Am I seeing loads of micro gold?

[omnicron]

Hi guys, Well I broke down and bought a drop riffle concentrating sluice to make processing faster. So after running all my cons I'm left with this in my pan. Here is my process:
I classify down to 16 mesh then use a grizzly pan to quickly get rid of the lighter material. I then run my black sands through the Angus Mackirk Side Kick. I spoon feed it nice and slow. The first run I get most of the gold then run everything again to pick up the left overs. This is my super cons, notice the deep yellow color? Am I seeing micro gold concentrated? If I scoop some processed black sand and pan it out, it doesn't have the pronounced yellow to it but it does have some. Any ideas what I'm looking at?





In this pic you can see my second run gold.

 

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[EuropIan]

Where in the sluice does this stuff get deposited? If it's gold it'll pan out no matter how much black sand you have otherwise it's a deteriorated mineral much like pyrites.

 

[omnicron]

As far as I can tell in under the black sands behind the riffles and maybe in the under part of the over/under dredge sluice. It does pan out it's just locked in with the black sand. When I shot those pics I left everything in my pan undisturbed and the water evaporated here is what it looks like now! I guess I need to get me some mercury!



I literally have tons of this... well not tons but gallons I have all my cons saved from last season and it looks much the same.

 

[Eric Wilson]

Have someone acid test it or something b4 you mess with the mercury. Or test the specific gravity. I can't remember how to do it but if memory serves those little junior chemistry kits they give to ten year olds tells how. I'd rather not mess with the mercury myself- let someone else do that.

 

[omnicron]

Mercury doesn't scare me at all. I work with much more dangerous chemicals/machines/environment on a daily basis. Mercury is like anything else, you need to respect it and not take it for granted. Besides I was just diagnosed with thyroid cancer Friday...so what's the mercury going to do kill me?

 

[Gramps43]

I hope they caught the cancer in it's early stage, easier to deal with if so. I would also use something other than mercury if for no other reason that retorting the mercury to get the gold out is also very toxic and you don't need anymore medical than you already have. Hope there's a pot'a gold in it.

Gramps

 

[yelnif]

As far as I can tell in under the black sands behind the riffles and maybe in the under part of the over/under dredge sluice. It does pan out it's just locked in with the black sand. When I shot those pics I left everything in my pan undisturbed and the water evaporated here is what it looks like now! I guess I need to get me some mercury!

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I literally have tons of this... well not tons but gallons I have all my cons saved from last season and it looks much the same.

Very nice omnicron- go with the acid test-IMHO. In the second pic- to the left of the 'gold'( I hope for you) is some other heavy concentrate, silver-maybe? HH yelnif...

 

[Gold Maven]

A small pocket microscope might help. Radio Shack sells a 30x for 10 bucks or so, makes a tiny particle of gold look like a nugget. GL.

 

[russau]

omnicron, id make sure i hit that area again this summer! if i doubt about it being gold or not, put some nitric acid into a small sample of your gold to determine if it is or not. if it isnt gold, itll fizzel/bubble and get ate up by the nitric. or just run it through a blue bowl a couple of times after screening it down and running each screening by itself! i wish i had that problem!!congrats!

 

[omnicron]

Thanks guys for the suggestions. I think they caught it soon enough, the cancer that is, I had throat surgery 1.5 years ago and they didn't find it then.

 

[davidb]

Well prayers out to you on the cancer and I hope to hear goods news on both cancer and that you possibly have lots of gold there

 

[gold tramp]

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i have to tell ya that looks like some stuff i find in hardrock out here, its very heavy and easily concentrates in my wheel. I think it might be scheelite?
if you look at it with microscope its yellow translucent crystalls?

action mining supply, you can get mercury, put a drop of merc in, if the yellow disapears you got gold, be careful using that nitric in my oppion its far more toxic than the hg and if ya get it on your skin !!!

I use the nitric to remove the merc from my amalgam, and i save all my acid and recover my Hg from the soulution later when i play mad scientist, that way i dont waste the Hg.
heres a couple pics of pregnant mercury.

just use common sense and stay safe, watch that retorting any time you put heat to Hg its very toxic. there are lots of good readings on the subject.
if you need more info Pm me.

Herb.