Blue Clay

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eaglewings35

Well-known member
Joined
May 27, 2010
Messages
205
Hey Guys and Gals,
I have a friend in Canada that has found a true "Honeyhole" He has found a place that has Blue Clay, which we suspect is decomposing bedrock. Mixed in this clay is gold. We have found places on the internet that sugest that the blue clay has a high concentration of silver.
My question is.... how do I process this clay to get the silver, which is suspended (not in solid form)out? My friend is sending me some on a regular basis for me to work.
Any suggestions?
 
Is it Petrolia blue clay? Makes an incredible environmental barrier for excavation work, I have seen it in place around hand dug oil wells, and the oil has not penetrated 2 mm in 150 years. I capped a dozen of these wells for a large oil company about 10 years ago. I used to have it brought in to Toronto by the truck load to seal excavation walls before bentonite barriers were available. Interesting to hear about the silver. I think I will investigate.
 
eaglewings35 said:
Hey Guys and Gals,
I have a friend in Canada that has found a true "Honeyhole" He has found a place that has Blue Clay, which we suspect is decomposing bedrock. Mixed in this clay is gold. We have found places on the internet that sugest that the blue clay has a high concentration of silver.
My question is.... how do I process this clay to get the silver, which is suspended (not in solid form)out? My friend is sending me some on a regular basis for me to work.
Any suggestions?
My question is -----what does the assay reveal?

No assay?

Why the hell are you talking about recovering something that may not be there (and likely isn't)?

One does not set out to recover values unless they are known to exist. Even then, you must have a functional plan, which may or may not be easy to determine. Processing ores isn't something that's easy in most cases.

Get an assay, so you know what you face.

Harold
 
Of course Harold see's right to the heart of the matter. There is no other course of action if you approach the clay with a professional mind. Find out what is really there before going on a wild goose chase. Nothing else matters. If there really is silver, you can determine a course of action once you prove the material rich enough to work with. The amount may be too small to attempt.
 
Contact Rick the Rockman or Reno Chris both do placer and other gold work. Rick can do an assay for you at a modest price and give you information on the best recovery method if there is enought to work with.
Mark
 
Yes, you are all right. I wasn't jumping the gun, I was just trying to figure out how to work it because I don't have alot of money for an assay. How much is the typical assay?
 
eaglewings35 said:
Yes, you are all right. I wasn't jumping the gun, I was just trying to figure out how to work it because I don't have alot of money for an assay. How much is the typical assay?
go to Rockman's profile page - links to his site & other very informative ones, as well. Contact him directly - he'll be very upfront with you regarding pricing, & etc.
 
eaglewings35 said:
Yes, you are all right. I wasn't jumping the gun, I was just trying to figure out how to work it because I don't have alot of money for an assay. How much is the typical assay?
Bad logic. Very, very bad logic. You don't have enough money for an assay, but you have more than enough money to waste on a project that (potentially----and probably) has no value?
You have to come to terms with something, here. Just because dirt has a particular color does not guarantee it has value. The chance that a person will find a deposit that is commercially viable is not good. The easy gold and silver has already been found, for the most part. What remains generally requires monumental operations, typically working with very low grade deposits. Yes, there are exceptions. Is your luck running good? Is this one of them? An assay will make that determination.

From your comments, I get the idea that you think that because a brown dog is known to bite a person, all brown dogs bite people. That's simply not true. If you are struggling now, to make ends meet, I strongly advise against wasting any money on a project that most likely will fail. Even if the material in question has values within, it may be well beyond your ability to achieve an economical extraction. You would be best served to have a clue what potential is at your disposal, so you can then make informed decisions. Get an assay, or find a different hobby.

Harold
 
Harold,
I appreciate your honesty and input. There's a misunderstanding here, and it is my fault. My friend in Canada is sending me samples purely as a friend. This spot that has the blue clay, is on his land and he has made arrangements to mine it.
I am strictly a bystander wishing him the best in his endeavors. I was wanting to know how to work it so I could work my samples, and get a little bit of gold and silver, hopefully. And you are correct, with these samples it would not make much sense to have an assay done, especially when all I am getting is "Samples". Any ideas how to work these samples?
 
I'm afraid you're missing the point. Please don't get the impression I'm trying to throw a wet blanket on your endeavor, as that's not the case.

What I've tried to allude to is that unless you know there is something of value present, and in what quantity, you really don't have a sense of direction. I'll create a scenario that may help you understand my position.

Because you've been told that the color is an indicator of values, you pursue a process that may lead to the end you desire, to wit, you recover the (assumed) values. Here's what's wrong with that idea.

Without an assay, you're already handicapped because you don't know what you're looking for, nor how much. If you achieve success to some degree, were you successful in extracting everything, or did you get a trace of what is available, and could do better with a slight modification of your process? Unless you know what you're working with, you'll have no idea where you stand in regards to the potential.

I'm speaking from experience in this regard. I processed an ore that was drop dead wonderful. Assayed over 300 ounces/ton in gold alone. Didn't have a lot, but it was very important that I crack the code, so to speak, of how to extract the values. I began the process with a head assay, so I'd know what I could expect. I then paid for assays as I processed the ore, so I'd have an idea of what was happening in the way of extraction. Only when I knew the values were extracted did I stop paying for assays. Assays are not a luxury, they are mandatory.

How you go about extracting the values, assuming you have them, will dictate your degree of success. You may quickly discover that anything you'd like to try won't work----that's the way it goes with complex compounds. I am unable to give guidance in that regard, as I'm not a chemist, nor do I understand the complexities of extraction from ores. I had that one experience, and, due to my diligence, I happened to land on the proper process, albeit as a second attempt. Had I trusted my first results, and didn't have an assay to verify what I had done, I would have left behind over 95% of the values. That's how poorly my first attempt was at extraction.

So then, if you hope to achieve any degree of success, you must have an assay. If the deposit is being processed by others, someone, somewhere, already knows the potential. If your friend doesn't have that information at his disposal, and if your friend is, in any way, shoveling money towards the supposed process, he most likely is being taken for one hell of a ride by those that are very slick at separating people from their money.

Hard fact-----mining corporations often invest millions of dollars in core drilling so they have a firm understanding of the deposit they face. They may spend that money without recovering a dime, before they start production. You likely understand why. Better you spend a million learning what must be done, than spending ten million on something that won't work.

I would encourage you to play with this material ONLY if you have some proof of its content. The reason I say this is because you may choose a process that might be very successful, assuming you have values present. If you fail to produce values, and you have no clue about the content of the ore, how will you know where the problem lies? Was it the process? Was it the ore?

Harold
 
Smack said:
Nice explanation Harold.
Thank you!

It's called common sense.

I refined for more than 20 years. I encountered several self acclaimed prospectors that would have benefitted greatly from that advice. Most of them are blinded by what they want to see, not what they see. To that end, they chase ghosts, then can't understand why they haven't succeeded.

For the record---in all my years of refining, I never, once, processed anything from a prospector that was worth the invested effort. NEVER! The gold ore of which I speak was purchased (most likely under the table) from a mine known to produce high grade gold and silver ore.

I related a tale some time ago that parallels this one, and the ending was sad. Three men worked a claim for a few summer months, resulting in one man dying from a heart attack, being too remotely located to receive necessary care. For their efforts, the team of three produced something like five or six ounces of gold.

I was introduced to one of the survivors when he came to me for help in recovering the values they had accumulated. When I inquired of him what the head assay revealed, he looked at me with blank eyes----didn't have a clue what I was talking about. When I enlightened him with what would have been a wise beginning to his venture, he responded by telling me that they could see gold, so there was no need for an assay.

Three men, working three months, producing less than six ounces of gold, when gold was selling for less than $400/ounce?

Can you see what's wrong with this picture? Their purpose was to make money, not kill time. Those six ounces of gold came at a very high price, at least as far as I'm concerned.

Harold
 
Harold, I completely understand what you are saying. It makes perfect sense. Thanks, you have a really good way of getting your point across.
 
Since your just playing with samples boil them with a few drops of liquid soap and let it dry crush them and try panning the remining solids, or you might try one of the commericail produts from a minning store like clay begone.
Mike
 
As I understand it, silver doesn't "pan". It's not likely to be found in a metallic state, but as a chemical compound. Gold content may also be to fine to pan.

Be smart. Get the assay.
 
Native silver can be panned just like gold, it might be very fine but will be heavier than slit and fine sand or clay, silver can be in many states in nature often with lead and copper deposits.
if i get a chance to open the safe i will post some pictrues of some i have panned.
MIke
 
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