Pyrite dirt

[C Mindenhall]

U am a new prospector and I have buckets of pyrite sand what do I do with them.they were my dad's back in the day he got them in Leadville co
Pwhere he grew up I don't know what to do with it

 

[Yggdrasil]

U am a new prospector and I have buckets of pyrite sand what do I do with them.they were my dad's back in the day he got them in Leadville co
Pwhere he grew up I don't know what to do with it

Welcome to us.
It depends on a few factors.
Not all pyrite have values.
A picture would tell us some.
And how much is it?
Even if it has values there might not be enough for it to pay off.

 

[goldshark]

Is it crushed ore, with the fine pyrite being the end product after panning or tabling?

 

[goldshark]

The only way to see if it has values, is to assay it. I have seen pyrite concentrates assay any where from a trace to double digit Troy ounces per ton, from Leadville. Hazen Research Labs in Golden is the closest good lab. Might cost $ 80 to assay. They only need a couple ounces. Other then that, if you want to recover it all yourself, start reading the library.

 

[SRM]

U am a new prospector and I have buckets of pyrite sand what do I do with them.they were my dad's back in the day he got them in Leadville co
Pwhere he grew up I don't know what to do with it

I am very familiar with the district. The good news is that the majority of pyrite from Leadville has significant precious metal values. If the material is tailings from the sulfide mills, there will be less precious metals. These would probably originate from the Hamm's Pond, Apache Mill or Black Cloud mill. If there is a variety of sizes, odds are it came from the Venir or Ibex groups and has more precious metals.

If you go the assay route (recommended), try to get a representative sample. Once you have an idea of what you have you can properly evaluate the best options.

 

[Yggdrasil]

I am very familiar with the district. The good news is that the majority of pyrite from Leadville has significant precious metal values. If the material is tailings from the sulfide mills, there will be less precious metals. These would probably originate from the Hamm's Pond, Apache Mill or Black Cloud mill. If there is a variety of sizes, odds are it came from the Venir or Ibex groups and has more precious metals.

If you go the assay route (recommended), try to get a representative sample. Once you have an idea of what you have you can properly evaluate the best options.

I think the point is:
How much do he have, a few buckets he said.
Like 10 buckets with 50lbs each or less?
If he have tonnes the process will be different.

 

[SRM]

Agreed, quantity, quality and form will determine processing.