Gold in Quartz

[BChapman]

We found gold on our property in NC last week. We tested it a few ways and have confirmed it is gold. People in geology say to keep it natural though we have enough to do that and extract though the more I read on extraction the more I think I need to find a commercial piece of equipment, are the any processing places in the SE or FL?

 

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[BChapman]

Wet close up, press in one spot with a dental pick and left a circular impression.

 

[OneWetKnee]

I can tell from looking at it that it is gold and not pyrite. Im going to say congrats on that find! Now stake a claim and follow that quartz vein. follow the fracture Happy Mining!

 

[Army of 1]

Nice looking Ore , Gold in your backyard , can't beat that , congrats . cheers Mick

 

[niffler]

Rockhound and lapidary hobby People can cut gold in quartz and make nice jewelry items. I have seen some really nice jewelry made this way. Nice and valuable finds, congratulations.

 

[okla. prospector]

Very nice! Congrats

 

[huntsman53]

With the right equipment, you can extract and process the Gold yourself! The less you have to have someone else or a company do, the more for you! You can purchase simple manual rock crushers, Gold separating equipment, smelting equipment and moulds for making your own Gold Bars. It is not all that easy but it beats contracting the work out and spending part of your' profit. Just research for the equipment you will need, where to purchase them and the how to's on extracting and processing Gold from Quartz or other rock.

Congrats! I wish I had a Gold Mine in my' backyard!


Frank

 

[OneWetKnee]

Rockhound and lapidary hobby People can cut gold in quartz and make nice jewelry items. I have seen some really nice jewelry made this way. Nice and valuable finds, congratulations.

Exactly! The value of jewelry grade gold quartz can far outweigh the extracted gold weight.

 

[huntsman53]

Exactly! The value of jewelry grade gold quartz can far outweigh the extracted gold weight.

True but jewelry made from Gold on/in Quartz specimens need to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye's of the potential buyer! The Gold on/in Quartz specimens that the O.P. shows in the pics, are not very pleasing to the eye due to being heavy in Iron Oxides and other mineral compounds and contaminants contained within the Quartz. It is possible that all of the specimens that the O.P. mines from his' or her' property are of the same quality but it is also possible that there will be many nice specimens. It is possible that the specimens that are less aesthetically pleasing, can be cleaned with Muriatic Acid which will somewhat cleanse Quartz specimens of dirt, mud (especially Red Clay), Iron Oxide staining and other contaminents. Although the Muriatic Acid will not harm Gold, it would be best to clean the specimens in an appropriate container, so that the Muriatic Acid can be disposed of in the correct manner and so that any Gold that may have been dislodged during the cleaning and fell into the bottom of the container, can be reclaimed.


Frank

 

[DocBeav]

Congrats man! Have you had someone give you en estimate on how much gold per ton or whatever they do to figure that stuff out? Does it have to be some sort of certified assayer? No gold mines near me so I don't know much about that stuff but would love to do some prospecting sometime!

 

[CoinandRelicMan]

Looks fantastic B.C. !! Good luck with the gold business too .

 

[BChapman]

I appreciate all the replies, I have an ample supply of material. I will post more pics soon, some are on a different looking quartz also with gold. This is a hobby, would be great to make some money, though my time is somewhat limited, I live in FL, the rock come from a family vacation property in NC. We have found beryl, garnets galore and an assortment of neat rocks. I have a tumbler and an assortment of cleaning supplies, though my wife has said no more "family" funds for the hobby .. lol.

I know some people with lapidary equipment though they know nothing about gold extraction. I was hoping to sell this piece to fund the hobby and get more stuff but I can't seem to get even a starting point for value? I have been picking at a few other pieces and will get a vial of gold and then find a place to sell?

Frank - How far are you from Spruce Pine?

My kids and I have toyed with the idea of selling some pieces on ebay or etsy though we have no interest in making this a business, thanks again for all the input.

 

[BChapman]

I have a oxalic acid and old crock pot I have used to clean iron stained stuff but it has ruin some rocked that are embedded with garnets. Would the oxalic acid process be ok for this piece?

 

[huntsman53]

I appreciate all the replies, I have an ample supply of material. I will post more pics soon, some are on a different looking quartz also with gold. This is a hobby, would be great to make some money, though my time is somewhat limited, I live in FL, the rock come from a family vacation property in NC. We have found beryl, garnets galore and an assortment of neat rocks. I have a tumbler and an assortment of cleaning supplies, though my wife has said no more "family" funds for the hobby .. lol.

I know some people with lapidary equipment though they know nothing about gold extraction. I was hoping to sell this piece to fund the hobby and get more stuff but I can't seem to get even a starting point for value? I have been picking at a few other pieces and will get a vial of gold and then find a place to sell?

Frank - How far are you from Spruce Pine?

My kids and I have toyed with the idea of selling some pieces on ebay or etsy though we have no interest in making this a business, thanks again for all the input.

Clean up some specimens as best you can, take detailed pics showing the sizes and also weights of the specimens as well very good close-up pics of all of the Gold showing on the outside, then load a few of eBay and see how well they do. There are plenty of rockhounds, geologists (amatuer and professional) in North Carolina that can give you an idea as to how much Gold is contained in your' specimens and if you get this information, then use it in the eBay Listing. Give as much information about the Gold/Specimens as possible but not the location, not even a general location or you may have folks trespassing on your' property and digging your' Gold. Yeah, it happens!

I would imagine that from the sales of some of your' Gold specimens, you can generate some if not all of the funds need to extract, process and refine the Gold that you want to crush and extract the Gold from and to clean those that you want to sell as specimens or have made into high dollar Gold/Quartz jewelry. The supplies and information on the how-to's are available on the Web, so just do some searches, compile the information and ask more questions if needed. I have a friend that crushes Quartz and other Gold laden rock, extracts the Gold, refines, and turns the Gold into Nuggets, then sells them on eBay. He is quite good at it and he does not have a lot of money invested in the equipment and other supplies. So, it is doable and you don't need or want a lot of big equipment which will attract attention!

If Highway 25-70/107 was not closed down for the bridge rebuild near the Tennessee/North Carolina border, I would only be about 120 miles from Spruce Pine but due to the detours, it is about 130 miles. If you ever need some help or advice, I am retired and it is really not that far away. Besides, it would be nice to stop off in Burnsville again to look for some Aquamarine. I used to go there once a month or more but haven't been since the old gentleman that lived by the entrance of the old Mica Mines passed away. I always had a good time visiting with him and talking about the Aquamarine that he and his brother found while working the Mica Mines.


Frank

 

[huntsman53]

I have a oxalic acid and old crock pot I have used to clean iron stained stuff but it has ruin some rocked that are embedded with garnets. Would the oxalic acid process be ok for this piece?

I know very little about Oxalic Acid but it would not hurt to try it out on some smaller Gold/Quartz specimens to see if it will do the job! Oxalic Acid is apparently more user and environmental friendly than Muriatic Acid and you are less likely to have trouble with the EPA in using it. Understand, that neither Oxalic Acid or Muriatic Acid will not harm Gold but it or the cleaning processes, could dislodge some loose surface Gold on the specimens and is why you need something (a container) to catch any that falls off. It might be a good idea to get a good supply of Oxalic Acid for the main cleaning and a much smaller supply of Muriatic Acid just in case you need to use it on some more stubborn Iron Oxide and other contaminent staining on some of the specimens. Just make sure that you find out where and how you can dispose of the acids when their usefulness has been exhausted.


Frank