Spherical gold

Dig'em

Jr. Member
Jan 24, 2015
82
183
Joshua Tree, California
Detector(s) used
Fisher Gold Bug 2
Primary Interest:
Other
Some interesting spherical gold I've been finding. It really likes to float and tends to group together. When you try and get a pipette near it, it wants to move away. I've found this in two different locations so far and one of the spots doesn't have any history of gold that I know of.
 

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Upvote 17

DizzyDigger

Gold Member
Dec 9, 2012
5,840
11,587
Concrete, WA
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Nokta FoRs Gold, a Gold Cube, 2 Keene Sluices and Lord only knows how many pans....not to mention a load of other gear my wife still doesn't know about!
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Try posting the pics in the Gold Panning forum. Smart folks there
that have prospected just about everywhere.
 

Oct 5, 2014
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35,425
Massachusetts
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Nice finds, congratulations!
 

Centsless Detecting

Bronze Member
Aug 13, 2017
1,305
3,774
Milwaukee WI
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Oh thats just the fuel for my hyper-drive generator...
Can you send it to me so i can get back to Tatooine where its warm?
 

Jason in Enid

Gold Member
Oct 10, 2009
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9,229
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The fact you say that it likes to float tells me it probably isnt gold. Tiny gold flakes can sit on top of the surface tension of water because the surface area to weight ratio. There would be no way a sphere of gold would be able to float.
 

CRUSADER

Gold Member
May 25, 2007
40,862
45,455
ENGLAND
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XP Deus II v0.6 with 11" Coil
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The fact you say that it likes to float tells me it probably isnt gold. Tiny gold flakes can sit on top of the surface tension of water because the surface area to weight ratio. There would be no way a sphere of gold would be able to float.
I thought that as well.
 

Reed Lukens

Silver Member
Jan 1, 2013
2,653
5,418
Congres, AZ/ former California Outlawed Gold Miner
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You think it's floating mostly, but it rolls right out of the black sand, so people loose it all the time. It's prevalent in the desert. I thought it was an oddity at first but I was talking to a local Az prospector and he showed me some that the had just picked up in the wash a couple hours before, and I picked up a small round picker myself this week. The stuff is hard to catch to say the least, but the Gold Hog Multi-Sluice held on to it. Trying to separate it in a standard gold pan was rediculously easy because it rolls all over... And that's also why it gets lost so often :evil6:
 

Last edited:
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OP
Dig'em

Dig'em

Jr. Member
Jan 24, 2015
82
183
Joshua Tree, California
Detector(s) used
Fisher Gold Bug 2
Primary Interest:
Other
The fact you say that it likes to float tells me it probably isnt gold. Tiny gold flakes can sit on top of the surface tension of water because the surface area to weight ratio. There would be no way a sphere of gold would be able to float.

Gold does float at times, especially when you forget to use a surfactant. I've seen my share of flat flakes from flood gold float right out of a pan, especially if it's dry. I've had people suggest everything from mercury gold to platinum or it's just bb's from brazing. It's weird stuff that for sure!
 

pepperj

Gold Member
Feb 3, 2009
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Very cool, congrats.
 

ecmjamsit

Hero Member
Dec 2, 2007
873
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Colorado
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They may be from a fire assay. When the gold mixed with lead is cupellated it forms a little "bead". This is when the lead/gold/ silver remains is placed in a cupel and heated.
 

Capt Nemo

Bronze Member
Apr 11, 2015
1,058
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Oshkosh, WI
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Are you anywhere near a meteorite impact? Rock Elm Disturbance (meteor impact) gold can be really round and/or wirey and rolls off miller tables easily. The impact melted the gold into droplets and cooled them into shot before they landed. Same idea as using a tower to produce lead shot.

Oliophilic adhesion or grease table will catch roughly 80% of what won't stick to a miller table. It will work down to about #200, but smaller sizes don't have enough weight to catch in the grease.
 

russau

Gold Member
May 29, 2005
7,281
6,741
St. Louis, missouri
About 10 years ago ,while up in Wyoming dredging I found a small gold a spiracle ball in my pan and it would also roll around in my pan , BUT when I saw it I pulled it out.
 

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