REDNECK ORE SAMPLING

[bahabully]

Being from Middle TN prospects of finding free gold are zero to none, but I have had interesting results crushing and applying chemicals to some rock types. Before I proceed further I'd like to slow down a bit and collect guidance form those in the forum who might be able to point me to the best types of rock to play with. There are 5-6 types I will move through, one at a time, and seek forum consensus step by step regarding the manner in which I (and we) process it to find GOLD !! Up first is the heaviest ore type I have found in the creek. I have imaged the sample in whole, on scale, cracked open, under microscope cracked open, and crushed under microscope. It now sits there in my garage, all lonely, with no one to dance with and nothing to do. I was thinking a roasting in firepit in a cast iron skillet over night might be a good next step, but will leave it to the forum.
Q. - Any ideas what the heck it could be ? Looks like magma, or something one of the boys who are buried in mounds around here might have melted.. It is black in hand, with some silvery shine here and there.
Q. - What is the orange gooey looking stuff ? Gold!.... Gold !!...... GOLD !!! Right ?
Q. - From previous chemical processing I have collected some brownish goo, I have microscopic images of the goo on the knife blade i used to scrape it from the mason jar to transfer to a smaller collector jar. Does it appear to be gold goo to ya'll ? (images below and named , "gold on knife")
Q. - Next step ?

 

[goldshark]

Looks to me like the chunk in the first picture is an Iron mineral. Check it with a magnet, as well as the crushed ore. Rest of the photos are too grainy to even begin to GUESS what they are. Go to prospecting section, and look how to perform various tests.

 

[bahabully]

Looks to me like the chunk in the first picture is an Iron mineral. Check it with a magnet, as well as the crushed ore. Rest of the photos are too grainy to even begin to GUESS what they are. Go to prospecting section, and look how to perform various tests.

It is 100% non-magnetic

 

[butcher]

Most rock is nonmagnetic.
Thanks for a good laugh, now to clean up the coffee from my keyboard.

 

[SRM]

Do you have a streak plate available? Any piece of unglazed porcelain (think broken toilet or the like) will work. Scratch the rock on the plate and photo the streak.

Mid-Tennessee is predominantly dolomites/limestones with some shales. Most metal sulfides I found there were sphalerite, galena and occasionally pyrite (zinc, lead and iron sulfides) in a classic Mississippi-valley type deposit. These deposits can have a large footprint and relatively low-grade.

Hope this helps

 

[butcher]

What about silver mines. as a young kid

I remember the old folks in the southern Kentucky area, talking a lot about the native Indians in the southern Kentucky area mining silver, or talking of the Swifts' silver mine.

Nothing else, I believe If I was back in those stomping grounds, I would be looking into mining caves for bat dung, I could use the saltpeter.

 

[bahabully]

Do you have a streak plate available? Any piece of unglazed porcelain (think broken toilet or the like) will work. Scratch the rock on the plate and photo the streak.

Mid-Tennessee is predominantly dolomites/limestones with some shales. Most metal sulfides I found there were sphalerite, galena and occasionally pyrite (zinc, lead and iron sulfides) in a classic Mississippi-valley type deposit. These deposits can have a large footprint and relatively low-grade.

Hope this helps

Will do this next. May take a bit... but this week.

 

[bahabully]

What about silver mines. as a young kid

I remember the old folks in the southern Kentucky area, talking a lot about the native Indians in the southern Kentucky area mining silver, or talking of the Swifts' silver mine.

Nothing else, I believe If I was back in those stomping grounds, I would be looking into mining caves for bat dung, I could use the saltpeter.

Yes, we have abundant caves, the most of any state in the nation. Lots of water and limestone.. and associated erosion have carved up the ground around here like Swiss cheese. Largest zinc mine in the nation not far from here, which also brings up world class crystals, so many that it is a profit center for the mine, with contracted resellers and many examples going for heavy 5 digits. Florite, Calcite, etc....
Anything in the creek that is golden will likely be a bi-product of coal mining, coal burning, or otherwise human made... creek has had feet in it since the Spanish explorers, and well before. However, with so much sulfur and water bubbling up into it, i wonder if there might be some good deposits of very very small gold in some of the sedimentary rocks. Lets check !

 

[bahabully]

Do you have a streak plate available? Any piece of unglazed porcelain (think broken toilet or the like) will work. Scratch the rock on the plate and photo the streak.

Mid-Tennessee is predominantly dolomites/limestones with some shales. Most metal sulfides I found there were sphalerite, galena and occasionally pyrite (zinc, lead and iron sulfides) in a classic Mississippi-valley type deposit. These deposits can have a large footprint and relatively low-grade.

Hope this helps

Underside of toilet lid is not glazed. REDNECK streak plate that's good'nuff ? Used some of the crushed rock to get a fresh scrape from same rock... . Tried to get it off another similar rock but it turned out to be limestone.

 

[bahabully]

Also, any thoughts on the precipitate on the knife. What set my ears up was the gold colored stuff in the blade where the brown goo precipitate is the most thin. Just wondering if anyone has ever looked at precipitated gold under a microscope before, and if this stuff has a similar look and feel to it, or is just a gooey mess of some type of golden color compound.

 

[SRM]

The streaks are similar to some iron minerals. Might be time for an assay.

 

[bahabully]

The streaks are similar to some iron minerals. Might be time for an assay.

Do said iron minerals have value that would justify an assay ? Or, should I roast these over night on the old back yard burn pit / fire pit on a cast iron skillet ?

 

[goldshark]

If pyritic, roasting will drive off the Sulphur. A low red heat is good enough. Stir frequently, Don't breath fumes. After cooling, run a magnet over sample. If filings attract to magnet, then you have pyrite of some sort. It May or may not have some PM's in it. If you have a small sample, try it before you try 10 or so pounds. !0 lbs. in a residential area will attract some attention. Report back with results.All night isn't necessary, and could lead to other problems, as well as too high a temperature for Lead and Silver, if contained in the sample. Sulfides are present with Zinc, Lead, Copper, Iron,Arsenic, Cadmium, etc. Start with basics, and small amounts, then move on to some other tests ( see the section under prospecting ). Since you have to ask these questions, perhaps a professional Lab should make these determinations on the contained minerals. These tests should not be taken lightly. Lots of heavy, toxic metals in stuff.

 

[bahabully]

If pyritic, roasting will drive off the Sulphur. A low red heat is good enough. Stir frequently, Don't breath fumes. After cooling, run a magnet over sample. If filings attract to magnet, then you have pyrite of some sort. It May or may not have some PM's in it. If you have a small sample, try it before you try 10 or so pounds. !0 lbs. in a residential area will attract some attention. Report back with results.All night isn't necessary, and could lead to other problems, as well as too high a temperature for Lead and Silver, if contained in the sample. Sulfides are present with Zinc, Lead, Copper, Iron,Arsenic, Cadmium, etc. Start with basics, and small amounts, then move on to some other tests ( see the section under prospecting ). Since you have to ask these questions, perhaps a professional Lab should make these determinations on the contained minerals. These tests should not be taken lightly. Lots of heavy, toxic metals in stuff.

Sounds like a plan GoldShark, I'll use the 32 gram sample imaged in the thread. We have a bit of rain this week, so will target a weekend burn. Will remove any newly formed magnetics and weight them out, image them, etc.. Will also grab a sample of the remaining non-magnetic and provide additional images of those prior to next step. I'm out in the country, no one within 200 yards and that's just one home. Probably have 30 brush piles taken off fencelines and stacked 15 feet high all around the place, do it annually and probably will for another 10 years before the place is cleared off like I want it...... I'm not a chemist but I do have a math/applied stats deg, and I'd give good odds into a pure guess that the amount of toxins from the poison oak, poison ivy, cedar oils, and tannins that I've stacked into those piles just may exceed a dozen or so mason jars of roasted crushed creek rock. Either way, between the fire and any living thing, will be a lot of air. The persistent hammering of toxicity in this forum has sunk into my skin. To that point, I think I'll just lay some wood down, put sample in skillet on wood, light and walk away, fire and forget, even with a M90 mask in garage some of the stories and warnings on this site have shaken my willingness to stand within 30 feet of the roast.. net - no stirring. I'll spread thin on skillet and since it is so small of a sample the entirety of the sample should have full contact with air. Will attempt to mitigate over heating with employment lower BTU wood. Have some nice seasoned Hackberry that burns clean, decent coals and puts out heat below your more common hardwoods used for burning in home stoves. Also have a bit of osage orange if we ever need to melt diamonds. You say low glow, I say Hackberry ! Will report back with results soon, stay tuned.. cheers !

 

[SRM]

If you are going to roast 32 grams, check it frequently if you have the PPE. If it has stopped smoking and sparking even when stirred, it is done.

 

[bahabully]

If you are going to roast 32 grams, check it frequently if you have the PPE. If it has stopped smoking and sparking even when stirred, it is done.

What is proper PPE ? Does a M90 mask with full face shield and charcoal filters work on all these toxic roasting gasses ? Also, what is the affect of over roasting ?... can it burn off precious metals ? Skillet gets pretty dang hot, laying inside a fire and on top of hot coals. That's another reason I prefer to just wait until the next day,,, after the fire has gone out, and the cast iron has had time to cool down a bit. Fire and forget has two nice features... 1 - it's easy 2 - it's safe, or safer. That said, if I'm losing PM's this way, then I can mask up, put on the thermal gloves, grab the skillet from fire and lay it in yard until she cools down. I'm good either way.. Never knew there was such thing as over roasting, learning.

 

[goldshark]

Au losses can occur either by having course pyrite , or if too hot, can volatilize some of the Au/Ag. Course pieces will pop like popcorn, throwing pieces out of the pan. Sphalerite sulphide will start to give off a white smoke. Galena will cook off the Sulfur, and start to coalesce into beads of Lead. Don't know what the other metals will do, as I really only have experience with Iron and chlacopyrite, staying away from base metals, due to the fact that it generally doesn't pay to start up a massive operation, for a few pennies per pound profit, when sold on the open market.
PPE's can consist of a fume hood/scrubber (best option), an N-100 particulate respirator, or some other apparatus to capture fumes, to convert into Sulphuric acid. I know you are going to do what I say, that is why I recommend a proper lab to conduct the testing. For a very minor amount, ( less than 1 ounce ), cook it to the atmosphere, stay up wind, and don't let the fumes bother any animals downstream. I did not tell you to do that though.
I don't know if you are testing for some small pieces you found, or a large deposit you may have discovered.
It is fun to play, but remember there can be serious consequences to what you are doing. One of the worst afflictions is Gold fever. Do not contract that, under any condition.
Finally, read the threads under prospecting, to learn of some tests which can be conducted with minimal samples. Mineralogy is a very useful tool also. Learn how to identify the various sulfides, and their stages of oxidization. 800 F. is usually too hot, for a proper assay or evaluation.

 

[SRM]

You can put it on and leave it until it cools. A sample of 32 grams won't generate much smoke and will be lost in the smoke from the burn pile. Not much danger of losing PM's, it just takes longer than needed.

 

[bahabully]

Au losses can occur either by having course pyrite , or if too hot, can volatilize some of the Au/Ag. Course pieces will pop like popcorn, throwing pieces out of the pan. Sphalerite sulphide will start to give off a white smoke. Galena will cook off the Sulfur, and start to coalesce into beads of Lead. Don't know what the other metals will do, as I really only have experience with Iron and chlacopyrite, staying away from base metals, due to the fact that it generally doesn't pay to start up a massive operation, for a few pennies per pound profit, when sold on the open market.
PPE's can consist of a fume hood/scrubber (best option), an N-100 particulate respirator, or some other apparatus to capture fumes, to convert into Sulphuric acid. I know you are going to do what I say, that is why I recommend a proper lab to conduct the testing. For a very minor amount, ( less than 1 ounce ), cook it to the atmosphere, stay up wind, and don't let the fumes bother any animals downstream. I did not tell you to do that though.
I don't know if you are testing for some small pieces you found, or a large deposit you may have discovered.
It is fun to play, but remember there can be serious consequences to what you are doing. One of the worst afflictions is Gold fever. Do not contract that, under any condition.
Finally, read the threads under prospecting, to learn of some tests which can be conducted with minimal samples. Mineralogy is a very useful tool also. Learn how to identify the various sulfides, and their stages of oxidization. 800 F. is usually too hot, for a proper assay or evaluation.

Nice answer GShark Just playing, no large deposits here in Mid. Tn, other than arrow heads and limestone. Mostly curiosity of what is in some of the rock types in "no gold" creek... Gold bug bit, yeah.... so would probably be happy paying 100 to get out 2 dollars of gold if that's even possible. I see many in forum who appear to be Big Tyne and I'm Rec. The difference is will articulated in the following Pro vs. College white paper:

Gonna keep slow learning, work up to the Big'tyne.

 

[goldshark]

I don't know much about Tn. geology. Sedimentary rocks usually have big Lead and Zinc deposits. Some precambrian rocks out there, which are the ones to host Au/Ag deposits. Still fun to play with rocks. A lot to learn about the history and make up of planet Earth.