Making the best of the situation.

[beekbuster]

I have not been able to get out swinging but for a few times in the last year. Just too much work on my plate. Its been dragging me down. Couple days ago I tested positive for covid, so now my jobs that have been dragging on endlessly are on hold. So close to the finish line and now Im sidelined. It is a much needed break, but not the circumstances I would prefer. Luckily for me the virus hasnt had much affect on my well being. one night of hot flashes, and my lungs are raw. that is all. Today me and my boy went metal detecting to get some fresh air. Dinked around one of my favorite locations that is pretty well played out, but I still love going there. I ran my detector in some new settings, though I dont think that was a factor for my success today. Dug quite a few really loud signals, cuz thats about all thats left there. Towards the end of the day we worked our way down to a spot that has been really good to me. I went over the same ground I have gone over a hundred times, and managed to find a couple targets that turned out to be junk. Worked my way down the bench about 20 yards from my epic patch, and there were quite a few targets to dig. One turned out to be a nice nugget. I have not weighed it yet but I guess its about 3-4 grams. EDIT* weighed 5.57 grams. I checked the hole and had another target, after a bit I had it. It is a natural piece of grey metal attached to caliche and greenstone. screams on the metal detector. Much more rigid than lead. I have no idea what it is. Any guesses?

 

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[southfork]

Nice covid nugget the gray piece is out of focus on my end. We find mercury covered gold sometimes ?

 

[beekbuster]

Nice covid nugget the gray piece is out of focus on my end. We find mercury covered gold sometimes ?

I cant get a decent close up pic. metal is paper thin. I broke off a chip and its greyish blue all the way through. not gold, not mercury. Appears to be natural. thin metal , about as thick as the paper on a match book. with a layer of white and another paper thin layer of metal on the other side. Does not look like oxidation from lead. It is non ferrous. I dont find too many things that stump me. Its either man made and so worn that any resemblance of what it was is gone, or its a natural metal of some sort. If it is man made my best guess would be a zipper tag. When I first dug it I thought it was a thin film of gold in a layer of host rock.

 

[crashbandicoot]

Here,s hoping for a mild case with your Covid and a full and complete recovery.

 

[beekbuster]

Here,s hoping for a mild case with your Covid and a full and complete recovery.

Thankyou. So far so good. Getting better each day. I recognize the symptoms from a virus I caught in December 2019 that damn near killed me. but you know covid wasnt in the US at that point (insert sarcasm)

 

[leadnugget]

nice nugget. maybe get someone to shoot that mystery nugget with a xrf gun.

 

[minerjosh]

I thought you moved out of the state by now lol. Congratulations on another sweet chunk of yellow! That's a nice solid nug! Glad the covid hasn't got you down too bad. Sounds like you needed the break from work.
Interesting mystery piece...some months ago I found a nugget of a mystery silver metal also. I'm pretty sure it was from the same area. Non ferrous and heavy like gold. I was thinking mine might be a slag of some sort.

 

[bartholomewroberts]

Up here in B,C, we have a couple of streams that have placer platinum along with the gold.. Could it be that?

Micheal

 

[beekbuster]

I thought you moved out of the state by now lol. Congratulations on another sweet chunk of yellow! That's a nice solid nug! Glad the covid hasn't got you down too bad. Sounds like you needed the break from work.
Interesting mystery piece...some months ago I found a nugget of a mystery silver metal also. I'm pretty sure it was from the same area. Non ferrous and heavy like gold. I was thinking mine might be a slag of some sort.

That nugget paid the bills. Nice being able to have fun and make a good days wages as well. Im trying like hell to get out of this state, but Im like a fly caught in a spider web.

 

[beekbuster]

Up here in B,C, we have a couple of streams that have placer platinum along with the gold.. Could it be that?

Micheal

Whatever it is, It is not a precious metal. When I was a newb I dug a silver colored nugget about the size of the end of my thumb. Dug out of undisturbed shale. I didnt know what it was, and didnt think it would have much value. I put it in my pocket and carried on crawling under the manzanita for what seemed like ages. That nugget is out there on that overgrown road in a sea of manzanita, somewhere. They say gold is where you find it, well same goes for rhodium.

 

[russau]

Josh that nugget could also be Mercury coated gold nugget .

 

[minerjosh]

Josh that nugget could also be Mercury coated gold nugget .

I wish it was! I was able to break a tiny piece off, it's just silver gray all the way through. Somewhat malluble but much harder than lead. I like the rhodium idea too lol. Maybe it is a pgm that ended up as slag? Rhodium is a by product from smelting copper and nickel...