Got these in 2006, need help

[Zukovsky]

I'm not sure if this is where to post this, but it's going here. I know nothing about gold mining or prospecting or anything, so bear with me haha. So around 2006 or 2007, Me and my family went to Yellowstone, and on the way we stopped in some gold mining area near Deadwood I think. I'm not really sure where, because I was like seven or eight at the time, but we took a tour of a gold mine. This was when gold was much cheaper, about half the price today. Anyway, at the end of the tour, we were allowed to take some rocks that had gold ore in them! I with we grabbed more, because they had a huge bin full of them and let us take as many as we wanted. I have two or three more in addition to the ones in the pictures somewhere in our garage, but I could only find these three. One looks like there is a ton of gold on the end! Any thoughts on these? Estimates on the amount of gold in them? Thanks!

 

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[dave wiseman]

It's a core sample.No telling how much gold if any unless you crush it up and pan it out.

 

[Fullpan]

Yes, they are core samples from an exploratory drilling program at the mine. My guess on value would be about 1/10th the ticket price for the tour. IHave a couple around our backyard, as conversation pieces.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Thanks for your post and your questions.

First off, pictures of rock and core samples make it hard to tell what is being looked at for sure. For example, the picture of the end of the core sample looks brassy, which means that what might be showing is pyrite and not gold. But, once again, pictures of rocks and cores are notorious for being difficult reads.

If you really want to know how much gold content is in the samples, you'll either have to pay to have a fire assay done on your rock, or you can do as was mentioned earlier by crushing and panning your core sample. There is a problem if your gold is locked up in sulfides (?) though as crushing and panning is not a good way to get all of the gold free from the rock.

All the best,

Lanny

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/metal-detecting-gold/69-bedrock-gold-mysteries.html

 

[B H Prospector]

Hi Zukovsky and welcome. As stated above those are core samples probably from Homestake. When Homestake closed in 2001 It cleaned house so to speak. Anything that had gold in it was processed or for example when they tore down an old mill they found nuggets under the floor boards and was put up for sale in the gift shop at the mine. They then took the items like your core samples and gave them to tourist as momentos of the mighty Homestake mine. If those samples have any gold, and it isn't likely they do, it is refactory gold and is not visible to the naked eye. It can only be chemicaly removed. In the last 100 years of Homestakes existance most of the gold recovered there was refactory. Homestake never just gave anything with gold away. They are nice conversation pieces though.

 

[Zukovsky]

Thanks for y'all's information! So I guess they're not really worth all that much. Ahh well at least I learned what they were, because I had no clue

 

[ALewis]

Still cool.....

 

[AU_Solitude]

That mine was cool...the pit was something to behold.

 

[B H Prospector]

That mine was cool...the pit was something to behold.

Years ago about 1994 I worked for a company that did alot of contract work for Homestake Mine. They gave our entire company a complete private underground tour of the mine down to the 6800 ft level. At that time they were just opening up a new level at 8400 ft below the surfice. Now that was cool!