Insoluable material (non magnetic black sands)

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Ragnor

Active member
Joined
Mar 14, 2015
Messages
28
I am wondering if anyone can help me on this. I collected some black sand from a creek here in western Washington for testing. I separated off the magnetic sands and placed 4 grams of wet material in a beaker.
4 grams did not cover the bottom of a 50ml beaker. It's quite heavy.
I added just enough nitric to cover the sands and waited an hour. Nothing happened. I then added an equal part of water. I waited 2 more hours, nothing happened. Then I added about a quarter tsp of table salt. Over the next few minutes the solution turned a light green and still nothing happened.

I suppose the next step is to boil the sands in aqua regia?

I tested the solution at each step with stannous chloride and always get a negative reaction.

I really want to know what this material is. someone on another forum suggested REE's

I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions on what insoluable materials I might want to research that resist acid attack. Yes perhaps I am asking prematurely, maybe the boiling AR will do the trick, but I have my doubts and I think I'll go prospecting today instead of sitting around watching acid boil (or not watching).

It's just on my mind , so I figured I'd ask.
 
Sounds like black heavy rocks that doesn't dissolve in aqua regia. Nothing I personally collects.

Göran
 
There are entire populations in Africa enslaved to this day collecting black heavy rocks that no one else collects....
 
There are several black and dark colored mineral sands that resist nitric acid. That is true even on the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains.

I would suggest that you take a look at the Prospecting & Mining section in the forum. There is a sticky at the top with field testing procedures. Essentially the same information I learned 35-40 years ago. I still take copies of various test procedures with me when I do happen to go to old mines and prospects.

Playing hit and miss, combining unknown materials with acids, in my opinion, is not a plan. Rather, it is foolishness. Please learn how to test your materials.
 
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