Half gram picker! Also I need some help identifying strange ore..

[Steve1236]

Nice little half gram picker I found blowing out bed rock cracks this morning, also I came across a bunch of this qaurtz with something I need help identifying? If you blow up the picks its has small specks of gold also but too small to persue I think?

 

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[Steve1236]

This is another peice I grabbed, I like the light bluish color this stuff has to.
But looking at it closer I don't think it would hold up to the wet saw and polishing.

 

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[IAMZIM]

Wow those are beautiful! I love gemstones, great finds!! Wish we had them here, we have garnet called ant hill garnets that are pretty but rarely even a karat in size. The qaurtz with the garnets I found, big rocks of it, I just grabbed some small peices there's drainages at the bottom of the hill do you think its worth grabbing a bucket full of sand/gravel and going through to see if there's any gem qaulity ones?

What DDancer said^^^^

 

[Montana Explorer]

Is garnet and qaurtz mixture known to have gold? Thinking about crushing it and panning it out.

Yes.
I have found both garnet & gold in the same quartz host rock in the Ruby River area (first miners in the 1860's there thought the garnets were ruby's); which runs east of the old gold town of Virginia City.

If your ever up in MT, Ruby River is a great place to wash for gold!

 

[Montana Explorer]

One of these times soon, I'll get some material and take a pic after I pan it to show you all the interesting stuff left in the pan! One thing I have not found, but hope to soon is platinum. There are a few creeks by Phillipsburg Mt that are supposed to have some fine platinum!

Zim, if you know where Crystal Park is, up in the Beaverheads; across the valley from Crystal Park there are abandoned platinum mines, you can get there by going left on the dirt road, off of Wise River road (73) which is (dirt road) FS road 2401A.
The road junction of Wise River road & FS 2401A is at Goodenough Park (you can find this on Google maps or the MT state Gazateer map book); go about 4-5 miles down 2401A & you can see where they were strip mining for platinum, & all the (huge) tailing's piles.

There were old sheet metal buildings around there also from the mines

I knew a Vietnam vet back in the late 90's who worked those tailing's piles, & he had a lot of platinum to show for it.

He called it his 'Retirement fund'.
Not that far from Butte, either, if your still up there.

 

[IAMZIM]

Zim, if you know where Crystal Park is, up in the Beaverheads; across the valley from Crystal Park there are abandoned platinum mines, you can get there by going left on the dirt road, off of Wise River road (73) which is (dirt road) FS road 2401A.
The road junction of Wise River road & FS 2401A is at Goodenough Park (you can find this on Google maps or the MT state Gazateer map book); go about 4-5 miles down 2401A & you can see where they were strip mining for platinum, & all the (huge) tailing's piles.

There were old sheet metal buildings around there also from the mines

I knew a Vietnam vet back in the late 90's who worked those tailing's piles, & he had a lot of platinum to show for it.

He called it his 'Retirement fund'.
Not that far from Butte, either, if your still up there.

I think know exactly where you are talking about, I had always thought they were searching for gold and silver there.........(This is near Elkhorn ghost town yeah? Or close to Coolidge?)I may have to dig up my claim maps to see if there is anything public to dig in there. Thanks Montana Explorer!

 

[Eu_citzen]

I do! View attachment 1597193 Here ya go! the large ones are actually corundum, not considered sapphire because they are not transparent, some of these however can have a "star" in them if cut right! I've only had one faceted, (in the ring) it was also heat treated. The corundum I have had cabs made of a few. The rough ones you see here have not been heat treated. Still looking for a "special" one to have faceted other than the one in the ring!

Technicalities, but... A ruby is red, sapphire is every other color. Both belong to the corundum group.
Transparency matters not, or there'd not be any star sapphires..

 

[IAMZIM]

Technicalities, but... A ruby is red, sapphire is every other color. Both belong to the corundum group.
Transparency matters not, or there'd not be any star sapphires..

I agree, but there are some here in Montana that get offended if you call corundum sapphire, I'm just being careful! lol!