rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Sept 30, 2005 17:07:30 GMT -5
Well, far from a motherlode really, but I do think I might have found some gold. I bought some amethyst from a local rock shop a year or two ago, and I often toss a bit in a barrel of quartz hardness things to add some variety. It is not that uncommon to find shiny metal flecks on the amethyst, which I've always assumed was fool's gold (iron pyrite). Today, I decided to do a little investigating. I found an internet site where they described gold being associated with amethyst at a mine in Wyoming. So I took one of my own pieces of amethyst with a fairly large fleck of shiny metal on the exterior, which is this case is not all that large at all, about 2 mm in diameter (1/12th inch). I don't have any fancy gold testing method, so this crude test is the best I could come up with. Gold is supposed to have a mohs hardness of 2.3-3, whereas pyrite is mohs 6-6.5. So I took a common iron finishing nail (mohs 4), and tried to scratch the flake. If it is gold I should be able to scratch it, if it is pyrite I can't. Here's the amethyst with a metal speck:  Here's a close-up of the speck, pre-scratching:  And this is post-scratching it with a finishing nail:  Well, I suppose it could be some other gold-coloured metal, but it's kind of fun to think it is gold. Maybe I should start panning my slurry  |
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Post by Cher on Sept 30, 2005 17:12:03 GMT -5
Wow, that's really cool! I have a few pieces too that have gold looking
stuff in them and often wondered. One piece has it sort of floating inside
the purple, looks pretty cool. I think you nailed it, hope it doesn't cost
too much for gold panning supplies. *smile*
Cher
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Post by Alice on Sept 30, 2005 18:39:55 GMT -5
How cool is that!!!
there's a scratch test you can buy to find out if it really is gold.
I'm sure Doc knows where you can buy it.
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Post by krazydiamond on Sept 30, 2005 18:54:12 GMT -5
too cool!
KD
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Debs
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2005
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Post by Debs on Sept 30, 2005 19:10:35 GMT -5
It sure looks like gold to me. As it can be found on that type of stone and quartz often. While in Colorado we went to a couple of gold mines. They let us keep whatever pieces we found while panning. They told us to look for flakes, like cornflakes. If you look at it under a magnifying glass you can see the difference between that and other metals like pyrite. Pyrite is small pieces, kind of cube like with even edges. Gold pieces seem to have uneven edges. At least the ones we found did. We like panning so much I bought some panning gold dirt from a place in Colorado and Alaska. Sometimes late at night I sit down and try to find it. You can also tell gold by its color as it is really a bright yellow. Happy gold hunting!!!
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Post by LCARS on Sept 30, 2005 20:05:36 GMT -5
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Post by cookie3rocks on Sept 30, 2005 20:11:04 GMT -5
I have found some gold in local quartz, but only enough to be an amusement. Gold was found in this area of GA shotly after (or before, as the locals tell it) ot was found in California. Pyrite is darker, not as yellow, and much harder. You got some gold inclusions there, dude. Have fun!
cookie
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Post by Tweetiepy on Sept 30, 2005 21:58:00 GMT -5
Funny you should mention that, I found pieces of gold as well in the amethyst that came from Thunder Bay - one piece so far I've found has a few dashes around it - I'm not willing to scratch my amethyst to see if it's gold - but I'd be interested in knowing too what it is... Gold & amethyst (can you get much better than that) BTW this is from my amethyst mix - how much more could be in that joint?  RS, looks like you got more within the stone too! right below looks like gold inside too! |
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Post by rockds on Sept 30, 2005 22:34:53 GMT -5
cool, I've never see that before. I have some quartz w/ gold in it from CA but everyone's seen that. Wyoming amethyst just got put on my must have list.
thanks for sharing
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Sept 30, 2005 22:38:27 GMT -5
Cookie, I read an article about gold history in North America about a year ago (in Rock and Gem, I think), and yes, I seem to recall that the Georgia gold rush was one of the first strikes, and turned out quite a bit of gold in its day.
Tweet, your gold-on-amethyst looks exactly like mine... I'm sure it would scratch with a nail too. There are quite a few gold mines in northwestern Ontario, so I guess maybe this gold-amethyst association is much more common than I'd realized. By the way, with a finishing nail (mohs 4) you don't have any worry about scratching the actual amethyst (mohs 7), so scratch away if you want.... well, maybe not, as you might leave a metal streak on the amethyst that might be hard to remove.
Rockds, just to be clear, I don't know if my amethyst (or Cher's with her gold) came from Wyoming, and Tweets came from Thunder Bay, Ontario. I don't know the source for mine. But I did see a website where someone mentioned the gold-amethyst association in Wyoming, though his seemed to be mainly fine hairs of gold growing in vugs in the amethyst. But yes, get some and check it out!
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walrusleather
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2005
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Post by walrusleather on Oct 1, 2005 8:54:55 GMT -5
i picked up in N GA a few years ago, around the tallulah gorge area, some stuff i thought to be pyryite, it turned out to be gold, just over a few grams worth in a chunk of quartz matrix riverrock. was enough to take to a pawnshop and have scratch tested (was told by local it was gold, didnt believe him) turned out it was!!! have heard about the Wyoming and brazillian amethyst with gold and silver both in them.
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Post by Tweetiepy on Oct 1, 2005 13:58:16 GMT -5
How much would a bit that big be worth? $2?
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Oct 1, 2005 14:33:54 GMT -5
Gold is what, US $460 per ounce now? So if Walrus found a few grams, say 3 grams, that would be 3/28.35 of an ounce, which would be worth almost US $50 if it was pure gold.
As for my flake of gold, I'm sure we're talking pennies there.
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Post by Cher on Oct 1, 2005 14:46:22 GMT -5
It's pretty cool anyway, I'd still love to be able to go panning for gold out west. Closest I'll get now it rock tumbling ... lol.
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walrusleather
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2005
Posts: 193
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Post by walrusleather on Oct 1, 2005 17:08:26 GMT -5
yeah its like 45 bucks worth,, so tiny not enough for an earring,, LOL
but still was a cool find.
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Debs
fully equipped rock polisher
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Post by Debs on Oct 1, 2005 19:16:54 GMT -5
Hey Cher now that's an idea to give you something to keep you busy. I did go gold panning in Colrado, California and Alaska. Until recently I never knew you could buy some pay dirt with gold in it and pan at home. There is a company in Colorado and Alaska. I ordered from both and there was gold in both of them. Just do a search on gold panning an it will come up. I love to do it late at night or on a bright sunny day. I take a break from what I'm doing and sit here at the kitchen table and pan for gold. My mom has always wanted to go gold panning but was never able to. So I brought the pay dirt to her. She loves it!
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SteveHolmes
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Post by SteveHolmes on Oct 2, 2005 2:16:33 GMT -5
RollingStone,
That is TOO COOL! I never knew you could find Gold in Amethyst. I'm glad you posted a pic of that. I have found some Gold as well. In fact, I had someone tell me a few tests you could do to test if it is gold or not. I was also told to take it to a Pawn Shop and have them test it for Gold. One of the tests was to soak it in Coke for a few days. If it was plain old Fools Gold (Pyrite) it would turn black. If it was Gold it wouldn't change color. I'll post a few pics of stuff I have. One of the pieces was soaked in Coke for 3 days, and the pyrite turned black, the other stuff is not yet confirmed Gold. I guess I need to think seriously about taking it to get tested. I do have one very big chunk that has been tested by a Geologist, and it does contain Gold. I'll post a few pics. Thanks again RS for the pic and starting this thread. I love Minerals as well as Rocks!
Steve
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SteveHolmes
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Post by SteveHolmes on Oct 2, 2005 2:20:17 GMT -5
Gold?  Malachite, Azurite, Quartz and a bit of Iron Staining. All of the ingredients for the Good Stuff!  |
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SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
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Post by SteveHolmes on Oct 2, 2005 2:44:04 GMT -5
Here's a pic of the piece that was soaked in Coke for 3 days. You can see the black areas which were once gold-colored. I was told that Coke will change the pyrite black, but not change Gold. If anyone can verify the accuracy of this test, please do so.  |
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SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
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Post by SteveHolmes on Oct 2, 2005 2:56:09 GMT -5
Finally,
Here's the piece that does contain Gold. This picture doesn't do the piece justice, and I will try to get another pic in the sunlight. You can see the Malachite, Iron, and just a little bit of the sparkle. The whole piece contains Gold, it's not just a vein. Hope you like the pictures.
Steve
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Malachite, Azurite, Quartz and a bit of Iron Staining. All of the ingredients for the Good Stuff!
