Ok - some more puzzling and interesting stuff here - dug these samples out of one exposed outcrop of a rock hillside - they seem to be the edge of something quite large, gets much bigger. Sorry for the large amount of pics, but there seems to be a lot going on in these pieces
The body of the rock appears to be chalcedony. Looks like at least 4 different sulfides or sulfates, 2 metals, and some odd chunks that break apart separately, and look to be some sort of crystals that possibly formed before the rest of the deposits did - you can see depressions where they separated to the other side, as well as the chunks themselves in other pieces.
I'm a little hesitant to break open one of the crystal chunks in case they have value, but I'm thinking maybe it is just quartz in those chunks, at the hexagonal ones? Maybe you can give me a hint from the shape - Most are sort of hexagonal, but flat at each end, differing in length. However, SOME of the crystals appear to be an oblong round shape, still flat at the ends - I have no idea what they are.
The metals appears as very fine grains throughout almost ALL the rock material, really fine grains, I hope they show in the images, in some of the focus areas. There appear to be at least two metals, one silvery, the other a little darker, or with a hint of color. They are more obvious in the areas closer to the iron "vein", but I'm now realizing they are prevalent in all areas.
The green looks to be copper sulfate? Then there are some mustard colored powdery deposits, some brown powdery deposits, some blackish powdery deposits - most interesting is the patches of intense blue - would love to know what metals might produce these colors of sulfides? I'm wondering if the mustard colored patches could be gold?
I'm starting to get really excited about the formations I'm finding in this area - but don't want to jump to conclusions over nothing lol
UPDATE: While looking at these samples in more depth, I've noticed that on one of the surface pieces that had a weathered side, quite worn by water, etc, that the silvery metal granules are completely untarnished - they shine and sparkle just like the fresh pieces inside - absolutely zero sign of weathering or oxidation. So it's definitely not silver - could it be platinum? What other silvery metals could look brand new and shiny on the weathered side?
While googling the heck out of different combinations - I'm not sure whether these are sulfates, sulfides, or even chlorides - but gold seems to be pretty consistent as a yellowy powder. Copper however, is more blue in sulfates than chlorides. What are your thoughts?
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