Thread Title:
Tailings, what distinct difference between silver and gold?
You shouldn't have either in your tailings. The tailings is the waste pile after running your material
I found some tailing piles on a hillside and did some research of the area and found out that both gold and silver were mined in this area.
Is there a way to decipher which one is which?
There are quite a few. Im after the yellow shiny stuff
Hey Grumpie. I almost hesitate to write this post seeing as you have already chosen to tell the world that you're grumpie
, but can't avoid the facts. And the fact is, you have MUCH reading and research to do!! As Johnny said, you're not going to find gold or silver in a "tailings" pile. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule - one is when a large dredge goes through an area and kicks out EVERYTHING larger than a certain size, and there happens to be a nugget that falls in this larger size range. Another exception is that modern methods of capturing gold are much more efficient than those of decades past. So "technically" it is possible to find gold in a "tailings pile". One final exception is something that happens even to this day - if there is a piece of gold that is attached to a piece of rock. The rock can sometimes offset the SG (Specific Gravity) of the piece as a whole, making the gold act like it's not really gold. Therefore, it can end up in a tailings pile. Usually the rock portion has to be quite a bit larger than the gold portion in order for this to happen.
There "IS" one more possible reason that one might find gold in a tailings pile, and that's because the people running the material didn't know what the heck they're doing and did not have their equipment set up properly. I refer you to season 1 of the Gold Rush series starring the Hoffman crew. I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to have gotten my hands on their tailings from that season!!
...What I'm trying to say is, there's more to prospecting/mining than simply finding a pile that has gold and/or silver in it. You then need to know an efficient means of separating the PM's (Precious Metals) from the waste material. I'm here to help people, and I write all of this to do just that - trying to help you. So please, do not take offense here. Your writing/wording suggests that you know precious little about prospecting. I'd hate to know that someone went out and threw away all of their working capital because I did not get this message across. Also keep in mind that, being a new member here, we know very little about you. Your info says Texas, but you write as though you're in California (or Colorado, maybe?). What knowledge and/or experience you have is also unknown to us. So going by your writing, I have to assume you're a noob with a lot to learn. We've
all been there!! And while I know some about prospecting, I have no actual experience. My interest and research began long before that Gold Rush TV show was ever dreamed up, but there's still so very much that I can never learn without getting out there and experiencing it. (...working on that!) So please take some time and learn the basics. Read through Tnet's
Gold Prospecting Forum archives, as well as checking out much of the other VAST information out there on the internet.
Now, you say you've found a pile of rock that you believe has gold and/or silver? AWESOME!! Is the material actually gold/silver or could it be mica? Mica is also very shiny, and many, MANY people throughout history have wasted much time trying to capture this all-but-worthless material. Mica is in great supply, and is very often found with PM's. So the first thing you need to do (besides learning) is crush up a little of the rock with the shiny stuff and then pan it out. As I have not experienced this pleasure, I can only repeat what so very many others have said before - that once you see how gold acts in your pan, you'll know how to recognize it in the future. So you could also, for practice, order some paydirt from online.
Dirthogg Paydirt is a very good source!! ...Anyway, crush up some material, pan it out, and then post some pics so we can see what you have. Just keep in mind that without assaying your material, we actually have no way to know the exact makeup of your material; how much gold, silver, lead, copper, etc, and of what purity?
Also keep in mind that long, long ago, much material was dumped aside as waste material as back then, they had no way to get any of the PM's out of the rock. Here, I'm referring to the difference between sulfide and oxide ores. There's a lot to learn just on this subject alone! See, Mica is all but worthless, but if you have Mica in vast quantities, you might well be onto something good. Problem is, it takes more than crushing and panning to get the PM's. They must instead be treated through the use of heat (pyrometallurgy) or by using chemicals/acids. In addition to the oxides (free gold) and sulfides, there are also Tellurides that can be a bear to process!
I hope there's enough info in this post to help guide you in the direction you want to go. But again, I have to re-emphasize what I suggested before, to read that free online book (Post #5). That one book will answer most of what I've touched on here.
Just ask! 
