Other Heavies to Look For

[AugustMoose87]

Just curious to know what other "heavies" everyone keeps an eye out for when prospecting. I know this is largely dependent on where you are prospecting, as that would effect what heavies you might see.

I know hematite and magnetite (black sands) and have heard there is some value in them - I've heard of people using temperature shock to fracture them and collect fine gold they contain, as well as a company in California that supposedly buys them by the 55 gal drum full.

I've found TON of garnets, though most have been tiny.

The only other odd heavy I have come across so far is what looks to me like a fragment from a lead bullet and a seed bead.


My concern is I wouldn't know platinum, silver or a telluride if it bit me in the

 

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[Prospector70]

Silver you will have a hard time finding in a creek or river.
Platinum will sit right next to the gold (or the gold to it)
All of it will be heavy.
I wouldnt recognize a diamond if I saw one, I'm colorblind and the only thing I have going for me in this field is god blessed gravity <3 lol

My dirty little secret is I have kept all my cons. I have 5 gallon buckets full in my garage. Every spec of dirt I've ever dumped out of my sluice into a bucket I still have in my garage.
I've pulled out most of the lead/bullets/zippers/bb's/shotgun pellets but need to go through it a few times still as I've got a lot of -50's still banging around in there. There are a lot of garnets and who knows what else. I'm going to build a viewing table (dull white illuminated table top so I can spot the pretty rocks easier. Something to do in the cloudy days this winter I reckon.

Best of luck!

 

[fowledup]

Mercury

 

[AugustMoose87]

Mercury

Like liquid mercury, or an ore containing mercury?

 

[fowledup]

You may find "liquid" mercury, but more then likely what you find will be coating your gold. Keep your mercury coated gold separate from the clean gold. The mercury in this vile came from the remnants of an old pillowblock sluice, if you look close you can see some gold in it.

 

[Hoser John]

The platinum group is almost always found with gold here in calif. Mariposa county also has been the exclusive rhodium producer here also. A few years back when rh hit $5k +++ I sold every grain of that ugly stuff. Looks like rusty crusty junk and not like gold ,silver or platinum at all-John

 

[fowledup]

John, do you know if there is any in the Yuba or Feather. Is there a simple field test for it. I had something like that from the Yuba I couldn't tell what it was. I put it in the blue bowl wide open and it would not move.

 

[BurntBear]

Some heavy gemstones that will end up in your sluice:

Corundum

Although both Ruby and Sapphire fall into this category, Rubies usually contain more trace minerals like Iron, Titanium & Chromium. Rutile is also found in Star Rubies & Sapphires.

Garnets

Zircon

Spinel

Smithsonite

Cassiterite

 

[KiddoTheMiner]

Silver you will have a hard time finding in a creek or river.
Platinum will sit right next to the gold (or the gold to it)
All of it will be heavy.
I wouldnt recognize a diamond if I saw one, I'm colorblind and the only thing I have going for me in this field is god blessed gravity <3 lol

My dirty little secret is I have kept all my cons. I have 5 gallon buckets full in my garage. Every spec of dirt I've ever dumped out of my sluice into a bucket I still have in my garage.
I've pulled out most of the lead/bullets/zippers/bb's/shotgun pellets but need to go through it a few times still as I've got a lot of -50's still banging around in there. There are a lot of garnets and who knows what else. I'm going to build a viewing table (dull white illuminated table top so I can spot the pretty rocks easier. Something to do in the cloudy days this winter I reckon.

Best of luck!

a bucket of old cons?
melt down that black sand an make a gold pan out of it

 

[Hoser John]

Feather,Nelson and La Porte is the platinum king of calif with more recorded production than any other mining district. BUT--always one a them, there was sooooooo much not reported you must take that statement at face value. The main stem Merced was killer also as recorded between Bagby and Briceburg are AMAZING diggings. I got to hold a fist sized chunk that was cut and polished from the placers prior to Trinidad by the coast. It was found by a friends son about 10-11 years back,with a bounty hunter detector hahaha looking for junk.John