Opinions on metallic luster layers in Arizona fire agate

Steve1236 · Mar 9, 2020

So I've just recently started to look at what I have in specimens I gathered recently that I have
laying around, I barely have time to do anything other than work let alone time to get back out at my spot but I noticed this gold and silvery layer normally how fire layers are but these are metallic, I thought maybe just really cool rare fire color but I'm not so sure, areas where my brush couldn't reach while cleaning have little metallic hairs coming out of the botryoidal Chalcedony, some are gold silver colors but the shot I got of a good one is silverish color only, I had to hold the camera over the magnifier loupe, any thoughts, gold and silver or platinum maybe or maybe something else, var electrum maybe, I need a pro's help, any ideas would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.
Steve.

Kray Gelder · Mar 9, 2020

I guess fine wire gold happens. These two examples are from Washoe County, Nevada.

Good eye. I'm not that pro you're looking for, though.

Steve1236 · Mar 10, 2020

Its really odd, I've looked online everywhere and I'm stumped, it looks like gold with silver or platinum maybe but I didn't think it couldn't form a thin layer like fire does so I thought maybe it's a rare colors of fire but I noticed little metallic hairs/wires sticking out of those layers as if it was squeezed out from the pressure, some sticking out of the druzy as well, next time when I dig where I dug last I'm going to clean them much more carefully and not scrub them so hard, I probably scraped or broke most of the metallic wiry thingamagigers off...

Steve1236 · Mar 11, 2020

DDancer · Mar 11, 2020

You have some sort of metallic wire there and Kray is not far off in his thought of wire gold. Depending on what its alloyed with gold can appear silver if the content of silver is high enough, such deposits do exist in the Oro Blanco placers in AZ. The wire is not squeezed out of the rock but forms that way naturally from the solution that the agate is being formed in at the same time. I suggest you clean your rocks into a basin and carefully pan the debris to collect what your removing.
As to the coloration's your seeing in the agates if metallic's are there they can throw their own spectrum of colors into the mix especially if they've oxidized or reduced in various ways.

Steve1236 · Mar 11, 2020

There's a layer just a hairline under the chalcedony in some spots that is microscopic gold, its botryoidal like the chalcedony and when I hold it under water and look through a loupe you can really see the gold, it's there in those pictures above, just not wet or under water but its gold and some silver, maybe electrum or platinum maybe, I always say near Wickenburg because it's the closest town to my spot but I'm on the north side of the 60 a big gold bearing area, more towards San Domingo Wash but a little west of it, on mindat all I mentioned above are valid minerals, platinum had a valid but had a ? mark next to it so whatever that means. I'm leaning electrum personally but that's just a guess. So does the gold fill that certain layer in spots instead of iron/iron oxide maybe?
The last photo at the top of this page is this photo of gold you can clearly see its gold but its under a thin layer of botryoidal Chalcedony but I used clear hand sanitizer gel to peer into the stone better.

IAMZIM · Mar 12, 2020

Is it gold? It looks exactly like wire silver. I'd like to see a test result on it if you get it....what ever it is....it's really cool!

Steve1236 · Mar 12, 2020

I'm sure a lot of it is silver, this stuff is really cool, the druzy at certain angles all has a microscopic layer of either silver, white gold or platinum, it's one of them, it's super hard to get a clear pic of it but I will try, there's also raspberrie colored metallic wire here and there to and I thought I heard somewhere platinum mixed with another metal makes that metallic color, I could be wrong though and this silver or white gold maybe mesh looking areas as well, even some cool irredecence I'll try to get pictures of, what sucks is everything is microscopic but to collectors it's still pretty cool.

Steve1236 · Mar 14, 2020

I've been doing a lot of research and I believe I know what I have, the druzy quartz is something called adularia quartz and the thin layer of gold and silver or var electrum is an microscopic thin epithermal deposit, if anyone disagrees please set me straight, learning is a good thing, being stubborn is not.

fuss · Mar 14, 2020

I know that Adularia is a variety of feldspar that in some cases has a moonstone schiller. But here I think you have iridescent hematite in the chalcedony.
Not sure about the electrum part, unfortunately its hard to see details in the other images (its tough shooting such small subjects)

Steve1236 · Mar 14, 2020

I read that as well but google quartz adularia.

Steve1236 · Mar 14, 2020

Here's a neat little specimen with like a champagne druzy I took some close ups, if you look closely you can see metallic luster in some and little metallic wires inside some crytals in others and some Schiller or maybe adularesence?