Quartz with Pyrites from Greaterville, AZ

[utahgoldguy]

Brought back several kilos of quartz with iron streaks, pyrites, coarse crystal structures, etc. Dug them out of horizontal veins from the entrance to two small shafts. I have crushed up a bunch and gotten lots of shiny (pyrites and mica), but nothing I can identify as gold. Am I just wasting my time?

 

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[robert2b]

Roast them first and see what you get. Gold may be locked up in sulfides.

 

[arizau]

If you have powdered the material and screened it to, lets say, minus 30 plus 50, minus 50 plus 100 and minus 100 mesh then try that. If there is free milling gold then it should be easy to spot when panned in those screen fractions.

I found this but didn't read it but it may be of interest to you. http://www.geo.arizona.edu/Antevs/Theses/Gross1969.pdf

Good luck.

 

[arizau]

If you have not powdered the material and screened it to, lets say, minus 30 plus 50, minus 50 plus 100 and minus 100 mesh then try that. If there is free milling gold then it should be easy to spot when panned in those separate screen fractions.

I found this, haven't read it, but, it may be of interest to you. http://www.geo.arizona.edu/Antevs/Theses/Gross1969.pdf

Good luck.

 

[utahgoldguy]

Thanks robert2b. Will try that and report back.

And thank you arizau for the tip and the report. I did a fair amount of research before I went, but didn't see that one. Now I just have to (should) wait 'til after work to read it