Quartz banks, worth it?

[Antmath]

Hello guys. My title may seem a bit confusing but I will explain what I mean. As I have already said I live in Greece in a small volcanic island. There is a mountain which is known that it holds gold but nobody has searched for it. I have tried gold prospecting but I had no luck till now. Anyway, I came up with an idea that it looks to be more easy for me to put in action. I am thinking of going back there and collect some quartz pieces, break them and shred them until they become almost dust and then pan them. Do I have any chance of finding gold with that way or I am going to waste my free time? Also, is there a chance of a quartz piece to hold gold In it and not being able to spot it without break the quartz?

I am asking all this stuff because that particular mountain is holding gold on its top as I have read In some researches. That's why I suppose that if I find quartz on its top there are some great chances to hold gold in them. Also, as I have seen in museums mainly the mountain holds many kinds of quartz, purple, green, white etc.

Please guys I need your help. Thanks in advance.

Edit:Also, if I do find gold inside quartz, how many pieces do I need to shred and pan to collect some discent amount of gold? Approximately of course.

 

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[russau]

Rather than just breaking up random quartz peices ,why not get a good metal detector and try to pin point some targets and THEN bust them out to crush at home. Good luck on your adventure ! Post some pictures when you can .

 

[Antmath]

Yeah, I have thought about that many times. Do you have any recommendations? I can't afford an expensive one though, that's why I started prospecting with pan. I need a detector for beginners or some like that but I haven't made any search on mds so I don't even know what's the best cheapest one. Appreciate the assistance.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Answer...yes absolutely quartz can hide gold...lots of it, even when a gold detector doesn’t pick it up and you can’t see it.

Your only solution is to sample sample sample. In places where there is gold lode deposits, you should be able to fairly easily find some specks...finding the source or a large deposit takes a lot more work.

The pan and shovel will be your primary tools. Do some research on prospecting. There are hundreds of years of literature written about it.

If it’s known that this mountain has gold, then there will be evidence of old (maybe ancient) diggings. That’s were I’d start.

 

[brianc053]

...

If it’s known that this mountain has gold, then there will be evidence of old (maybe ancient) diggings. That’s were I’d start.

I think this is a really important point, so I'll repeat what IMAUDIGGER said: if the mountain was a known source of gold, then someone has removed some of the gold from the mountain in the past. You will be able to find evidence of their work (old diggings, piles of rocks that were hand-stacked and don't look like a natural formation). It would be best to sample areas where you can find evidence of this old work, because you'll have your best chance of finding gold there.

While it's always possible that you could be the first human being to find a new deposit of gold, it's more likely that others have found gold there in the past (especially given the rich history of your country!). Find where they worked and you'll find the gold they missed!

As for a metal detector, I'm afraid that the good gold-detecting machines are expensive. I don't believe there's an "inexpensive" gold detector - other than your eyes!

Good luck! And please post pictures of your beautiful island!
- Brian

 

[mike(swWash)]

Everyone above have given good advice, I would only add that a Falcon MD20 probe might be a good tool for your type of prospecting.
There's a lot of videos on the internet to show what it can do for you.

Good luck and good hunting my friend.

 

[Antmath]

Thank you for your answers guys, I really appreciate it a lot. That mountain which we are talking about has never been mined before. There have been made some researches whether or not the mountain holds gold. Unfortunately, the number of gold deposits in comparison with the amount of dirt is too small in order to maintain a mining unit. On the other hand it may be just enough to maintain one person. Plus I am not doing this to earn money, I am doing it as a hobby too. So, here some more questions.

1.Approximately,how much quartz do you need to collect if at least the half amount of it holds gold, to get a gram of pure gold? Also, I have to exclude mining the mountain because I can't do it legally. So I only can collect my gold through quartz.

2.Thats irrelevant with my case but someone maybe knows something. I am going to collect too much quartz. And as I told you that mountain holds all kinds of quartz. Is it possible to at least sell the specimens? I mean the quartz specimens, those that won't hold any gld inside them.

I hope that someone will be able to answer to my questions.

 

[Goodyguy]

1.Approximately,how much quartz do you need to collect if at least the half amount of it holds gold, to get a gram of pure gold? Also, I have to exclude mining the mountain because I can't do it legally. So I only can collect my gold through quartz.

It all depends on the sample, some quartz specimens may have zero gold while a high grade piece may be nearly all gold, with other specimens anywhere in between.

If half the specimen contained pure gold then you only need a 2 gram piece of quartz to get one gram of pure gold. Lets say the gold was only 50 percent pure then you need a 4 gram piece of quartz to get one gram of pure gold, and so on, easy to do the math.

I sure wish I could find quartz that contained half gold at any percent purity. That would be extremely high grade ore!
Getting a gram per ton of ore is fairly low grade and carrying a ton of ore down a mountain to get $55 USD would not be cost effective, but an ounce or more per ton may be worth it if you can handle the work.

2.Thats irrelevant with my case but someone maybe knows something. I am going to collect too much quartz. And as I told you that mountain holds all kinds of quartz. Is it possible to at least sell the specimens? I mean the quartz specimens, those that won't hold any gold inside them.

As far as selling quartz goes it all depends upon the specimen itself (too many types and qualities to list). Do a quartz search on e-bay and see what is selling, not just whats listed but what has actually sold. That will give you an excellent idea of the value of the different types of specimens.



Go for the Gold
GG~

 

[Antmath]

Thanks for your answer. My first question was a bit stupid maybe but I need to ask because I don't have the luxury and the equipment to do that work everyday. I need to have a plan. That doesn't mean that I won't try it though. The easiest way would be to have an md to detect possible gold findings before I start digging etc but as I mentioned I can't afford an expensive MD at the moment. So the o ly way is to go up there and start searching for quartz pieces that may hold some gold in them.

Regarding my second question. I don't wish to sell any quartz specimens on ebay or Amazon. I would feel more confident if there was any jewelry workshop or something like this which would be willing to buy quartz from people like us. It's easier to sell if the demand already exists I believe.

One last thing I hope,what's the best way to shred quartz and pan it in order to separate any gold specimens? Count the fact that I don't own any professional equipment so everything should be done with a hammer I guess?

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

If there any gold on your mountain, if only a single miner with only a pick and a pan could profit from it, there will be evidence of small diggings.

The streams and gully’s will have eroded gold.

The pan and shovel, after thousands of years, is still the first and primary tool for prospecting. A metal detector will only be of use once you have narrowed down the source...and even then it would have to be a rich deposit for a detector to pick up on it.
Some of the richest mines in the world do not have visible gold that a detector would pick up on.

As I suggested, do some research...the only shortcut we have available is online surveys, studies, maps, etc.
other than that it’s boots on the ground...and a pan and shovel.

A mortar and pedestal combined with a screen is the cheapest method for liberating gold from quartz.

Truthfully, if there was enough gold to mess with, someone would have already done so over the years. Could be it’s in a form that isn’t easily recovered, preventing economic recovery. The study you mentioned will certainly discuss this.

 

[OwenT]

Even if the quartz has a decent amount of gold in it, it’s possible that it’s evenly distributed through all the rock in small particles so that a metal detector won’t see it either so a metal detector isn’t necessarily the answer.

The only quartz specimens that are worth very much money are very rare, clear, and well formed crystals. Quartz is extremely common throughout the world and even a very pretty and large amethyst might not be worthy much at all because of how easily it is mined in places like Brazil and Uruguay. Better quality quartz specimens don’t aren’t usually found in gold-rich veins. I also wonder if you don’t only mean quartz since you mentioned it in many colors like green. Quartz may only be green if it has a coating of malachite or chlorite inclusions perhaps but if there are other well-crystallized minerals in the area, they may have some collector value.

You can crush quartz well enough with a sledge hammer on a thick piece of steel or a flat rock but it’s very tedious. A cast iron mortar and pestle might be a little easier. Once you get a powder you can pan it to see if there is any gold.

 

[Antmath]

Thank you so much guys for your help. I am going to try everything you proposed and I will keep this thread going so I will be able to upload photos etc. I am 100% sure that except some researches that have been done in the past on the mountain Noone else has ever mined it for gold. People would go there some times and collect quartz pieces and I think that may be some amethyst up there and of course many other specimens.
Anyway, as I said, the hardest thing in this mountain is that because of the fact that there aren't any streams in summer, not even in the winter, I have to collect my sample and take it with me back home to pan. That's why I am proposing to only search for quartz an focus my work on trying to collect gold from it. The first step for my research in order to go back there is to find the place where the researches were held. But it's a bit tough because those researches stopped many years ago. There are some archives out there I mean but I really need to dig deep to find exactly where the mining area was.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Pack a couple gallons of water with you and a container to pan in. If you are patient and careful, you will be able to pan some small samples, then strain the water back into your jugs.

If it rains...set up a tarp and let Mother Nature provide you with some water.

Some deposits have long eroded and nothing is left of the source.

But a pan and shovel will give you a quick indication if there is any gold in the drainage....if not move to the next drainage....it’s much faster than packing rocks around.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

If you use the Google Books search tool...you will be able to retrieve more information than you will have time to read.

For example search “Prospecting for Gold and Silver in North America - Arthur Lakes”. Nice free read.

 

[gold tramp]

It all depends on the sample, some quartz specimens may have zero gold while a high grade piece may be nearly all gold, with other specimens anywhere in between.

If half the specimen contained pure gold then you only need a 2 gram piece of quartz to get one gram of pure gold. Lets say the gold was only 50 percent pure then you need a 4 gram piece of quartz to get one gram of pure gold, and so on, easy to do the math.

I sure wish I could find quartz that contained half gold at any percent purity. That would be extremely high grade ore!
Getting a gram per ton of ore is fairly low grade and carrying a ton of ore down a mountain to get $55 USD would not be cost effective, but an ounce or more per ton may be worth it if you can handle the work.




As far as selling quartz goes it all depends upon the specimen itself (too many types and qualities to list). Do a quartz search on e-bay and see what is selling, not just whats listed but what has actually sold. That will give you an excellent idea of the value of the different types of specimens.



Go for the Gold
GG~

I would hike them crumbs off that mnt, that's how you build up a pile.
Might find some big stuff on the hike down.
Gt...

 

[Mine Shaft]

Instead of a detector would a good pin pointer be a good tool for him ? Good luck Antmath.

 

[Goodyguy]

Hello guys. My title may seem a bit confusing but I will explain what I mean. As I have already said I live in Greece in a small volcanic island. There is a mountain which is known that it holds gold but nobody has searched for it. I have tried gold prospecting but I had no luck till now. Anyway, I came up with an idea that it looks to be more easy for me to put in action. I am thinking of going back there and collect some quartz pieces, break them and shred them until they become almost dust and then pan them. Do I have any chance of finding gold with that way or I am going to waste my free time? Also, is there a chance of a quartz piece to hold gold In it and not being able to spot it without break the quartz?

I am asking all this stuff because that particular mountain is holding gold on its top as I have read In some researches. That's why I suppose that if I find quartz on its top there are some great chances to hold gold in them. Also, as I have seen in museums mainly the mountain holds many kinds of quartz, purple, green, white etc.

Please guys I need your help. Thanks in advance.

I've been prospecting a mountain near an old inactive gold mine that I call quartz mountain because I have never seen so much quartz in one area. Quartz boulders taller than I am and 6' or more in diameter, also float quartz everywhere, and huge weathered outcrops 100's of yards long and 6-12' wide.

Problem is, I have crushed and sampled for months now and not one speck of gold to be found not even down deep in the black sand rich washes, some of the quartz looked so promising with vugs and iron staining and plenty of crusty decomposition also known as rotten quartz but not a speck of gold. In other areas the quartz is just milky and solid also known as bull quartz and not really worth pursuing.

To answer your question "Quartz banks,worth it?"
Until you actually discover gold in or around the quartz all you have is hard work and nothing to show for it.
Just like black sand being an indicator. Just because you find some it doesn't mean a thing unless you hit some pay.


GG~

 

[gold tramp]

I've been prospecting a mountain near an old inactive gold mine that I call quartz mountain because I have never seen so much quartz in one area. Quartz boulders taller than I am and 6' or more in diameter, also float quartz everywhere, and huge weathered outcrops 100's of yards long and 6-12' wide.

Problem is, I have crushed and sampled for months now and not one speck of gold to be found not even down deep in the black sand rich washes, some of the quartz looked so promising with vugs and iron staining and plenty of crusty decomposition also known as rotten quartz but not a speck of gold. In other areas the quartz is just milky and solid also known as bull quartz and not really worth pursuing.

To answer your question "Quartz banks,worth it?"
Until you actually discover gold in or around the quartz all you have is hard work and nothing to show for it.
Just like black sand being an indicator. Just because you find some it doesn't mean a thing unless you hit some pay.


GG~

I learned to rely more on my miners lens for hard Rock prospecting.
Gt...

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

I learned to rely more on my miners lens for hard Rock prospecting.
Gt...

I picked up some quartz from a pile of ore...looked at many pieces and never saw a speck of gold...GB2 didn’t pick up any signal...yet when a tennis ball size rock was crushed, there was a nice smile in the leading edge of the pan.

Was a good lesson for me.

That pile of ore is still piled up waiting for me I think.
I should just plunk down the cash for a crusher/mill/table and get to work.