Anyone ever has seen this kind of ore before?

[anarxi]

It’s strange that the device shows the presence of niobium but does not show tantalum, although they should be together..
and in the other picture there is some titanium....
in light of the current world situation, the arms race, as a point of growth for the world economy, these three metals will be no less promising than silver.

 

[Samboelrod]

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I collected these specimens from an old mine in our forest. After some research, I found that mines in my area historically supplied:

• Lead (Pb)
• Silver (Ag)
• Platinum (Pt) (small amounts)
• Copper (Cu)
• Large amounts of Lithium (Li)

The interesting part is that my metal tester clearly identifies Pt in the black material and Au in the red material. This suggests that the ore is electrically conductive and may contain enough platinum or gold for the current to pass through. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean there's a large amount—just that these elements are present and conducting. The metal tester always detects the best conductor in a compound, so these could just be minimal traces. Another theory is that the high lithium content might be influencing the readings.

These mines have been in use for hundreds if not thousands of years. The Celts and the Roman Empire exploited them, and mining continued into the medieval ages. These are rocks that I collected directly from a vein.


I had an XRF analysis planned, but the person who offered to help hasn’t contacted me back for three months now.


I’d like to ask the mining experts here:

• Do you have any idea or assumptions about what this material could be?
• Could the presence of lithium or other elements be affecting the conductivity readings (Since several metals are present due to the metal series)?

Additional Observations:​

• Location: Found in an abandoned mine in the Taunus region, Germany, known for lead and silver mining about a century ago.
• Composition: Mostly quartz, which doesn’t dissolve in anything except HF.
• Texture & Reactions:
  • The black material is rather soft. When heated with a flame, it turned red.
  • The red material is brittle.
  • It dissolved in HCl and nitric acid, but stannous chloride tests showed no visible signs of precious metals.
  • Some undissolved residue remained, but only a very small amount.

I haven’t been able to analyze it further—any insights would be greatly appreciated!

(If you are wondering about those holes: I drilled them using wood drills to obtain some powder for tests)

 

[Samboelrod]

I believe gold bearing limenite is a good candidate for the red stone. Look up limenite it has a lot of variations and appearances.