Sulphide Question

[Goldwasher]

Limonite is a group of hydrated iron minerals that are often left over after the natural oxidation of the sulfur in iron pyrites. In my experience the minerals after pyrites are a spectrum. Local geologic and environmental factors influence what forms. Minerals morph and change over time w exposure. You got your limonites: hydrates and hydroxides of iron oxides. Usually yellowish spectrum/ crumbly friable. You got your straight oxides reddish sometimes hard layer forming, sometimes chalky. Then you get your "bog" irons form after prolonged exposure and leaching. Geothite. Just cause it's called big iron doesn't mean it formed in a swamp. Just lots of it found in those kinds of places historically. Suspect that's what's forming on the outer layers of the "slaggy" pieces.

The 'Slaggy" pieces take a polish.

The cubes do not

 

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[Goldwasher]

So check these ones out.
No rusty coating on the two cubes and one where you can see what's under the crust

 

[Assembler]

Thanks for the pictures gives a better idea what you may be looking at.

 

[calsierra-Dan]

I get lots of those as well ,in all different states of weatherization !

 

[Assembler]

'Free milling values'.

Say you had a bunch of sulphides. Like literally sulphides only. With a mix of oxides (hematite)

No Gangue. Just cubes of pyrite and lumps of hematite. A lot of them and I have read local reports of rich sulfide ore.

I can bring a pound home a day or more if I want. Like I said not in ore. Segregated free minerals.

I'm not really interested in roasting. I know of the patio method but have only read a brief description of it. I need help with what to do after.
Though considering what I have is essentially "free milling" I don't know if that's even the right way to go about it.

I'm interested in what Mad Machinist and Clay have to say.

I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR ABOUT SURVEYS

It's dark I will post some pics of the pieces I have actually kept tomorrow. I got a couple today that are oxidized differently than the ones I get most of the time, silvery and rough on the outside. I grab the unique ones when I see them in the pan while chasing the heavy line in the creek.
When I'm sluicing the run gets loaded with them.
I met a geologist lady who likes the cool cube on cube pieces and I hold on to the big hematite nuggets cause their cool.

I've thought about crushing and sending some samples in for assay but, I figure I'll just get several different results and still be a guy who has pounds of sulphides.

There may be some values in the zone between "Just cubes of pyrite and lumps of hematite" crushing and testing to see if there is any 'free milling values' is one way to find out.

 

[SaltwaterServr]

Not slag machinist I promise.

None of it is oxidized in the interior. If I crush any of the pyrite pieces they are brassy or silvery on the inside. Some more than others. Any oxidization is from being in the stream bed. These are all found while placering.

I've done all the tests to verify what they are.

Is it considered Limonite if it is only surface oxidization?

Machinist and I have the same avatar.

It'll be considered limonite on the outside all the into the interior boundary where oxidation hasn't changed the chemical composition from pyrite to the limonite. Think of it this way, you have a piece of I-beam lying outside a few years and it's covered in rust. It's still a steel I-beam under the rust, but the rust isn't steel anymore either. Same thing. You've got partial conversion of the pyrite into limonite.

I'll go out on a limb here and say those pieces that kinda look like slag might be limonite after marcasite.

That one piece that's retained it's cubic formation of pyrite is worth a lot more as a specimen than for the gold content.

 

[Assembler]

As noted in the Fire Assays table of crucible charges for Iron pyrites before doing a "Scorify" test for values:
Gms of Soda Bicarbonate XX, Litharge, Nitre, Silica, Loops of iron wire, Borax as a cover.
Then collect matte, if any, and scorify with lead button. This will give you the amount of 'Values' contained in that sample of Iron pyrites.
Not something to do in one's garage or house.

You may be better off testing the zone between by crushing and testing for 'Free milling values'.

 

[Assembler]

As noted in the Fire Assays table of crucible charges for Iron pyrites before doing a "Scorify" test for values:
Gms of Soda Bicarbonate XX, Litharge, Nitre, Silica, Loops of iron wire, Borax as a cover.
Then collect matte, if any, and scorify with lead button. This will give you the amount of 'Values' contained in that sample of Iron pyrites.
Not something to do in one's garage or house.

You may be better off testing the zone between by crushing and testing for 'Free milling values'.

If you can find a very big deposit or out crop of Iron or other pyrites try testing that zone in between it and the surrounding rock. Crushing just the pyrites will not likely produce much if any 'Free milling values' with the exception being a pocket of some type.

 

[Assembler]

I'm after other chunkies right now...and have rock to move.
Heading out soon.

Notice the Black pieces.....I don't think it's manganese oxide coating. I'll hit it with a torch and acid later and see if the color goes away

Are you after the chunkies in pictures 1 and 2? If so maybe don't mess with the Iron pyrites. Looks good to me.

 

[Goldwasher]

I get lots of those as well ,in all different states of weatherization !

Hey Dan. We dig where black sands and gold dust are born.

Though your pals place actually has some tertiary gravel influence.

 

[Goldwasher]

Look close

 

[Goldwasher]

Where the pyrite is coming from, it's in some of the slate also

 

[Assembler]

Where the pyrite is coming from, it's in some of the slate also

If the white is quartz or calcite you mite be able to scan that area with a Falcon type of metal detector to get some more information about possible values.

 

[Assembler]

If the white is quartz or calcite you mite be able to scan that area with a Falcon type of metal detector to get some more information about possible values.

If you get any positive hits crush and pan the whole rock to see if you may be in the right area mineral wise. Maybe a magnet will be useful after crushing. just have to try.
Once you are in the right area you may be able to keep dry panning rock after rock just brushing off the top material. Just have to try it out to see what mite work best.
A larger gold metal detector coil may be used after a number of rocks are dry panned out in the same pan.

 

[Goldwasher]

43 acres of claim with gold found all over.
I have a falcon...pretty slow and tedious..that's what gold bugs are for.

Crushing every rock that makes a hint of noise with a detector is a sure fire way to end up with rusty rock dust and an empty poke.

I'll stick with what gets me gold.

 

[Assembler]

43 acres of claim with gold found all over.
I have a falcon...pretty slow and tedious..that's what gold bugs are for.

Crushing every rock that makes a hint of noise with a detector is a sure fire way to end up with rusty rock dust and an empty poke.

I'll stick with what gets me gold.

Excellent looks like some of the deposits are close together or large enough for one to use a gold detector. Sure beets a pile of rusty rock and a empty poke right. Thank you for posting the pictures.
Yes some people think the gold detector is not useful yet look what you are finding with your gold bug.
Yes the Falcon is slow and tedious to use.

 

[calsierra-Dan]

Hey Dan. We dig where black sands and gold dust are born.

Though your pals place actually has some tertiary gravel influence.

Yeah i know its wild so much black sand ,and yeah the gravels within here and there gets confusing ,but good for procpecting ! So many different minerals around out yonder!

 

[Golden_Crab]

Patio method is a Spanish method of letting bio bugs do the job of conversion...kiddie pool+H2O+some fertilizer +your ore

I get it about the specemins...though there are local reports of very rich sulfide ore. LIKE RICH I don't how much secondary enrichment came into play.

I am in pocket and shear zone country. Yet, deeper mines are not as common as they are in the Mother Lode south of me.

I will try to find links to reference but, I have read on paper reports of gold in sulfides per pound that you wouldn't believe with out reading yourself.

The northeast (new england) has aresnopyrite that was being extracted to the tune of ~$17,500 in gold to the ton after losses... in mid to late 1800s. I believe it.

 

[Clay Diggins]

The northeast (new england) has aresnopyrite that was being extracted to the tune of ~$17,500 in gold to the ton after losses... in mid to late 1800s. I believe it.

That would be 1094 ounces of gold per ton. That's a fantasy figure anywhere in the world. In New England? Pure BS.

A lot of failed mining ventures were financed on claims of this level of recovery. When you see these sorts of numbers thrown around it's time to grab your wallet and RUN! I had to advise some potential "investors" (suckers) of this simple fact just this morning.

IF there were such a rich arsenopyrite/gold deposit cyanidation would be required to extract the gold fraction. The cyanide recovery process wasn't even discovered until 1887 so a rich arsenopyrite mine producing more than 1,000 ozt in the mid 1800s would be an impossibility. Sometimes adding a few simple facts with common sense add up to an obvious case of mining "fact" as BS being foisted on the general public. In mining, as in so many other aspects of life the phrase "buyer beware" applies.

Heavy Pans

 

[Assembler]

Excellent looks like some of the deposits are close together or large enough for one to use a gold detector. Sure beets a pile of rusty rock and a empty poke right. Thank you for posting the pictures.
Yes some people think the gold detector is not useful yet look what you are finding with your gold bug.
Yes the Falcon is slow and tedious to use.

It appears that you have little trouble finding some values at times on the claim with a gold bug detector. Not everyone has grounds like this and may have to use a tedious Falcon metal detector to start finding any values. However some of the old timers could not use much in the way of metal detectors like we can today. Thanks again for the picture as this can give everyone some hope out here.