turquoise blue semi hard clay nodules in gravel?

[HeavyMetalThunder]

Was test panning a gravel bar in a creek in Colorado last summer and was getting little turquoise blue colored clay "balls" about the size and shape of a quails egg...they where blue all the way through, semi soft like dried clay...sorry no pics...heavy black sands in creek was finding iron and copper pyrites in rock samples...was just exploring and wasn't digging down to bedrock...didn't keep any to test but suspect they where copper mineralized...

Anyone else find such turquoise blue clay nodules in gravel and was any gold around?

 

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[Reed Lukens]

View attachment Blue Clay.bmp View attachment Snapshot(0).bmp
Yep with gold in the picture if you look close. Or watch the series - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL34DA41102B4C46D3

 

[Hoser John]

More places than I care to count. Blue cut map shows some of the major areas-John

 

[goldenmojo]

We all get our share of it. This area actually had some gold in the outer layer of it. Other slimy mucky blue clay I have found is nothing but a mess. Lots of times it will border rusty mucky brown clay.

 

[arizau]

Maybe mold it into bowls, etc. stick into a kiln and see if it comes out as gold glazed pottery. By the way, what they said above.

 

[goldenmojo]

Maybe mold it into bowls, etc. stick into a kiln and see if it comes out as gold glazed pottery....

I would but I do not want to be referred to as the man with blue bowls....

 

[HeavyMetalThunder]

Maybe mold it into bowls, etc. stick into a kiln and see if it comes out as gold glazed pottery. By the way, what they said above.

Well I don't need any bowls...but getting low on coffee cups (had the handles on 2 cups just plumb fall off this week!) ...will a spiral gold concentrating wheel if ran horizontally substitute as a pottery wheel?

 

[benny]

I'm wondering whether or not that might have been iron oxide that's been reduced by anarobic critters, or some chemical reaction. Is it surrounded by red clay?

 

[goldenmojo]

What I have found is it is in pockets and large layers

 

[GrizzlyGremlin]

Hey Heavy Metal. I got you on this. I work as a soil technician in Denver. That clay is respectfully called Colorado Blue!
Its a revealing material. If you were in the mountains west of Denver and found this I'd do some sniffing. If you found blue clay in the mountains that has formed a "hardpan" there should be some gold on it. If the clay was just found in your dirt, I'd move. Clay within strata gravels means the dirt was moved recently, and most likely won't have great values.
Also blue clay minerals were found close to silver deposits.
Also if you are finding fresh metalic pyrites, or other sulfide minerals in your dirt I'd move as well. Unoxidized sulfide minerals usually point again towards the dirt being young.
The best thing you can find is gravels that appear to be rock. Hardpack knitted gravels are old, and usually have the GOODS!!

 

[HeavyMetalThunder]

Good info...Yup west of Denver...

 

[Aufisher]

The few times I have found it "blue clay, nice pay"