flake off. The problem I am having now is the quartz here. I walk 5 feet and hit the stuff. I am talking big ones. I am researching old maps and journals from the area to try and figure some stuff out.
I told the wife that it is like walking on Mars. The soil colors and quartz colors and textures change really quick. If anything I should be well versed in rocks and local history.

 

[gold tramp]

its Mica, keep beatin the rocks.
GT.....