Did I find Platinum flakes in quartz?

[PANMAN]

It is a shiny metal of some type.
It bends and will not break and it will not bend back unless you bend it back.
It fizzes when you place it in hydrogen peroxide and dish soap mixed @ 50/50.
It conducts electricity and lites a light bulb when doing a continuity test.
It doesn't melt at 1200 degrees.
It doesn't tarnish even after being at 1200 degrees it stays shiny.

 

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[DJ_Quinn]

Could be, but I would have it assayed.

 

[PANMAN]

It also leaves a grey streak with what looks like glitter in it.

 

[DJ_Quinn]

Okay, to remove it from the quartz, try this:

Put the entire quartz in a charcoal fire, a barbeque or fir pit will do the job. Depending on how hot it gets, leave it in to temper the quartz. About 10-15 mins in a hot fire with glowing charcoal should do it. Let it cool for about 2 mins and them submerge it in water. The quartz will now be brittle and you can pulverise the quartz using a hammer or other implement to extract the metal. Take the pulverized material and pan out the metal, (paltinum?). Good luck. I'm going to collect some gold bearing quartz in a few weeks and I will use this same technique to extract the gold.

 

[PANMAN]

I already have many flakes outside of the quartz.
Does platinum leave a gray streak like graphite??

 

[Ant]

From what I understand platinum is not very common and is only mined in a few places. I think Canada and South Africa are on the short list. Most of it comes in the form of ore. The platinum in ore form is normally invisible to the necked eye.

It should be easy to determine if you have platinum because its heaver than gold. If you can see what you suspect is platinum in your specimen all you have to do is crush a specimen up and then pan it out. The platinum should be the last thing in the pan. Another thing, I don’t think platinum sparkles like glitter; it has more of a luster like gold.

Platinum is also non reactive to most chemicals, same a gold too, but better.

Look at this, it might be what you have, "Iron Pyrite":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrite

HH

 

[DJ_Quinn]

I was thinking iron pyrite as well as it is often found in quartz. The good news is that if you find iron pyrite, or fool's gold, deposited in quartz then there is usually real gold nearby. And panman, I don't know about leaving a grey streak but I have some platinum wire that i'll have a look at. What sort of surface are you striking it against? A jewelers stone?

 

[PANMAN]

Just rubbing it on plain white copy paper against a flat surface.

 

[DJ_Quinn]

Here's a quick test. Scrape a "platinum" fleck out of the quartz or off of the piece you've already removed. Take the fleck suspected of being platinum and gently bite it. If it flakes--you've got Pyrite. If it bends--you may have platinum.

 

[PANMAN]

It is a shiny metal of some type.
It bends and will not break and it will not bend back unless you bend it back.
It fizzes when you place it in hydrogen peroxide and dish soap mixed @ 50/50.
It conducts electricity and lites a light bulb when doing a continuity test.
It doesn't melt at 1200 degrees.
It doesn't tarnish even after being at 1200 degrees it stays shiny.

 

[DJ_Quinn]

Interesting. You don't have pyrite. Pyrite burns.
You can find out the density of the item by weighing it in air and in water. The density of platinum is 21.45g/cc.
Also, a simple scratch test can be done for platinum. If you have a scratch test kit, check the instructions for testing platinum or get a new test kit that includes the platinum test pin. The scratch test kits are available from most of the larger jewelers supply houses.

BTW, how much of it do you have?

 

[PANMAN]

don't know most of it is still locked up in the quartz.

 

[Chris in BC]

You will not find Platinum in Quartz. Platinum is hard as well and will not leave a streak on paper at all no matter how hard you press, it sounds carbon based.

 

[PANMAN]

I found this stuff with my metal detector. Is Molybdenite a metal?

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HOLA Pan: Have fun'

Tropical Tramp

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

self explanitory

Tropical Tramp

 

[PANMAN]

Auburn University informed me it is Molybdenite. Now what can this tell me about associated minerals

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Too lazy to type it sooo

 

[PANMAN]

Doesn't say what other minerals are associated with it.