Red Gold, Copper, or Pyrite?

[Hunter101]

So I've been prospecting all week and this is what I've been finding. I don't think it's gold. It doesn't behave like gold. It is mostly malleable. It does not sink all the way to the bottom. Up close it looks like gold with a reddish tint. I'm wondering if it is an 18 karat gold with 25% copper or red gold. That's what my landlord said but I'm not sure about his qualifications.

 

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[ClaimStake]

looks like mica. rub it between your fingers, does it flake apart?

 

[Hunter101]

It does not flake. And when I take a pin to it, it goes right through like butter and does not shatter.

 

[winners58]

you'll have to look at it under magnification at least 30x

 

[Willee]

At least lucky you is getting out prospecting and finding something.

Hope you hit the mother load ...

 

[Hoser John]

Looks and sounds like copper-a bit of nitric will answer that,a drop or 2 will do. CLR might also -John

 

[arizau]

View attachment 1319405View attachment 1319405

So I've been prospecting all week and this is what I've been finding. I don't think it's gold. It doesn't behave like gold. It is mostly malleable. It does not sink all the way to the bottom. Up close it looks like gold with a reddish tint. I'm wondering if it is an 18 karat gold with 25% copper or red gold. That's what my landlord said but I'm not sure about his qualifications.

When you say it "does not sink all the way to the bottom", is that when it is in the vial or does it ride on top of the other concentrates in the pan? In either case it does not sound like it is metal, especially gold, copper or some mixture of them. Those metals are very dense and will immediately sink in water or will displace just about all other material normally found in concentrates in a pan.

Good luck.

 

[Hunter101]

It's on top of the black sand and not underneath it. It sinks below all other material though.

 

[ClaimStake]

I've seen mica that acts just as you describe.

i've had it in gold, silver, and copper colors. a little heavier than normal mica, sits on black sand but sinks under everything els. as it does have those metals as impurities. that looks like the same stuff. it acts much more malleable than normal mica too

sadly the amount of PM's is quite low.

roasting it didn't yield anything. mica is a silicate. takes a very high temp to get it to melt.

heat a piece up hot does it expand?

 

[Clay Diggins]

It's Biotite Mica.

Normally I wouldn't even attempt to guess minerals from a blurry photo but I've handled tons of this stuff and the crystal form is clearly seen in the photos. The description of how it acts in the pan and how it bends clinches the ID.

Heavy Pans

 

[Hoser John]

Thin gold flakes also bend as gold is mallable when paper thin also ...sooooooo hit with a streak test(which uses nitric also)-John

 

[Capt Nemo]

Also thin flakes of gold can also float just above black sand if you have ozone treated tap water. Pick them up with an eyedropper and drop them, and they should settle down and stay put. The dropper knocks the microbubbles off.