Info needed, found Gray Blue cave clay, in Pa.

FinderKeeper

Bronze Member
Apr 7, 2007
1,175
1,477
Clearfield Pa. and Nova Scotia, Canada
Detector(s) used
Schonstedt sopt, GPL , 2 box, Dowsing Rods, Long Range Locators, Radar, Bounty Hunter & a lot more
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hi everyone, We been digging 45 feet back inside a cave tracking down a metal object and the clay inside up until now was brown. Now that we are close to the metal object there is a 2 foot streek of gray clay from the top of cave to the floor. When we dig the gray clay we see greenish blue powder or something inside of it. I sent samples out to a lab and no one knows for sure what turned the clay gray. The greenish blue looks like the same color on old copper. We are tracking down gold so I don't know if we have the right spot. Has anyone came across gray clay with greenish blue inside . I can email you a copy of the lab report. Any info will be help full. Thank You
 

Attachments

  • cave wall1.jpg
    cave wall1.jpg
    305.7 KB · Views: 1,877
  • p1.jpg
    p1.jpg
    162.9 KB · Views: 1,641

Kantuckkeean

Bronze Member
Apr 30, 2009
1,608
1,879
Cornfield, IN
Detector(s) used
F-22, cheapo pinpointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Well, I don't have any experience hunting for gold in caves, but I would think that the gray clay that you're running into is just high in reduced metals. In an anaerobic (low oxygen) environment, many metals will be gray or blue. As they encounter oxygen and react, they oxidize (rust) and become brown or yellow.

This situation is often encountered in soils. The soil near the surface is brown in color due to the reaction of metals (most often iron) with oxygen. As oxygen is mixed into the soil through water infiltration and insect and animal movement, the iron oxidizies or rusts, forming iron oxides, which are brown or red. As you move down through the soil profile, the deeper soils with higher clay content, higher bulk densities, and greater water-holding capacity are low in oxygen, and the metals are in a reduced form, often gray or blue.

Dry some of that gray clay out and break it into little pieces. Expose it to oxygen and water in a warm environment, and see if it changes to brown, red or yellow.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck
 

Nashoba

Bronze Member
Sep 20, 2006
1,400
17
Washington and Oregon
Detector(s) used
Garret Ace250/Prospecter Bounty hunter(Backup)
AS I recall, when the miners where mining gold near Virginia City Nevada, the cussed all the blue clay that made the gold miners absolutely disgusted. They had it piled all over the place to get it out of their way. Turns out it was extremely rich silver ore. Some of the richest ever found. I would suggest an assay.
~Nash~
 

jeff of pa

Super Moderator
Staff member
Dec 19, 2003
85,842
59,628
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Copper Pennies Somtimes
Spread a blue/Green Oxidation into the Ground
as they turn blue/green.

Perhaps You are Near a large deposit
Of Natural or Man Made Copper
 

tesoro dog

Sr. Member
May 31, 2007
301
34
FINDER KEEPER!! A WHILE BACK A POSTER FROM AUSTRALIA,, MENTIONED THAT THE SPANISH WHEN BURYING THEIR CACHES,, WOULD FILL THE HOLE WITH DIFFERENT LAYERS OF DIFFERENT COLORED SANDS,, THIS IS JUST A LONG SHOT, BUT KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN FOR SHELLS AND WEIRD SHAPED STONES!! PEACE BRO!! td
 

B.A.

Tenderfoot
Apr 29, 2009
9
0
Detector(s) used
xlt / eagle II sl /surfmaster pi plus / coinmaster
I find layers of this type of clay in stream beds here on our farm in Puerto Rico,and lots of iron nodules like bog iron.( I at first thought they were meteorites).I also see it in road cuts and there are known deposits of copper near them.I also M.D. on some farm fields in Ct. and find this type of clay in a deep valley also with bog iron around as there are streams and boggy areas around the area.
 

Cachefinder

Sr. Member
Dec 22, 2008
275
3
ARIZONA
Detector(s) used
lucky horseshoe
Hey FinderKeeper :hello:


What is the latest? -- any new pics?


thank you in advance, :read2:

Cachefinder-
 

Aur

Newbie
Jan 10, 2012
1
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I need Blue grey clay from gold mine ??

I urgently need gray blue clay from gold mines. Can anyone help me. I will pay well it least 2-3 kg. I need for medical use. Please. send me a e-mail at [email protected]
thank you
 

EVERY DAYS A FRI.

Jr. Member
Jan 9, 2012
26
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
im a newbee and also from pa read alot of stories of silver mines lost in pa i have bad case of gold fever!?#@ good luck
 

alpha105

Hero Member
May 19, 2007
853
7
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Look into the mining section in the forums.....theres a huge post about someone owning a nice mine that was rich of blue clay.
 

WTstandUP

Newbie
Jul 9, 2012
2
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have lots of blue gray clay

Look into the mining section in the forums.....theres a huge post about someone owning a nice mine that was rich of blue clay.


I have lots of blue gray clay is it worth anything? I never dug it out but there is a lot but I'll get my shovel if it has worth lol. [email protected]
 

Plotus

Greenie
Oct 4, 2012
18
3
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Seems I read somewhere way back or seen in a treasure post that green-blue clay was somehow related to diamonds in some way.
 

dawnhvr

Full Member
Sep 5, 2013
132
48
I'm in western pa, lots of different color clay around here. Ranges from dark brown, almost black to pink, gray, green..ect.
 

hvacker

Bronze Member
Aug 18, 2012
2,357
1,904
New Mexico USA
Detector(s) used
My Head
Primary Interest:
Other
My Son just built a pit for playing horseshoes. He said in competition games the pit can be either sand or blue clay. Seems there are uses for the stuff.
 

huntsman53

Gold Member
Jun 11, 2013
6,955
6,769
East Tennessee
Primary Interest:
Other
Gray blue clay is often associated with Silver and normally obtains the color due to oxidation of the Silver. This same gray blue clay often contains Gold. The greenish blue in the clay is probably due to Copper oxidation otherwise known as Copper Oxide. You might want to pan the clay out to see if there is any Gold any it, making sure to recoup the clay. After recouping the clay, spread it out in layers on plastic and let it dry. After dried, place the clay in a large iron or other large kettle, mix pure Borax with it, then burn it with a torch. If there is any Silver in the clay, it will bead up and can be panned out. Although I am not sure of this, the process may also cause any Copper to bead up and come to light. This method was told to me by a friend that has Gold prospected most of his life and who also has found some very nice deposits of Silver.


Frank

Ooops, I did not realize that this Thread was 3 years old until after I had already posted! I wonder what the O.P. found out about the clay?
 

Last edited:

Hitndahed

Hero Member
Dec 4, 2014
866
874
Deep in the woods in South Central Pa.
Detector(s) used
Fisher CZ7 Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Sounds like a common Carbide dump to me. A place where someone once dumped their old lamp contents out before recharging it.
When I was really into hardcore caving we found a lot of these dumps. This is a huge NO - NO,,,
 

hvacker

Bronze Member
Aug 18, 2012
2,357
1,904
New Mexico USA
Detector(s) used
My Head
Primary Interest:
Other
Sounds like a common Carbide dump to me. A place where someone once dumped their old lamp contents out before recharging it.
When I was really into hardcore caving we found a lot of these dumps. This is a huge NO - NO,,,

Possible. The smell should give it away. I've still have a gallon can of carbide I bought from Bob's in the 80's.
 

dawnhvr

Full Member
Sep 5, 2013
132
48
I have a ton of blue gray clay at the bottom of my creek. It's beautiful, but does not appear to have rocks in it like the pink, red and green clay. I brought some up to bake. Haven't yet. But it's the nicest clay I've seen down there . I even have white/ gray. But the blue/gray is beautiful.
 

OP
OP
FinderKeeper

FinderKeeper

Bronze Member
Apr 7, 2007
1,175
1,477
Clearfield Pa. and Nova Scotia, Canada
Detector(s) used
Schonstedt sopt, GPL , 2 box, Dowsing Rods, Long Range Locators, Radar, Bounty Hunter & a lot more
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
We found silver bars and that explains the blue clay, then we had black streaks in the clay from Pig Iron containers from Rail Road. Everything is still in the ground, Pa, law says Do NOT REMOVE anything from state land. It will be gone someday:laughing7:
Gray blue clay is often associated with Silver and normally obtains the color due to oxidation of the Silver. This same gray blue clay often contains Gold. The greenish blue in the clay is probably due to Copper oxidation otherwise known as Copper Oxide. You might want to pan the clay out to see if there is any Gold any it, making sure to recoup the clay. After recouping the clay, spread it out in layers on plastic and let it dry. After dried, place the clay in a large iron or other large kettle, mix pure Borax with it, then burn it with a torch. If there is any Silver in the clay, it will bead up and can be panned out. Although I am not sure of this, the process may also cause any Copper to bead up and come to light. This method was told to me by a friend that has Gold prospected most of his life and who also has found some very nice deposits of Silver.


Frank

Ooops, I did not realize that this Thread was 3 years old until after I had already posted! I wonder what the O.P. found out about the clay?
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top