Nervous New Member

[Fuzar]

Hello, my mind has been reeling for about 3 or 4 weeks now. I am a total greenhorn that found what I think is gold in the rocks on my property. I was transplanting a tree from the woods and noticed gold in a nearby rock. So I decided to finally get to the end of this gold question. You see, I've been busting up rocks to maintain my driveway for years, I kept seeing gold and kept telling myself it's just fools gold. But this one was driving me to find some answers. So I went back to where I found it and started raking back the leaves. A very large percentage had gold in them so I brought them inside and cleaned them up. Then I went to researching online thinking I will figure out that it is fool's gold and move on with my life. So found out about the scratch test and the crush test. The majority of samples passed as gold. Stick with me here it get better. So I spend days reading about gold, geology, mining, assaying, refining, so on and so forth, trying to keep my sanity. Well the neighbor calls on Christmas Eve saying he was in my backyard with an excavator and he had time to dig my koi pond hole. Then he asked didn't I want to dig out part of a hillside so I could drive down to the creek. It was getting dark and he did a good bit with a little headlight on the excavator and I was so thankful. Christmas day I couldn't wait to check out my new cut so I could drive down to the creek. I get there and every rock he dug up is golden. I Start washing rocks off and gold everywhere, I hauled wheelbarrows loads up the steep grade until I was afraid my heart would give out. Now my problem is I have to get back and gather up what is on the ground because anyone trekking around will surely see it all and get gold fever. I am really in need of advice but not quite sure where to start. I know this is a rare find if it's truly gold and I am confident it is. It's in the graphite schist with quartz, in just quartz, it's even in between the layers of mica. Most of it is in very fine sheets and flakes like gold leaf. I always discounted the thought of it being gold because I never found a good 'nugget'. Any advice on what my next steps should be?

 

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[Fuzar]

 

[DizzyDigger]

Welcome to the site Fuzar..

First question that comes to mind is, have you crushed any of
those rocks and panned out the material?

That will be the final determining factor as to if your rocks contain
gold.

Next question is, can you legally mine the gold there?

 

[Bodfish Mike]

Ok I'll bite -- you should become a fiction writer as your story is good -- I will buy one of your books if you publish.
Cheers Mike

 

[Fuzar]

 

[Fuzar]

Without giving an exact location, I'll say this is all found in the Bravard fault zone near the Georgia/Alabama state line.

 

[Fuzar]

I did crush and panned it out, as a newbie to panning alot went down the drain but plenty was left. I plan to crush up a larger quantity and try a real pan made for panning gold. I suspect mining would be legal.

 

[Fuzar]

Sorry Mike, you'll have to stay thirsty for the fiction.

 

[Fuzar]

I think my next steps are to find some expert opinions. I looked up a university professor who teaches a geology course on "Megascopic recognition of specimens". Then I guess I will have to figure out the assaying process. Can anyone tell me anything about assaying, i.e. cost and any recommendations?

 

[SportsmanAll]

It shouldn’t be too hard to find out if it’s gold. Panning it will answer that question. Gold is extremely heavy compared to pyrite (fools gold) at the bottom of that pan should be undeniable heavy gold. If it’s all light material, no gold.

 

[Underburden]

I did crush and panned it out, as a newbie to panning alot went down the drain but plenty was left. I plan to crush up a larger quantity and try a real pan made for panning gold. I suspect mining would be legal. View attachment 1784375 View attachment 1784379

Don't quit your day job

 

[brianc053]

Fuzar, there are a lot of minerals that look like gold - mica, pyrite, etc.
I'm sorry, but what I'm seeing in your pictures looks like one of those.
I realize you said you did the scratch and crush tests, but you also said that you're new to this ("...total greenhorn...") so - how sure are you that you did those test properly?
Have you ever panned actual gold (like from a pay dirt bag? There are many of us who can suggest legit sites where you can buy pay dirt to practice with). By comparing with actual gold in pay dirt from a known legit seller you could see how your material compares to real gold. (I've done this and learned a lot through this process over the last 5 or 6 years).

Then there's always an assay test in a certified lab that can be performed. If you really think that you have "...gold everywhere....wheelbarrows loads..." then the right way to know how much value you have in your material is to perform an assay. (I've never done this but some of the more serious miners on this website have and can tell you more).

Fuzar, we don't mind reading your account of the situation where you live, but know that most of us on here take this pretty seriously (even when you're like me and gold prospect/mine as a recreational hobby) so you're going to get pretty blunt responses. You won't get too many people that will "blow smoke" as they say.
Good luck to you, and frankly I hope you do have "...gold everywhere..." and "...wheelbarrows loads...". But I have to say that I have my doubts.
- Brian

 

[Fuzar]

I genuinely appreciate your reply, I expected the doubters, and being mature person who struggles for truth in every area of my life, I know my opinion is just subjective and prone to inaccuracy due to wishful thinking. I keep trying to walk away from this, searching for answers. I started wanting objective truth, in many ways desiring it to be the many types of pyrite, some of which have been found on my small acreage. But the more I learn about the little field test and do them then my mind is troubled with another win for the gold column. If I could satisfactorly identify it as ironpyrite, arsenopyrite or chalcopyrite it would be wonderful to free my mind of the worry. So for me to not pursue this could very well make me fool. I desire truth, I fully understand 99.99% of gold inquiries are fools gold. This is why I searched for where can gold be found , can it be found in graphite schist, quartz and mica. Yes
There are other clues that very early settlers or native Americans might have been involved in prospecting close by. (Yards away)I found a very old and crude piece of angle iron in the creek. I collected it and as it dried it disintegrated into powder and iron flakes with tiny balls of gold iintedispered. My guess is at one time a blacksmith made iron parts while refining gold. Just could have been there for the pure water springs that flow continuously or European explore looking for gold, who knows. But I am a fool to walk away without aknowing.., particularly if it is gold.
I do the field test suggested and then I get doubter.I can't really the folks I might possibly need going forward on crush, scratch ,pan. Maybe enough backing for an certified scientific assay. There will be lots to consider at each step. I am satisfied with the results of the scratch-crunch-pan. So now to find some pros with credentials. I know recovering from different minerals is expensive, so well have to try and approximate the potential by taking more samples in the area. I came here just hoping for a little advice. Particularly about assayers and what it cost per sample etc.
I'll post more even if they laugh and call me a foolish greenhorn. No harm done.

 

[Clay Diggins]

All I see is mica schist. I don't see any visual clues for gold. Your crushed and panned material looks like mica. Mica schist is fairly common and the area you are in is well known for it's mica schist.

That being said there is a slight possibility of gold associated with mica schist. Gold is much rarer than mica but without some volume assays there is no way to tell if there is any gold in your mica schist. A single fire assay is about $40 - $50. That would be the place to start if you suspect there might be gold in with your mica deposit.

A lot of interesting minerals are associated with mica schist. Keep looking and you might find something more valuable than gold. (Beryl, Sapphire, Garnet, Emerald and etc.)

Heavy Pans

 

[Rookster]

Uh this is not hard stuff. A place to have fun. Don’t be too hard on your self. Drop by the RCT thread. I think we can help get you started in a he right direction. And welcome.

 

[Goldwasher]

Not gold.

Schist rock. Depending on contacts there could be gold nearby.

What is an RCT thread?

 

[angelito1]

welcome to tnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

[wilcam47]

View attachment 1784361

looks like mica to me...

 

[No gold in NY]

Not gold.

Schist rock. Depending on contacts there could be gold nearby.

What is an RCT thread?

Must be some text abbreviation.

 

[Clay Diggins]

What is an RCT thread?

Not sure you really want the answer? Sometimes things are best left alone. But you may enjoy The Random Chat Thread.

Heavy Chats