# powdered gold



## Anonymous (May 23, 2010)

Hi all, new here, new to prospecting, I live on aruba the dutch caribbean, today i visited a 100 year old goldmine, and i think i found powdered gold, what is the next step, wash it and then??,


----------



## shyknee (May 23, 2010)

welcome to the form 
one good thing to do is read Hoke's book on refining and read as much as you can .
use all precautions and stay safe and healty


----------



## machiavelli976 (May 23, 2010)

if i was living in Aruba i should have forgot everything about gold ! just joking. wash your powder and burn it first. to be sure it is gold. and then read, read, read ! welcome !


----------



## Anonymous (May 23, 2010)

Hi , thanks, after awhile you get used to the tropics, small question how do I "burn" gold dust?
:?:


----------



## machiavelli976 (May 23, 2010)

take some powder in a stainless spoon and keep it above the cooking machine flame. if it is gold it will remain shiny. if it is pyrite it will change colour and blast a little. wear safety glasses !


----------



## Anonymous (May 23, 2010)

thank you very much i will try it
:mrgreen:


----------



## Harold_V (May 24, 2010)

A simple test is to crush a small piece. If it shatters, it's most likely iron pyrite. If it crushes easily, and is yellow, it can be mica. If it flattens with a little difficulty, but stays intact, fair chance it's gold. 

Harold


----------



## butcher (May 27, 2010)

put a small lead fishing weight or fine flakes of lead in a pan of sand, pan the sand out untill only the small lead remains, dumping your pan in a tub, when you keep the lead in your pan your getting the hang of it, Pyrite is lighter than gold, just like gold is heavier than lead, the pyrite will pan out before the lead, and lead will pan out before gold,the pyrite will pan out before the black sand also, and like Harold say's gold can be smashed flat like lead, most pyrite crumbles apart or shatters, when looking for gold pyrite can be a good indicator because gold can be associated with it, soon you will not mistake pyrite for gold. I have seen men wear themselve's out trying to carry more pyrite rock than their own weight, for miles, thinking they have struck it rich.


----------



## Richard36 (May 29, 2010)

butcher said:


> when looking for gold pyrite can be a good indicator because gold can be associated with it, soon you will not mistake pyrite for gold. I have seen men wear themselve's out trying to carry more pyrite rock than their own weight, for miles, thinking they have struck it rich.



If it was a rich vein of Iron Pyrite, I wouldn't care if it didn't contain any precious metals at all.
Pyrite is an industrial mineral used in the production of sulfuric acid, and therefore has value in that respect.

Moral of the story, know what you're looking at, and its uses.
Many prospectors walk over small fortunes in metallic, and non metallic minerals in their quest for precious metals.

Sincerely; Rick. "The Rock Man".


----------



## Oz (May 29, 2010)

What do you think iron pyrite is worth per ton and where would you sell it?


----------



## Richard36 (May 29, 2010)

Oz said:


> What do you think iron pyrite is worth per ton and where would you sell it?



Hello Oz,

It's been a while. I hope all is well with you.
I am not sure how much per ton it would be worth as an industrial mineral. I have never looked into it.
Nor do I know of anywhere to sell it here locally in the states, 
all I know is that there is a market for it from all the research that I have done.

I know this much, a yard of one inch material would be worth $450 to $600 in most ornamental rock yards.
"Pacific Stonescape" for certain.

If all the paperwork could be secured, It could be sold internationally by listing it on "Alibaba".

Here's a link. 
http://importer.alibaba.com/buyeroffers?CatId=0&Country=&IndexArea=offer_en&SearchText=ore&sq=y&ssk=y 

I hope that this has been helpful.

Sincerely; Rick. "The Rock Man".


----------

