The truth about Micron Gold

[coyotegal]

I have been a rockhound for most of my life after spending my early years in Florence Junction. (where rockhounding was the ONLY thing to do..) I've always been interested in the various stories related to the LDM and his lost gold. Recently I became interested in prospecting and have begun to 'test' various areas. During the first few months, I found nothing at all that even came close to looking like gold. I just kept learning to pan with my 'test' dirt and still had alot of fun. I had ordered a little X 65 magnifying scope to look at jewelry and realized one day, it would be way cool to check out the black sands with my scope. Was I ever suprised to see a couple of tiny 'nuggets' through the scope. I checked some black sands I had saved from the earliest days and was suprised to find a few tiny nuggets there. Then I checked all the different sands I had saved and found some of them had this tiny gold. I've read many times that you will know when you see real gold for the first time and I'll be darned but if that isn't the truth! The tiny little nugs look like nothing I have ever seen before....But there wasn't much. Not enough to make me consider trying to collect it...
Now, when I say tiny nuggets, I mean these little nugs are virtually invisible to the naked eye, but they do sparkle a color from time to time and they are so pretty in the microscope..lol
Anyway, that set me to thinking. So I started taking 'samples' in all kinds of places and was truly suprised to find that every sample I tested had a tiny bit of this tiny gold.
So the research began. I have spent countless hours learning about this tiny gold. It's proper name is Micron Gold. Not sure if it is the same thing as flour gold, but I'm thinking, not.

One of the samples I checked out had loads of this tiny gold in it. I was mesmerized and decided right then I was going to gather some of this stuff together and play with it for a while.

So that's what I've been doing for several months. Information related to Micron Gold and recovery of, is limited on the internet, and I imagine that's because not that many people deal with it. There are many reasons not to.... probably gads more than reasons to... but I have had a lot of fun with it so far and it's cool to look at when it's cleaned up... err.. as cleaned up as I can get it that is..
Thing is, there are so many different beliefs about everything micron gold, that it's mind boggling!

Since I started trying to figure out how to deal with the stuff, I have learned about classifying and screen mesh sizes, and read about smelting and mercury usage... I tried every which way to sunday to pan the last of the little stuff away from the gold, but no matter what I do, nothing works. I have yet to try the blue bowl (which I can probably, maybe afford..lol) I did buy a mini sluice but found my panning to work better in this instance and since I have no clue how to set the water so it doesn't push all the gold into the water.

The gold is so tiny... I classified it down to 100 and it went right through that. I couldn't find any smaller screens so I got on ebay and bought some 200, 300 and 400 mesh 4 X 6 squares and then made stackable mini screens out of used cat food cans... (go ahead... laugh... but I had to see if that would help). Needless to say, not sure that it helped.. heck, I don't even know what I'm doing, but I have some cool little screens if I ever figure it out...

Ultimately, I have found that I can pan it down to where there is mostly gold, some quartz, some other purple sulfide type rock and these tiny, tiny little purple or red and sometimes blue metallic spheres. They are even smaller than the smallest gold but they seem to cling to each other and though the earth magnet takes most of them away with the black sand, some just are not magnetic. I don't know what they are but they sure stick around the gold.

Several days ago, I was introduced to an old timer who smelts gold and has experience in prospecting. He looked at my little vial of concentrate and said, "bring me about this much in a little coffee jar and I'll put some heat to it." I asked him if he thought it was gold and he said it 'sure was'. Which leads me to the reason for my post...

Is there anyone out there who is collecting micron gold. What methods do you use to clean it? Do you have any pics of it Does anyone know the truth, The whole truth and nothing but the truth about Micron Gold

Thanks for reading my ramblings...

Heres my slideshow from pics I took using a tablet camera and my mini scope...

 

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[goldenIrishman]

Good post and an interesting question C.G. Here in Arid-zona there is a lot more gold than most people realize and a lot of it is of the micron type. One thing you may or may not know is that a LOT of the fine gold is covered with an oxide that will keep you from seeing it for what it is unless you can remove it. The easiest way I've found to get rid of this coating is the "Shake & Bake" method which is detailed out here.... http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/414581-shake-bake-processing.html It's not hard to do and I think you will be surprised at how much more gold you find in the micron size range if you give it a try.

As far as getting the gold out of the last bit of sand goes, I use a mercury amalgamation process. It's not hard to do but it does require some special equipment to recover the mercury in a safe way. You can get everything you need to do it correctly from A&B Prospecting in Mesa. Read up on the process and then go back and read it again to be sure you understand the procedure and safety requirements. California is still suffering from the old timers sloppy use of mercury during the gold rush and we don't want to have that problem here in Arizona. Mercury can also have some serious effects on the human body so use your safety gear at all times and follow the procedure to the letter.

 

[Teenagegoldminer]

Good post and an interesting question C.G. Here in Arid-zona there is a lot
more gold than most people realize and a lot of it is of the micron type. One thing you may or may not know
is that a LOT of the fine gold is covered with an oxide that will keep you from seeing it for what it is unless you can remove it. The easiest way I've found to get rid of this coating is the "Shake & Bake" method which is detailed out here.... http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/414581-shake-bake-processing.html It's not hard to do and I think you will be surprised at how much more gold you find in the micron size range if you give it a try.

As far as getting the gold out of the last bit of sand goes, I use a mercury amalgamation process. It's not hard to do but it does require some special equipment to recover the mercury in a safe way. You can get everything you need to do it correctly from A&B Prospecting in Mesa. Read up on the process and then go back and read it again to be sure you understand the procedure and safety requirements. California is still suffering from the old timers sloppy use of mercury during the gold rush and we don't want to have that problem here in Arizona. Mercury can also have some serious effects on the human body so use your safety gear at all times and follow the procedure to the letter.

So are you by any chance ricky bobby? Cause shake n bake

 

[MinerFortyNiner1952]

Can you see loose pieces of micron gold with the naked eye or is it invisible unless you either have a pile of it or some sort of microscope?

 

[el padron]

I have been a rockhound for most of my life after spending my early years in Florence Junction. (where rockhounding was the ONLY thing to do..) I've always been interested in the various stories related to the LDM and his lost gold. Recently I became interested in prospecting and have begun to 'test' various areas. During the first few months, I found nothing at all that even came close to looking like gold. I just kept learning to pan with my 'test' dirt and still had alot of fun. I had ordered a little X 65 magnifying scope to look at jewelry and realized one day, it would be way cool to check out the black sands with my scope. Was I ever suprised to see a couple of tiny 'nuggets' through the scope. I checked some black sands I had saved from the earliest days and was suprised to find a few tiny nuggets there. Then I checked all the different sands I had saved and found some of them had this tiny gold. I've read many times that you will know when you see real gold for the first time and I'll be darned but if that isn't the truth! The tiny little nugs look like nothing I have ever seen before....But there wasn't much. Not enough to make me consider trying to collect it...
Now, when I say tiny nuggets, I mean these little nugs are virtually invisible to the naked eye, but they do sparkle a color from time to time and they are so pretty in the microscope..lol
Anyway, that set me to thinking. So I started taking 'samples' in all kinds of places and was truly suprised to find that every sample I tested had a tiny bit of this tiny gold.
So the research began. I have spent countless hours learning about this tiny gold. It's proper name is Micron Gold. Not sure if it is the same thing as flour gold, but I'm thinking, not.

One of the samples I checked out had loads of this tiny gold in it. I was mesmerized and decided right then I was going to gather some of this stuff together and play with it for a while.

So that's what I've been doing for several months. Information related to Micron Gold and recovery of, is limited on the internet, and I imagine that's because not that many people deal with it. There are many reasons not to.... probably gads more than reasons to... but I have had a lot of fun with it so far and it's cool to look at when it's cleaned up... err.. as cleaned up as I can get it that is..
Thing is, there are so many different beliefs about everything micron gold, that it's mind boggling!

Since I started trying to figure out how to deal with the stuff, I have learned about classifying and screen mesh sizes, and read about smelting and mercury usage... I tried every which way to sunday to pan the last of the little stuff away from the gold, but no matter what I do, nothing works. I have yet to try the blue bowl (which I can probably, maybe afford..lol) I did buy a mini sluice but found my panning to work better in this instance and since I have no clue how to set the water so it doesn't push all the gold into the water.

The gold is so tiny... I classified it down to 100 and it went right through that. I couldn't find any smaller screens so I got on ebay and bought some 200, 300 and 400 mesh 4 X 6 squares and then made stackable mini screens out of used cat food cans... (go ahead... laugh... but I had to see if that would help). Needless to say, not sure that it helped.. heck, I don't even know what I'm doing, but I have some cool little screens if I ever figure it out...

Ultimately, I have found that I can pan it down to where there is mostly gold, some quartz, some other purple sulfide type rock and these tiny, tiny little purple or red and sometimes blue metallic spheres. They are even smaller than the smallest gold but they seem to cling to each other and though the earth magnet takes most of them away with the black sand, some just are not magnetic. I don't know what they are but they sure stick around the gold.

Several days ago, I was introduced to an old timer who smelts gold and has experience in prospecting. He looked at my little vial of concentrate and said, "bring me about this much in a little coffee jar and I'll put some heat to it." I asked him if he thought it was gold and he said it 'sure was'. Which leads me to the reason for my post...

Is there anyone out there who is collecting micron gold. What methods do you use to clean it? Do you have any pics of it Does anyone know the truth, The whole truth and nothing but the truth about Micron Gold

Thanks for reading my ramblings...

Heres my slideshow from pics I took using a tablet camera and my mini scope...

The problem is that gold just doesn't have enough value, 'its just too darn cheap……...

This is a very interesting post in that I've often read that gold is actually present almost everywhere in minute quantities.

Ocean seawater for instance has a uniform quantity in it and I would imagine filtering it out would certainly be an easier process then achieving nuclear fusion.

 

[coyotegal]

Can you see loose pieces of micron gold with the naked eye or is it invisible unless you either have a pile of it or some sort of microscope?

Most of it can not be seen with the naked eye, though once in a while I run across some you can actually barely see. I have two scopes I got off ebay for a couple of bucks. A x65 and a x100. I can see the gold with either, but mostly use the x100. Thats how I accidentally found the micron gold in the first place.

 

[coyotegal]

The problem is that gold just doesn't have enough value, 'its just too darn cheap……...

This is a very interesting post in that I've often read that gold is actually present almost everywhere in minute quantities.

Ocean seawater for instance has a uniform quantity in it and I would imagine filtering it out would certainly be an easier process then achieving nuclear fusion.

I actually panned some dirt from my front and back yard and found a little in there as well... I checked some more out from an area aprox. 50 miles from where I live and didn't find a spec... so now I have to keep sampling dirt just because it is interesting to think about....
Out of all the samples I have looked at the one I have been working with has way, way way more micron gold in it than any other sample I have taken to date. Only one other had any notable amount and I've done at least 20 or more....

Also, I've read that on several different sites, that it's just not worth it, BUT THEN, I have also read in several other places, that there is money to be made by it. I can say for myself that I have no clue as to my concentrates value at the moment, but am planning on having it assayed next week and then I can say whether it is worth it or not, at least for me.

On a different note, I read at How Much Gold is There? Physical and Chemical Properties of Gold that occurrence of gold in the earth's crust = .005 parts per million and that a metric tonne (equals 1,000kg) of gold has a volume of 51,762 cubic centimeters, equivalent to a cube with sides of only 37.27cm -- approx. only 1' 3''.
Keeping that in mind, I look at my concentrate and I think, then how is this possible. For it to have as much gold as appears, it has to be a pretty sweet spot. Then again, I'm no expert on gold....
I know I have classified it (and I'm no expert on classification either...) to 100 mesh and I hand panned it until what was left in the pan would no longer separate. I look at it with my scope and I see a lot of tiny nuggets. I see a lot of purple bb's and a bit of quartz and whatever the dull purple fragments are.. But what percentage of gold is there in my concentrate? (And my concentrates have as much black sand removed as possible) That's what I need to know and will find out soon......but TBH not sure if I really want to know...lol right now it's all good fun anyhow!

 

[Fullpan]

I can see you have fun learning, whether its profitable or not. Here's a couple links to "micron gold mining" in the Carlin trend in Nevada. As you can see, its very profitable on a huge scale there, but probably not for the mom-and-pop crowd.

Carlin Trend - Mining Technology



The North America Region | Newmont Mining Corporation

 

[coyotegal]

Good post and an interesting question C.G. Here in Arid-zona there is a lot more gold than most people realize and a lot of it is of the micron type. One thing you may or may not know is that a LOT of the fine gold is covered with an oxide that will keep you from seeing it for what it is unless you can remove it. The easiest way I've found to get rid of this coating is the "Shake & Bake" method which is detailed out here.... http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/414581-shake-bake-processing.html It's not hard to do and I think you will be surprised at how much more gold you find in the micron size range if you give it a try.

As far as getting the gold out of the last bit of sand goes, I use a mercury amalgamation process. It's not hard to do but it does require some special equipment to recover the mercury in a safe way. You can get everything you need to do it correctly from A&B Prospecting in Mesa. Read up on the process and then go back and read it again to be sure you understand the procedure and safety requirements. California is still suffering from the old timers sloppy use of mercury during the gold rush and we don't want to have that problem here in Arizona. Mercury can also have some serious effects on the human body so use your safety gear at all times and follow the procedure to the letter.

I read your shake and bake article and am going to give that a try.. and I totally agree with you about the mercury. I have read a lot of material about mercury amalgamation and how to do it and researched the dangers and I hope to be able to purchase the equipment at some point, but that won't be for a while. Definitely must have a retort and safety gear. I'm a firm believer in safety first and I care deeply about our world and it's environment.

Thanks for the advice and the article. Cant wait to try it!

 

[coyotegal]

I can see you have fun learning, whether its profitable or not. Here's a couple links to "micron gold mining" in the Carlin trend in Nevada. As you can see, its very profitable on a huge scale there, but probably not for the mom-and-pop crowd.

Carlin Trend - Mining Technology



The North America Region | Newmont Mining Corporation

I do enjoy learning... Too bad not so much as a kid.. It seems the older I get, the more I feel I want to know. As for the micron gold being profitable, it would be nice to make a few bucks on it from time to time. Even if I have to gather it for a year or two and cash in to make a couple hundred, that would be fine. I started prospecting for the exercise but since I found the micron gold, I haven't gotten the exercise I had planned on so if it's not at all profitable, I'll probably drop it and start prospecting for bigger nugs... :0) Going to check out your links now.. thanks!

 

[Fullpan]

BTW - having a sample assayed FOR FUN is ok, but do not infer any possible profit from it. You are sending off a very high-grade sample, which in no way reflects the true value of dirt you originally dug.

 

[aarthrj3811]

Cleaning your cons

I pan and remove all the gold you can see and bring everything else home. I screen every thing with 25, 50, 100 200 mesh keeping them in separate buckets. I save the plus 25 mesh for later if my rods show that there is gold in it. I then soak the cons with vinegar ( it's cheap at Sam's Club.) for three days stirring it when ever I think of it.

I run it thought the blue bowl starting with the 25 mesh lowering the water level for each size collecting the gold as I go. I now have all the cons back in one bucket. I now take my hot plate outside ( the heat range dial goes from 1-7 and I have it at 3 1/2 ) and using a pyrex bowl dry it and dump each batch into a tub of cold water ( cracks the cons )

The next step I used a cement mixer when I was getting large amounts of cons from my big Dredges but now I use a rock tumbler. I put each batch in the tumbler with 4 half inch stainless steel ball bearings and turn it for two days ( more or less ) then add Mercury for another day. When I have all the cons back in a bucket I go back to the Blue Bowl.


I run it at a high water level and then at the lowest water level collecting the gold-mercury in snuffer bottles saving all the black sand. I pour all the gold-mercury into a newer pan ( the least amount of scratches ) working it with a small amount of water to bring all the mercury together taking the black sand out as I go. Using PLASTIC GLOVES I put a piece of fine silk over a pan and pour the gold-mercury into it. Grabbing the silk by the sides you can squish the excess mercury out of the silk saving the mercury for next year. You now dump the stuff in the silk into your pyrex bowl.

I then load my PU. I take a potable generator, hot plate, jugs of water, Soda, gold-mercury, saftey mask, Nitric acid and the remaining black sand and go to a friends 20 acres of isolated land. I set everything up, start the generator, put on my mask, pour the nitric acid into the bowl and walk away for a 1/2 hour. When I return I fill the bowl with water and soda and let it cool. I pour the water into a safe container and collect my gold. I then dry all the black sand to burn off any mercury that may be on it.

This is a long process but when it's raining and cold I set in the garage with a heater and drink a few beers while I run the blue bowl. My rods show me that there is still some gold in the black sand so I will crush it and start over.

 

[Fullpan]

That's the best description of the process I've heard in a few years. Thanks for posting, aart ...

 

[KevinInColorado]

Aart, do you later recover the mercury from the nitric acid? (I hope!)

FYI to others, that is fairly easy from what I've read, you suspend a piece of aluminum in the nitric with part of the metal above the surface of the acid. The Merc will come out of solution and collect on the aluminum.

 

[aarthrj3811]

Aart, do you later recover the mercury from the nitric acid? (I hope!)

FYI to others, that is fairly easy from what I've read, you suspend a piece of aluminum in the nitric with part of the metal above the surface of the acid. The Merc will come out of solution and collect on the aluminum.

I tried a few different ways....None of them worked but if you squish the stuff through a piece of silk you don’t use much...For a lot of years before they put limits on Dredging I had a 12 inch dredge...My best year of collecting micro gold was a little over 3 ½ pounds

 

[chlsbrns]

Dont do anything with mercury unless you read it in a scientific paper. Forums are full of good and bad information. The problem is that you dont know what info is good/bad!

For example... Roasting black sands... The heat combined with oxygen will cause the sulphide coating on gold to evaporate. You will smell a rotten egg smell. Dumping the hot sands in water does nothing except cool the sands. It doesnt help to recover more gold. It's most important to stir the sands while hot to expose the sands to oxygen.

I know that 10% nitric will put mercury into solution. A copper plate will recover the mercury/take the mercury out of solution & stick to the copper plate. Stronger than 10% will put the copper into solution/dissolve the copper.

I wont post the process that I use because if you use too much of either ingredient it could be dangerous. When done correctly Its a simple safe means to collect gold from black sands down to nanometer sized particles. You mix the ingredients with the sands, add water and let it sit for a few hours. The sands do not have to be roasted. The sands bubble in the container and collect gold in the mercury in the bottom of the container. The mercury stays clean. It doesnt spoil or become floured. The waste water is eco friendly! It can be poured down the drain and will actually help keep the drain pipes clean and fresh.

If you filter the mercury thru any fabric any gold smaller than the fabric passes thru the fabric with the mercury.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Not trying to hijack C.G.s' thread here but PLEASE tell me aart that when you say "burn off the Mercury" you're talking about in a retort!!!!! There is already enough mercury that has escaped into the world over the years thanks to miners and the last thing we need is another excuse for the "greenies" to give us a hard time. we are just starting to make some headway in our fight against the "Greenies" and don't need any bad press thanks to blatant release of a toxin like mercury into the environment.

Liquid mercury is bad enough but mercury vapor is much worse from a health standpoint.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Nothing wrong with preaching safety when handling chemicals Nitric!!!! If we can make someone thing twice and read the safety materials three times it could just save them from serious harm. I was a lab tech and was trained on how to do this kind of stuff and safety is a good thing in my book. I've seen what can happen when someone doesn't follow procedures either because they didn't know them or just didn't care. The people injured were NOT always the one that messed up!!!!

Like most miners that have been at this for some time, I've got my secret methods that I don't share. in most cases I don't share them because I don't want anyone trying to take short cuts and ending up dead or in a hospital.

 

[chlsbrns]

Not trying to hijack C.G.s' thread here but PLEASE tell me aart that when you say "burn off the Mercury" you're talking about in a retort!!!!! There is already enough mercury that has escaped into the world over the years thanks to miners and the last thing we need is another excuse for the "greenies" to give us a hard time. we are just starting to make some headway in our fight against the "Greenies" and don't need any bad press thanks to blatant release of a toxin like mercury into the environment.

Liquid mercury is bad enough but mercury vapor is much worse from a health standpoint.

Shake & bake aka Roasting is also a serious pollutant.

Smelting and Roasting Ores to recover gold, silver and other metals

Over the years, a number of small scale miners have sought to treat small lots of ore by burning off the sulfur as sulfur dioxide in the open air. Unfortunately, sulfur dioxide is rather pungent and offensive stuff. It's a serious air pollutant it can be toxic if you get a real heavy wiff. If you start choking and coughing, that's a real good sign you're getting too much. As if that's not enough, any arsenic in the ore will be vaporized and emitted as poisonous arsenic trioxide – and those are some very toxic air pollution fumes. This is a concern because Arsenic is actually very common in many gold ores. Selenium, mercury and other toxic elements are also found in many high sulfide gold and silver ores as well. To roast sulfide ores, it takes a good red heat and a good amount of air, but not too hot as you don't want to melt them. As previously noted, materials that have been crushed to small sizes reacts better with the oxygen in the air. Don’t seal up the material, as it needs to have access to air for the oxygen to react with the sulfur. Even if you get everything right and you're successful, the stink will probably cause the neighbors to call the police on you! That's why I can't recommend “at home” roasting methods to small miners - I think you would find it a potentially dangerous process.

 

[aarthrj3811]

Not trying to hijack C.G.s' thread here but PLEASE tell me aart that when you say "burn off the Mercury" you're talking about in a retort!!!!! There is already enough mercury that has escaped into the world over the years thanks to miners and the last thing we need is another excuse for the "greenies" to give us a hard time. we are just starting to make some headway in our fight against the "Greenies" and don't need any bad press thanks to blatant release of a toxin like mercury into the environment.

Liquid mercury is bad enough but mercury vapor is much worse from a health standpoint.

Sorry some of you don’t like my methods...Mercury is a natural element...and it is liquid..You can find it in most rivers a streams...If it gets into your nozzle shut down and clean ever thing as it will rob you...If you read about your air quality it is mostly dust...
Micro gold can be found in cities also....Just look in your gutters along the street..Also look in those corrugated pipes running under roads..Art