White quartz, mica? gold? neither one? Lots of sparkle in the pan

[Laurie]

I think I can safely assume all the glittery stuff floating out of the pan is mica.
The rest not so sure, I am attaching a pic for opinions on this stuff imbedded in the quartz.

The thing is so much in the pan is sparkly, so I am unsure of what I am seeing.
I am also curious if the material indicates that I am panning in the right place.





Just a not that the soil is red in Georgia, that may be giving a more gold look to the material I am finding also. It appears more platinum colored to the naked eye.

 

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[419GottaMinute]

Hate to say it, but looks and sounds like pyrite... not to worry though, dig dirt from deeper in the same area. Arseno pyrite (sp?) Laced through quartz like that is a good sign of mineralization and good tectonics in the area.
All the best

 

[Sackett]

Take a knife tip and see if the material "breaks" out/off if it crumbs, breaks, flakes, ect...not gold.. Gold will only "bend", flatten, dent,ect. When you see the flakes in your pan, take the back of your fingernail and rub it, gold will not smear, or break. Now for the "glittery stuff floating out of the pan" it could be gold as gold can float. when you see something floating in your pan, put one (1) drop of Jetdry in the water, it will break the tension of the water and gold will drop like a ton of bricks! Good Luck

 

[TerryC]

Laurie, If not already in your "tool box", get a 10x jeweler's loupe. Look at the stone good. If you have the funds, A mineral scope of about 40-60 power is better. Hope you find something FUN to report to us! TTC

 

[Sungram]

Crush that sucker up and pan it. Never know what's embedded in there. Hope you find something

 

[Laurie]

Thanks for the feed back guys. I am doing some reading, it was suggested that I smash some BB's to get an idea of how gold performs in the pan. I am going to do that tomorrow. I think it will help build my confidence in panning correctly. I get so worried with all the sparkle that It takes me like 20 minutes looking at everything with the magnifying glass and smashing it like someone suggested.
I am panning in a wet water creek, which means there is only water in it when it rains. I am checking holes and roots where the sand and quartz have settled. I fill my 5 gallon bucket, bring it to the back yard and pan in another bucket of water. Good thing about that is if I messed up and let the floating gold go I can retrieve it.

 

[TAKODA]

Laurie, If not already in your "tool box", get a 10x jeweler's loupe. Look at the stone good. If you have the funds, A mineral scope of about 40-60 power is better. Hope you find something FUN to report to us! TTC

Good advice . I consider magnification a must ............. in the field as well as in the shop .
I use a 2X hand held square and a 10X loupe in the field and shop . I also use a 10X to 60X
stereoscope in the shop on broke down samples . Magnification is a useful tool .