this rock was found smack dab in the middle of the piedmont slate belt. what would the technical name be for this type of rock/mineral? also does anyone think it would be worthwhile to crush and pan in hopes of any precious metal content?
Well, it LOOKS favorable, but not easy to tell from the pic. The specimen has seen some amount of movement, as it has no jagged edges. The area you mention is a known gold location, so that's in your favor.
First thing "I" would do would be to try and flake off some of that shiny gold-looking material and verify whether it is or is not pyrite. If the material doesn't flake, then I would crush the rock and pan the dust. If it's still looking good, then you could send it off for assay.
You might want to try posting in the Prospecting section: Gold Prospecting
awesome. thanks for the reply. i am very new to all this but my ears are open and i am eager to learn. if it pans out in my favkr ill be sure to update
If in fact it is gold, I would not crush it, in my opinion it would be worth more as a specimen than what gold you could pan from it. My 2 cents worth.