Gold flakes in slate?

[FreeBirdTim]

Is it possible to find gold flakes in slate? I found a small rock the other day and it has gold colored flakes on it. Doesn't appear to be iron pyrite, but not positive. Can you find gold flakes in slate? I live in Rhode island and there's not much gold around here, so I'm doubtful that it's gold.

Lousy pics, but maybe you can see the flakes on it.

 

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[Clay Diggins]

Yep that's gold.

Get a burlap sack and cover it with grease. Beat the heck out of that rock with the greasy burlap and all the gold will stick to the burlap. Then run it through a centrifuge and you will be rich.

 

[tamrock]

Yep that's gold.

Get a burlap sack and cover it with grease. Beat the heck out of that rock with the greasy burlap and all the gold will stick to the burlap. Then run it through a centrifuge and you will be rich.

You failed to mention that bear grease works the best 👌

 

[xr7ator]

Looks like pyrite to me, Tim. Scrap some off and if it will crumble, it's not gold.
Pan to confirm...it'll float away.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Thanks, xr7ator, you're probably right.

 

[Assembler]

Yep that's gold.

Get a burlap sack and cover it with grease. Beat the heck out of that rock with the greasy burlap and all the gold will stick to the burlap. Then run it through a centrifuge and you will be rich.

Don't forget to line the centrifuge with greasy burlap.........

 

[et1955]

Is it possible to find gold flakes in slate? I found a small rock the other day and it has gold colored flakes on it. Doesn't appear to be iron pyrite, but not positive. Can you find gold flakes in slate? I live in Rhode island and there's not much gold around here, so I'm doubtful that it's gold.

Lousy pics, but maybe you can see the flakes on it.

View attachment 2146611 View attachment 2146612

It's Mica

 

[Assembler]

It's Mica

Still crush some and try the pan to see what mite be there.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

MAPP gas torch

 

[Assembler]

MAPP gas torch

May not be worth the effort and cost of the gas.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Looks like a lot of iron in the rocks, and what a few have said, Pyrite. It's possible there might be some micro gold in there. But you need to pulverize it into a powder, and then carefully pan it. It's the only way to know. But it's probably not economical, so do it for the fun of it.

 

[Ohiogoldfever]

There have been some slates found with gold. As stated crush and pan. Ya never know unless you try. I’ve been trying to lick the gold off the edges of my granny’s old tea set for almost a year now but at least I’m trying.

 

[Assembler]

There have been some slates found with gold. As stated crush and pan. Ya never know unless you try. I’ve been trying to lick the gold off the edges of my granny’s old tea set for almost a year now but at least I’m trying.

The upside to the work is that you could follow a bread crumb trail to a possible pocket (precipitated drop out or even a damming type of deposit). There could be some descriptions of the rock flows that could give you strong clues what to look for or expect in your given area.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

May not be worth the effort and cost of the gas.

Simple Chemistry. Gain knowledge. If you can't afford 3 minutes of torch perhaps knowledge is beyond your means.

 

[Assembler]

A typical melting point of muscovite is around 1250-1300C. However there are many different kinds of mica.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

A typical melting point of muscovite is around 1250-1300C. However there are many different kinds of mica.

perhaps knowledge is NOT beyond your means, and if it melts?

 

[Assembler]

perhaps knowledge is NOT beyond your means, and if it melts?

Just how much gas are you using on the hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminum and potassium to get to the melting point with the rock / solid form?

Slate is formed by a metamorphosis of clay, shale and volcanic ash that results to a fine-grained foliated rock. This can be part of your research in your given area as the metamorphosis process of nature can make for some interesting deposits depending on the given minerals within. The trail that leads you to a different mineral makeup deposit can be worth the time.

I should point out that just volcanic ash alone could be a good source of minerals you could be looking for.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Scraped some off and it floated in water, so not gold! Thanks for the help, guys.

 

[Assembler]

Scraped some off and it floated in water, so not gold! Thanks for the help, guys.

If you just scraped off the surface you will only be testing just the surface of that rock. How about most of rest of the deposit in that sample?

If you can read some geology reports about the rocks and flows in that area to help see what to look for as well as the age of the different rocks or flows.

 

[DizzyDigger]

If there's that much gold in slate rocks then I'm gonna be a rich man....my region of the N. Cascades is lousy with the stuff.

Sir Diggins...Wasn't that burlap and bear grease trick recommended by the most expert expert we were ever honored to have on the site? Been a few years and the nightmares have finally stopped, but I ain't forgot.