So did I find the Quartz after all the gold fell out?

[Goldfleks]

Never seen a quartz specimen like this before. It's all pitted as if there should have been another mineral/rock that's attached to it that's not longer present in the specimen. Any thoughts?

 

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[DDancer]

There is a high probability that there was once pyrite in the captivities. The rusty look is a result of iron staining after the pyrite decomposed and left the host quartz. Its fairly common in some areas. Many gold placers are a result of pyrite decomposing and releasing what free gold they have inside so yep the gold probably all fell out.

 

[Moesia]

You should investigate for further rocks like this. Try looking upriver or uphill from where you found it.

 

[Goldfleks]

There is a chocolate color mineral still inside the quartz ball. If you look at the middle of the last 2 or 3 pics you can kinda see. I need to get better lighting. But the mineral remaining isn't Quartz. Would it be safe to assume that the remaining mineral is the remains of what was once filling the cavities. Part of me wants to crush it, and the other half is enjoying the rare specimin that I dug up, it's kinda cool in it's own right. Never seen anything like this before.

 

[Eu_citzen]

I've seen plenty of similar ones. In Sweden we call them "Etched Quartz". (roughly translated)

The "etched" look can come from hydrothermal fluids (ie hot water) which etched away some of the original quartz.
Sometimes, after the etching, new minerals are deposited there.

I'd also search for more as Moesia suggests. If more are found, maybe crush and pan or have it assayed to be sure.
While all gold can have fallen out, you'll not know for sure until you examine it further.

 

[huntsman53]

I could be wrong but to me, it looks like Quartz that flowed into and solidified around an Iron nodule! Both the Iron and Quartz are decomposing but the Iron has decomposed much quicker. I see similar specimens near here especially on the shores of a nearby lake. Some fairly decent Herkimer Diamonds (double terminated Quartz crystals) can sometimes be found in the same area.


Frank

 

[scepter1]

99.99% sure that no gold ever fell out of that rock, nor is there any in it.

 

[Moesia]

99.99% sure that no gold ever fell out of that rock, nor is there any in it.

How?

 

[IAMZIM]

Better pics would be good, there could also be the possibility that at one time, other minerals like topaz may have been in the quartz, and had dissolved in solution. You could possibly tell by the shape of the etched parts. It's just speculation what could have been with it, but it can give you an idea of what might be in your area, topaz, or any other gemstone associated with quartz in your area could be worth looking for. Around here we call quartz that has iron staining "dirty quartz", and it's good to look for because "dirty quartz" as opposed to "clean" quartz, tends to have all kinds of things, like iron (obviously lol), copper, gold, tourmaline, topaz, beryl, all kinds of stuff really. The reason I was saying this, is because one of the "holes" almost looks hexagonal, (second pic, top of rock) but, it is hard to tell for sure from the pics.

 

[IAMZIM]

99.99% sure that no gold ever fell out of that rock, nor is there any in it.

Gold does not oxidize, and as far as we know, it basically can't be destroyed. Quartz is most times associated with gold. If the quartz around the gold was etched, or dissolved, there absolutely could have been gold with it, (having the iron staining even more so) and being etched, it could have separated from the quartz. Old miners almost always looked for "dirty quartz" with iron staining, because it was more likely to have gold than quartz with no iron staining. Not sure what would make you think otherwise... There could STILL be some gold in it now. It could be taken to an assayer to find out.

 

[DDancer]

Hehh Assay costs money and is useful for large samples. I'd just dolly it and pan the sands if I really wanted to know. But the op seems more inclined to keep it as a specimen which is fine as well.

 

[Moesia]

I would advise you to look for more specimens. You might not find gold, it is rare in itself and not every rock contains some. You might find other crystals if you are not planing to get rich from you're find, and are looking to collect something interesting, dough gold could be present, there is no way to be sure from one picture.