Separating Silver or other metals from Panned Gold

[NCprospecting]

I've been collecting rocks for about a year now and it's been a painstaking process crushing the Quartz especially (I didn't know it was dangerous to breath the dust and crushed Quartz for 2 months without a Mask). I just recently started panning and I've got a little vial of flakes, but now I've encountered a new problem. I can't seem to separate a grey/silver colored sand from my black sand. Could this be silver or platinum? This is the first time I've encountered this issue where the light color sand won't separate from the black sand.

I'm including some pictures, I bought a 22k Gold Acid test kit but it's not really helpful since I need a decent size piece of gold to rub on the ceramic. I put acid on the flakes and It didn't disolve them, they aren't magnetic. Do they look like gold to someone's more experienced than myself?

 

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[NCprospecting]

Here is the pictures, they were too big to post on here so I had to use a app to lower the quality.

 

[Al D]

What method are you using for the separation?

 

[Al D]

It is very difficult to separate flour gold from black sand using only a gold pan.

 

[southfork]

Here is the pictures, they were too big to post on here so I had to use a app to lower the quality.

The photos are no help at all.

 

[arizau]

I've been collecting rocks for about a year now and it's been a painstaking process crushing the Quartz especially (I didn't know it was dangerous to breath the dust and crushed Quartz for 2 months without a Mask). I just recently started panning and I've got a little vial of flakes, but now I've encountered a new problem. I can't seem to separate a grey/silver colored sand from my black sand. Could this be silver or platinum? This is the first time I've encountered this issue where the light color sand won't separate from the black sand.

I'm including some pictures, I bought a 22k Gold Acid test kit but it's not really helpful since I need a decent size piece of gold to rub on the ceramic. I put acid on the flakes and It didn't disolve them, they aren't magnetic. Do they look like gold to someone's more experienced than myself?

If the particles are similar in size and won't separate while panning then they are likely of similar specific gravity. Silver is at least twice as heavy as iron sands so should separate while carefully panning. Also silver tarnishes so likely would not be bright at all.

Good luck

 

[xr7ator]

Grey/silver color could be mercury but not from crushing quartz. If you have been panning in a river, mercury was used by the old timers and they weren't too careful with it apparently.