Gold Ore

[southfork]

A little sample that was found with a metal detector. Crushed by hand then panned to wash away some of the dirt and clay? The photo is macro so real small particles, but the quartz shows and what looks like iron and free gold. I think we need a small smelter to retrieve the values trying to speed up the recovery what's your thoughts ?

 

[southfork]

I'd agree. Big canine, and far too large for coyote.

Do you have wolves in your area? View attachment 2182025

Maybe we do now lol. We have Bears and mountain Lions for sure we have tweakers also far more dangerous.

 

[southfork]

If this gold you have is as small as mine, then you need millions of the gold particles to make an ounce. I collected this tiny stuff for 2 1/2 years, and managed only 6.6 grams. I haven't even melted it down to rid if of some of the impurities. I'll probably be lucky to get 5 grams. Each speck counts towards your total. But these will only supplement your normal finds. Probably why I went back to placer mining. Just collect this gold dust for a few years, then see what you get.

If you have a lot of small gold and the conditions are right like dry. Maybe start using the dry washer again you're in the right part of California for it maybe you already are Happy Mining

 

[desertgolddigger]

If you have a lot of small gold and the conditions are right like dry. Maybe start using the dry washer again you're in the right part of California for it maybe you already are Happy Mining

This gold is too tiny (smaller than 180 mesh) to be caught with a drywasher. It has to be carefully sluiced sluiced.

 

[southfork]

This gold is too tiny (smaller than 180 mesh) to be caught with a drywasher. It has to be carefully sluiced sluiced.

Working slowly with classifying screens just experimenting with micro gold I think it's starting to pass through a screen marked 100 microns? and one smaller I took a few macro photos with my phone if there weren't hundreds of specks they're not visible without a loupe. Same sample as above I need a new stack of screens. We normally run everything through stacked screens on a five-gallon bucket with soap and water on larger samples then pan or micro sluice each layer slowly. There's still micro gold hiding in the white sands I can melt out or mercury and a retort or with chemistry that takes some careful study.

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[russau]

It's certainly a thrill every time ! The joys of prospecting !

 

[southfork]

I got tired of testing a little mercury ball picked up all the micro gold and is going into the mercury jar saving for the retort. Very little magnetics / black sands

 

[southfork]

Micro Gold
61 degrees sunny no wind cleaning the Blue Bowl catch bucket it is bone dry, so I dumped into a pan. The bottom of the plastic pale had a layer stuck to the bottom I used a small paintbrush to clean the bottom out. About a couple tablespoons of super fine dust panned with water and jet-dry dishwasher anti spotting solution a little gold showing along the edge couple pounds of this to clean. This is the waste material that climbs the cone and drops into the catch pail contains a lot of micro gold. The rest of this material will go through micro screens to concentrate for collection.

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[southfork]

Storm coming back yard mining shutting down for a while I need to cover things up. But the samples are looking good. Changed my mind sunny and 56 degrees I washed yesterday's blue bowl concentrates out and panned for a quick look. I'm feeding the blue bowl again seems it worked ok on the slims and regrinds I added,

 

[southfork]

Storm coming back yard mining shutting down for a while I need to cover things up. But the samples are looking good.

Maybe rain tonight? I soaked the concentrations in a phosphoric acid solution overnight. Cleaned with water and jet- dri panned with a little mercury made a nice ball. I have tablespoon or so of dirty concentrates that I'm drying in the sun Headed for a smelt / melt.

 

[southfork]

I mixed all the concentrations about two tablespoons with a Tablespoon of Chapmans flux and a tablespoon of borax to start. I added a teaspoon of material into each cupel then into a crucible one at a time for safety glad I did then into the furnace. Things went well for a while this material was really dirty, I would run for 15 minutes the lift out and sprinkle a little more borax on top and back in for 15 more. The material in the cupel would start oxidizing setting out for a minute drawing in a little oxygen. I let them cool and started combining the black buttons which are gold with a hard coating. Back into the crucible for an hour I shut the furnace off to check and the cupel had disintegrated and there was a hole in the side of the crucible. I grabbed the tongs and poured what was left into water - corn flaking some gold dropped right to the bottom, but a bunch stuck in the slag I'll just start over crushing the crucible and slag. There is a lot more gold still to recover and maybe on the bottom of the furnace and I haven't even started on the amalgam. Happy mining.

 

[southfork]

Storms over back to crushing broken crucible and cupels in the jaw crusher and chain mill. The material coming out of the chain mill looks like ground charcoal. Water and jet - dri in the catch bucket real dense grind going to be a slow day. Ran through stacked screens had to keep agitating to make the slurry pass and not stack /pile. I have gold in the first screen. Blue Bowling now more than I thought still cleaning and some dirty gold in acid. Next the mercury jar Happy Mining.

 

[southfork]

Nice day for a little cleanup of micro gold you never know what's hiding in a piece of quartz. 5 pounds of quartz roasted-jaw crusher-chain mill- through a stack of screens ribbed micro sluiced then panned. It takes a bunch of this to make a payday, but this rock was right next to the barn by my work area.

 

[russau]

Good eye !!! I wonder how long that rock set there by the barn and nobody got curious about it but you !

 

[southfork]

Good eye !!! I wonder how long that rock set there by the barn and nobody got curious about it but you !

Thanks, my build on the barn so at least 30 years I always tossed the big pieces to the side. We used a lot fill low spots under the fences and garden borders now I'm trading rocks. My wife has a lot of these big chucks of quartz around the flower gardens.

 

[Assembler]

Thanks, my build on the barn so at least 30 years I always tossed the big pieces to the side. We used a lot fill low spots under the fences and garden borders now I'm trading rocks. My wife has a lot of these big chucks of quartz around the flower gardens.

At least the rock increased in value over the 30 years or so.

 

[southfork]

Raining today so I'm roasting rocks and cleaning up some amalgam nice gold sponge Happy Mining

 

[southfork]

I melted all of my clean up into a button it still needs a little cleaning. A lot of time and work to recover micro gold but a nice hobby on a rainy day.

 

[southfork]

A little piece of quartz with gold showing out of a crush soaked in drain cleaner. The specimen has been soaking for a week little change other than cleaner and brighter. I'll try heating the solution when I get a chance I love playing with Gold. Before and after Happy Mining

 

[southfork]

My first post of 2025, after a weeklong soak in vinegar my latest little button has more shine. But lost a little weight.

 

[southfork]

Crushed some roasted float from around our place about a 1/2 bucket sure crushes easier. ran across the ribbed sluice recovered some dirty gold but clean enough to amalgamate last photo at the top a glob of gold. This is just random quartz float I pick up sometimes I get lucky you never know what's hiding inside. Happy Mining