Free Platinum....

[HappyTrails55]

So I started digging into Hard Rock Greenstone Shale that underlies the alluvial sediments in the creek on our placer claim, took my Falcon MD 20 and got lot's of hits. Took hammer and chisel to this stuff and putting it into buckets, brought it home and ground it up with my 10 inch flail chain crusher down 100 to 200 mesh, washed the clorite out really good, ran it through my sluice set-up, hoping to see gold, instead I got hundreds of small pieces of weird looking lead looking metal. Took my MineralLabs Hardness Picks and tested some pieces, which arrived at 4 in hardness, the kit comes with Porcelin Scratch Test too, tried that, Silver to Gray, Dark Gray, put it into a frying pan on the Coleman Stove outside and cooked it for (1st time) 45 minutes, used My Raytek Thermal Gun on it, 940 degrees, did not even affect it, will not melt, mmm....Pulled out my JSP Acid Test Kits, Nitric & Muratic Acid, Gold, Silver & Platinum. Platinum Acid burned a little off of each of the 1st 3 pieces I tried but still left a good amount and never totally disolved it. 5 other pieces following were not even effected, didn't do anything. Of the 15, 3 1/2 gallon buckets of shale rock that I ground up and processed, I put it in a plastic cigar vial, took my MX-500 digital weigh scale, 1.16 oz. rounded off. By this time I'm doing alot of research on the web. I find me a Assayer that only specializes in the Noble Metals, I put together only a fair amount of the cons, all I want to do is get a primary assay or just to find out what it is. I know full well that to get a good average of the ore that it will take anywhere from 5 to 10 assays to get a average, but I don't do that, I just want to know what it is before I start spending alot of money for other assays. The results come back, Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium, Osmium, Iridium, Ruthenium and Rhodium and a degree of Galena. 8 Noble Metals in one. Is this Rich or what? Who buys this stuff? That's my question, who buys this stuff? After the 15 buckets, I went out and got some more, 1 short bucket, I got just over 1/8th of a ounce...This is all Free Platinum in this Greenstone Shale...Darrell

 

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[DDancer]

Yep that's pretty rich and pretty interesting. As to who buys that stuff~ ask your assayer as they are likely to know a reputable buyer *if they are not a buyer themselves*. Seems you have a platinum opportunity of a life time. Quick math you've gotten ruffly 2000 dollars of that stuff already and only run about a quarter ton of material. Amazing. Like to see some pictures of the greenstone and recovered material

 

[HappyTrails55]

I'll get some pictures posted this weekend. Thankyou for the advice...Darrell

 

[highdesertranger]

waiting for pics. I know it's Saturday night but I wanna see. highdsertranger

 

[Hardrocker]

This sounds truly extraordinary! To find such a variety of precious metals in one place at such a concentration is quite rare from my experience. Did you get a rundown on the percentages of each element? I suppose he only drawback is it sounds like they are all alloyed together. It would take a complex smelting / chemical process to get everything separated. On the other hand if you have a large quantity of this material you will probably be a very rich man soon.

If you want to melt some I would think a MAPP gas torch and a melting dish would do the trick. I use that to melt gold and it works splendidly. On the whole it sounds like you have a really nice operation and some good equipment.

 

[HappyTrails55]

Having problems uploading pic's, I'm going have to go over to my nephew's house and use his computer, I guess...here's the percentage numbers for each element...Au-0.041, Ag-0.059, Pt-0.011, Pd-0.038, Os-0.006, Ru-0.003, Ir-0.003, Rh-0.005.......But I wanna tell you, I run a Fine Sluice (Primary) that drops down to another Sluice with Fine Rubber Mat, the cons I sent to the assayer was from the second sluice, the primary sluice had the larger pieces that I kept to put in the vial. My claim partners apparently were not impressed with the assay even though I've told them that I was accumulating alot of it and about 6 or 8 times the amount that we normally get in gold. If I had sent the assayer 8 ounces of this Platinum for a assay, my partners would have luved the results while I would of lost alot I worked for, the assay percentage numbers would have shot up astronomically, but that's not what I was after. This stuff is so incredibly hard to separate from the othe small minerals, apparently this Platinum has the affinity to cling to other minerals as well. Using Stone Mason Muriatic Acid, I can eliminate some of them, but not all. I did contact the Assayer and asked him if he knew of anyone that would buy this, his reply was "For the small amount you must be getting, take it to a local Jewelry Store". Well, I haven't written him back yet, but I'm not getting a small amount anymore, it's adding up. Bad timing to work this in the heat, it's been hot here (108 yesterday, June 8th), tough on this old guy, hee,hee. DeerFlies are out and Biting. More later, Darrell

 

[dredgeman]

We are working some material similar to your situation. Most of the people that can handle the material and sell it want 20 -30 tons at least to process.
We are in the middle of developing a small batch operation with a friend in Wa state. This way we will have a single place to process the smaller batches.

Most of the "labs" that you can send samples to only want gold. They say that they process platinum, but really do not know how. So don't waste time sending them all over. We already did. The refiners are mainly processing the catalytic palladium and have a lot of material to recycle.

The platinum group has a tendency to develop a "varnish" coating. This coating needs to be broke by grinding or roasting. The old Shake and Bake will break the oxide coating to allow the metal to be recovered.

The old way is AR with the metals dropped out and then sent off to a reputable refiner. We have given up on finding a lab to do the processing, since the lab does not exist.

Many hours of research and trial and error have been dedicated to our material. Learn to do your own fire assay to get a sample of the metal and send it to be analyzed.

Jewelry stores will usually not by it without a good trail of documentation.

Good Luck and remember the little guys when you get rich

 

[Hardrocker]

We are working some material similar to your situation. Most of the people that can handle the material and sell it want 20 -30 tons at least to process.
We are in the middle of developing a small batch operation with a friend in Wa state. This way we will have a single place to process the smaller batches.

Most of the "labs" that you can send samples to only want gold. They say that they process platinum, but really do not know how. So don't waste time sending them all over. We already did. The refiners are mainly processing the catalytic palladium and have a lot of material to recycle.

The platinum group has a tendency to develop a "varnish" coating. This coating needs to be broke by grinding or roasting. The old Shake and Bake will break the oxide coating to allow the metal to be recovered.

The old way is AR with the metals dropped out and then sent off to a reputable refiner. We have given up on finding a lab to do the processing, since the lab does not exist.

Many hours of research and trial and error have been dedicated to our material. Learn to do your own fire assay to get a sample of the metal and send it to be analyzed.

Jewelry stores will usually not by it without a good trail of documentation.

Good Luck and remember the little guys when you get rich

It sounds like processing this type of material could be a lucrative business opportunity for somebody. Amazing that material so loaded with noble metals is greeted with so little interest.

 

[dredgeman]

It sounds like processing this type of material could be a lucrative business opportunity for somebody. Amazing that material so loaded with noble metals is greeted with so little interest.

I agree. We had one reverse electroplate process place tell us the sample had pgms at 31 oz per ton. The very next sentence was that is considered low grade material. I guess they have concentrated catalytic sponge or are rich enough to not care.

30000 a 55 gal drum seems worth it anywhere.

Anyhow we decided to pursue it ourselves.
Ours is concentrated black sands and is a tough nut to crack for most. That is one of the reasons people try but give up.

 

[Mad Machinist]

Refining ANY of the PGM's is VERY expensive and not so eco friendly. NONE of the refiners will mess with ore unless it is EXTREMELY rich. Way too much toxic waste to deal with otherwise. Hence the reason I am researching how to build a small scale concentrator for low grade deposits that the average guy with a little skill could build.

Call a platinum refiner up and tell them you have several thousand tons of ore grading .10 ounces per ton, then call them up and say you have several hundred tons grading 60 ounces per ton. Which one you think they'll jump on considering the current environmental laws in this country?

 

[ecmjamsit]

I think platinum is melted using an induction furnace. Over 3200F to melt!

Induction furnace - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Or DIY... Build an induction heater and become a metalsmith

These guys refine platinum... Platinum Concentrates ? Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners

Maybe you can create a PGM matte...that is a crudely refined noble metals alloy that you can sell for a profit. Best of luck!

 

[3xflyfisher]

Darrell,
It sounds like there may be some good potential there. Not sure about your circumstances but it may be worth trying to determine the extent of the greenstone shale the best you can. Then maybe try to sample it in several locations along the trend/deposit and have those assayed. If those numbers look promising it might be worth finding out the status of the surrounding land and if possible start to as quietly as possible, claim up the area. It is somewhat of a long drawn out process but if this looks like it might have the potential of being commercially viable, you might have a "gold" mine on your hands. If not commercially viable you will always have fun working it at your pace.

Good luck!

 

[HappyTrails55]

Thanks for the advice, our placer claim is a Association Claim of 160 acres, so there's lot's of room to take other samples from, but,......but, the greenstone belt is mostly buried deep in most other places...but I might try what you said...now I wanna backup here a little bit with some info that is maybe connected...In this same general vicinity about a year back or so, 1st, one of my partners found a unusual rock, then a little while later, I found one, we both 1st thought they were Hot Rocks of pure Iron, then I started to think that this might be a Meteorite, I put a Post on here at TN about (see Meteorite FAQ'S-Info)(I have a New Post there), then I took it to a Rock Show and showed it around but nobody could definitively tell me what it was, one guy who thought he was a know-it-all, just weighed it in his hand, never, NEVER LOOKED AT IT, said it was BOG IRON. I was not impressed. So I gave up on it and put it in my sample cabinet. Now I'm back to it and have done all of the Tests on it and it has passed with Flying Colors of it being a 6 oz. Platinum Nugget. Yes, it's Magnetic....Native Platinum is NEVER PURE, there's always IMPURITIES, including Iron. I have even put NITRIC ACID on top of the Rock with NO REACTION WHATSOEVER.......This might go to my assayer....There's pictures of the other post on the Meteorite FAQ'S...So if this does turn out to be one, it's a BIG BOY, cause I read where the Largest one found was supposedly in the MotherLode at 2 lbs., but that couldn't be sustantiated, Nevada Outback Gems say's the Largest found in the U.S. was 1/2 ounce...mmmmmmmm, confusing...If my partner's rock is one (his is larger), both were found within feet of where I found the Platinum Strike...Darrell

 

[ecmjamsit]

Find somebody, probably a precious metals dealer that has an X-ray flourescence machine, and have them test it. The machine looks like a microwave oven. Takes a few seconds to test...if you take to an assayer, you might not get the sample back. Maybe the assayer has an XRF machine.

 

[HappyTrails55]

Thankyou ecmjamsit, that's some good advice...so I took it and sent a email note to a local GeoTech Engineering Firm this morning...Time Tells All...It's a Waiting Game.......THANKYOU......Darrell

 

[HappyTrails55]

Nothing yet on the XRF, but now I'm a thinking about these Electronic Testers. From my understanding on the XRF Spectrometers, the instruments analyze powder dust particles from the sample, I read a post from a guy using these electronic testers and he said it works on nuggets as well. I wanted to add a note in here about this nugget, it seems that on both sides of the rock the crystalizations have microscopic (using my watchmaker magnifyer) inclusions of Green Crystals of which I believe is either Peridotite or Sperrylite or Both. I found a old Report from http://archive.org/stream/californiajourna31cali/californiajourna31cali_djvu.txt , scroll all the way down to find the Platinum found east of Santa Margarita, in Peridotite...Analyzing my rock, little, tiny, dinky Red Crystals abound throughout the rock, both in the crystal structure and as well in the metal, these apparently are "PALAGONITE", volcanics. Let the rock soak in Hydrogen Peroxide, started foaming in bubbles immediately, good reaction, yet nothing dissovled off of it...Darrell

 

[HappyTrails55]

Page 434 on that report.....Darrell

 

[C99]

Nice one.Good luck. My only platinum nugget also has a slight pull on a very strong 30kg magnet.It is tiny though compared to yours.Good digging to you.It will be nice to see a photo of the nugget and shale.