How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content

[SPWalker]

'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

I had a small bag of rocks given to me by a frend in Mexico to give to my kids when I got back to Texas. My kids picked out the pretty ones and I looked in the bag of what was left and found the large rock (in jpeg). I checked out what the kids had and pulled out two more heavy rocks for testing. I believe that my friend may have found a silver deposit. My question is 'how would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'?

Note that all mineral deposits are the property of the government in Mexico (bummer).

Thank for reading, keep on digging

SPW

 

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[aussco999]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

Hey SPW:

Testing for silver and gold is not a big deal, as it can be done with a blow pipe on charcoal, or a few test tubes using wet chemistry, but by the time you bought all of your supplies and learned the procedure, it would be easier and faster to send a small rock sample (like the small one in your photo), to an assayer for a precious metal assay.

I also live in Texas (and work in the rest of the world), and when I need a third party gold/silver assay, I used Reed Labs in Carlsbad, CA at $17.50, Pete McLaughlin in Ridgecrest, CA at $15., and Jacobs Lab in Tucson, AZ at $17. per assay. Turn around time is normally 7 to 10 days. Send them an ore sample of a minimum 30 grams, and no more than one pound, and their results will come back as oz/ton, or PPM on silver and gold.

Also, I don?t completely understand your statement about mineral deposits in Mexico belonging to the government, that just isn?t true. I just finished a feasibility study on a large placer/lode gold mine in Mexico, and it belonged to a private group of foreign investors. You have to pay a tax to the Mexican government for extracting precious metals, but that is true of every country, except the USA.

And a final thought, Mexico is one of the worlds biggest producers of silver, so maybe your friend should look into filing a mineral concession (mining claim), if the assays proves your ore to be high in silver. Let me know if I can be of any more help to you. Good luck and happy holidays.

John

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

HI,? A quick and simple check for silver is to jut crush a small piece, put into a test tube with Nitric acid, heat, then drop in some common table salt. A whitish curd will form if there is any silver in your speciman, amount of curd depends upon how much silver there is.?
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Also, I don?t completely understand your statement about mineral deposits in Mexico belonging to the government, that just isn?t true.? I just finished a feasibility study on a large placer/lode gold mine in Mexico, and it belonged to a private group of foreign investors.? You have to pay a tax to the Mexican government for extracting precious metals, but that is true of every country, except the USA.

A )? Yes the minerals do belong to the gov't, - same as in the US -but a concession can easily be secured allowing you exclusve rights to mine it.? Exploration titles are now valid for 50 years, same as for Explotation.

Go to http://www.economia.gob.mx/?P=1035 for an English version of the mineral laws, this has since been surperceeded.
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And a final thought, Mexico is one of the worlds biggest producers of silver, so maybe your friend should look into filing a mineral concession (mining claim), if the assays proves your ore to be high in silver.? Let me know if I can be of any more help to you.? Good luck and happy holiday


Q) John, where were you in Mexico?? Tayopa is in Chihuahua,? up towards? Mulatos/Ocampo.


Jose de La Mancha ( I tilt wndmills )

 

[aussco999]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

Hey Jose:

Thanks for clarifying what I was trying to say about mining in Mexico. All of the land belongs to someone (like the government), but you can mine the minerals, and in most places, it's encouraged.

I was in Mexico for 2 years on a gold placer project in the northern part of Sonora, west of Magdalena. This new placer/lode project is down south in the State of Guerrero, near the town of Chilpancingo. I've heard of some having bad experiences working in Mexico, but if you can stay away from the pendejos (mostly the government), the local people are the best in the world to work with.

I 'll have to look on the map to locate the places you are talking about, but if I ever get close to you, I'll get in touch, and we can have a cold cerveza together.

Take care and feliz Navidad.

John

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

Hey Jose:



I was in Mexico for 2 years on a gold placer project in the northern part of Sonora, west of Magdalena.? This new placer/lode project is down south in the State of Guerrero, near the town of Chilpancingo.?the local people are the best in the world to work with.

A) Hey that is dry hot country, were you on the present river( ?) course or in the dry areas? Were you this side of Caborca?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I 'll have to look on the map to locate the places you are talking about, but if I ever get close to you, I'll get in touch, and we can have a cold cerveza together.

A) De acuerdo. Incidentally the grographiclal co-ordinates for Tayopa are ------(28* 00' 26.1560" N ) (108* 56' 57.8662 W) Look it up on GOOGLE EARTH

Take care and feliz Navidad.

John
~~~~~~~

jcurry@prodigy.net.mx
RealdeTayopa@hotmail.com
Jseph Curry -->Jose de La Mancha

 

[SPWalker]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

John/ Jose:

Thank you for the information. At under $20.00 just to see the results, I can verify what we may have. Once I get a result I can post it for more comments.

My comment about whom would own the minerals in Mexico were from what I was told by a good friend. My friend and I are not completely aware of the facts your help was appreciated.

Thank you.

SPW

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

ohn/ Jose:

Thank you for the information. At under $20.00 just to see the results, I can verify what we may have. Once I get a result I can post it for more
comments.
~~~~~~~~

A) firs ttest it with the nitric acid and table salt to see if it warants assaying, if so , go for it. and make a million.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My comment about whom would own the minerals in Mexico were from what I was told by a good friend. My friend and I are not completely aware of the facts your help was appreciated.? ?

~~~~~~
A) Keep that web site on record, Any questions either JOHN or I will be glad to help as best we can, no problem.
Thank you.

SPW

Jose de La Mancha ( I tilt windmills )

 

[aussco999]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

Jose:

Yes, it?s some very dry country in that part of Sonora, except during the rainy season, then it?s impassable. If a river was there, I never saw it. Our water came from a deep water well and was pumped up the hill to a 400,000 liter storage tank. The placer project was located just north of Caborca, in the Valley of Altar, near the Cerro Sombreretillo.

I could normally reach the mine site in a 3 hour drive after crossing the boarder at Sasabe, but if it rained while I was there, it was a 5 hour drive south, before I could turn north again. The biggest non-mining related problem we always had was that the mine was located in an area of major drug trafficking. This meant that during the days the roads were owned the federal police and soldiers, and at night, the Druggies. The poor ranchers and dumb-assed miners were caught in the middle.

The Druggies never bothered us, as they had more important things to do, but the police and soldiers were a major pain-in-the-ass on a regular basis. After 2 years of operations, it did not hurt my feelings when the concession owner sold out to a major copper mining company. I was getting tired of crossing the boarder every month and being treated like a criminal on both sides.

Thanks for the coordinates to Tayopa. I checked the map and it looks like some rough country. When you say Tayopa is found, but you can?t get to it, does that mean you can?t get inside of the mountain? I know some crazy Mexican hard-rock miners that like nothing more than opening up mountains. One especially crazy, but good miner, likes to rush back into an adit after shooting off a round of ANFO so that the heavy ammonium odor will drain his sinus. I said he was crazy, not smart.

Also, I read one of you posts saying that you were on the Canal in ?42. Were you there as a Jar-Head or a Doggie? My Dad was there as a Doggie. Either way, I want to personally say thanks for what you did there. (Semper Fi - Nam 69-70)

John

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

hi auss: Sorry I haven't been back to this site since I lost rack of which.. As for Tayopa, it is just as you say, a combination of Gov't, ,narcos, plus a bit of financing to open them up.

A Swabbie, airale.

Jose Tropical Tramp Til---

 

[Rob66]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

Just be careful they are not lead! scratch a little of the metal you are testing, on a stone sharpener and apply a drop of acid.if it disappears it is not gold.

 

[Peg Leg]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

Hi TropicalTramp,
Just in case anyone is interested. If you crush enough silver ore and desolve with nitric acidand after you add the table salt. YES the silver material will go to the bottom BUT YOU ARE NOT DONE YET.
Take some CORN SYRUP and pout this into the gray silver laying on th bottom, Stir this syrup. The silver will turn black. Now all you need to do is melt this. What you end up with is .999 Fine Silver.
Corn Syrup is DEXTROSE.This IS THE CHEAPEST WAY TO GO and it can be purchased in the store.
Peg Leg

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

A) De acuerdo. Incidentally the grographiclal co-ordinates for Tayopa are ------(28* 00' 26.1560" N ) (108* 56' 57.8662 W) Look it up on GOOGLE EARTH

Joe, did you just give away the geographical coordinates for the possible entrance to the lost treasures of Tayopa?

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

A) De acuerdo. Incidentally the grographiclal co-ordinates for Tayopa are ------(28* 00' 26.1560" N ) (108* 56' 57.8662 W) Look it up on GOOGLE EARTH

[/quote]Joe, did you just give away the geographical coordinates for the possible entrance to the lost treasures of Tayopa?
***********

sseehs Guy, I just found this. Sorry for not responding before. Hehehe that is the actual mining monument location as required by law, Tayopa is within a circle of 1800 meters heheeh, try to find it - sdes I now own it for the next 47 years. Apparantly only I know it's exact location. that is rough country my friend, there is no visible signs of any miining except for a few arrasttres.

 

[Oroblanco]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

Greetings SPW,
I don't want to discourage you but I would caution you not to go spending money for assays and other tests if you do not know the exact place where the samples came from. If they were to turn up RICH and you don't know the exact plact they came from it could drive you nuts! I had a buddy do just this - he picked up a very interesting piece of rock in the Yukon territory, which was very different from all the other rock in the area. He sent it in and had it tested for about every mineral they can test for and it came up very rich in platinum! However all we knew was where this piece of "float" had come from, and he spent the next summer season searching for the vein this rock had come from without ever finding it. As it was found in a gravel bank of a LARGE creek, it could have been transported from a great distance away (even by glacier from who knows how far) so led to a wild goose chase. Anyway if you don't know the exact site where the samples came from, don't waste your time or money having them tested.

I am NOT up to date on how to apply for a mining concession in Mexico on federal lands, the last I knew no non-citizen could own more than 49% of a mining concession so you would need a Mexican citizen as a partner to proceed. However the laws may have changed in the last twenty years since I was poking about, perhaps they are more liberal now? Joseph, you must know how the current laws work - any changes which are more liberal as to foreign owners of mines?

UPdated, I did a bit of looking and found that the Mexican mining laws HAVE changed in some dramatic ways!
Here is an overview, which does not include the recent (2005) changes:
http://www.smvv.com.mx/art3e.htm

One item of note to American (Gringos) prospectors, is this:

Concessions may only be granted to (or acquired by, since they are freely transferable) Mexican individuals, ejidos (see below) and companies incorporated pursuant to Mexican law, with no foreign ownership restrictions for such companies. While the Constitution makes it possible for foreign individuals to hold mining concessions, the Mining Law does not allow it. This means that foreigners wishing to engage in mining in Mexico must establish a wholly owned Mexican corporation for that purpose, or enter into joint ventures with Mexican individuals or corporations.

This is a legal "loophole" that might seem like just too much trouble, but if we are referring to millions of dollars it is well worth that extra trouble! Here is an article on the recent amendments to the Mining Law:

http://www.hg.org/articles/article_978.html

The most note-worthy change (for us Gringos) is the elimination of the 6 year exploration concessions, now you simply apply for the straight 50 year mining concession without having the steps to follow for the exploration concession. An important point in Mexican mining law, quite different from US is what lands are open to file claims on - check this out:

Land available for claiming
All land in Mexican territory is deemed to be free for claiming except i) land covered by existing mining concessions or concession applications, ii) land covered by concessions granted to the Council for Mineral Resources (called “assignations”) or their applications, iii) land which is part of the Mining Reserves and iv) Mexican maritime zones, which include not only territorial waters, but also an Economic Exclusive Zone of 200 nautical miles.

Now heck some of those old ideas are going to keep me awake all night!!!

Interesting sample in the photo, by the way!
Oroblanco

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

HI: Concessions may be granted to any legally formed Mexican company. Ownership is not restricted, foreigners may hold up to 100% of the company, providing that they hold their mining rights and company liable under Mexican Law with no recourse to their native country.



Till Eulenspeigle de La Mancha

 

[Oroblanco]

Re: 'How would I test for silver (maybe gold) content'

Thanks buddy! I knew that YOU would know the current situation with Mexican mining laws! You DO realize, of course, that your information is going to directly cause ME to lose sleep now right? There is a particular spot, not too danged far across the border into Sonora, that I just gave up on when the law was that you could not own more than 49 percent - this spot is one that my favorite BS thrower (Milton Rose) claimed to have found a lost Jesuit silver mine. I don't think it is quite as tough country as those barrancas, but still thick with brush and cactus and from what I hear a great spot to run into the drug smugglers so probably isn't a great idea. However you know how those old ideas die hard - it is tough to give them up! Silver has been holding really nice prices lately too, though it has been falling lately a good vein of rich ore or some nice slabs of native silver can net you a nice price.

Saw some nice native copper nuggets at a local museum in Willcox the other day - these were found around Bisbee and I have often wondered if there are not some similar copper deposits straight south across the border. Who knows?

Oroblanco