We found a gold mine on our property

[kazcoro]

if i was to have somthing like this,first gather as many samples to be assayed, then i would seal that tunnel,in reality that tunnel is a hazard and not an asset, and to make it an asset would be some consider investment of time and money,having said that ,i would like the notion at least of having a gold (reserve) , but i would focus most of my efforts on the placers,the old timers were obviously working placers there as well, so there old workings will point the way,so go get what they missed.perhaps your heirs could benifit from the hard rock assets in the future, right now it would be an enormous undertaking, and it is very unlikly you find a visible vien that would offer any get rich quik gold ,so my advice is to get samples see whats there,then seal it.

This, and also keep in mind what Clay has to offer. He can be a real asset...

 

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[Niner]

I know that, kazcoro. And I can't thank you folks enough for taking up your time to help a rookie out.

A small sample of the rocks littering the hillsides of the area:

 

[Niner]

One that came out of the mine

 

[DesertNuggets]

One that came out of the mine
<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=960249"/>

Looks good.

 

[loco oro]

well, i can tell a lot just from that last pic,if you could get any more pics it would tell you the entire story i would imagine,for instance ,the sample i am seeing ,tells me they were chasing a sulphide ore body (likely), in a lime stone host,that last pic, is of material that is contact material, you can see this with low temp,hydrothermal deposit,it will be mottled with the host rock,this instance being limestone,will be remnants mixed in with what seems a lil different,like some was in solution, and some not quite, your talings pile not far from opening should have lots of stuff just like this,now you see the iron coloration,center of pic,then the color changes quikly to a darker grey,this darker grey is likely the matrix ore, or very close to it,my guess is they were chasing it out looking for the massive deposit,but it likely dipped out on them,having said all this,that contact crap they tossed out, does have a chance of having well developed crystals , those contacts are vuggy,prone to pockets,good place for crystal growth. a few more pics and i am sure you can zero in on what the old timers were up to ! very cool in my book!

 

[Niner]

Another shot of the rocks from inside

 

[Niner]

Another shot of the rocks littering the area outside the mine.

 

[huntsman53]

I would suggest looking over the rocks with a Gem Loupe to see if you can see some specks of Gold. Otherwise, crush some of the rocks and pan the material out to see what you have.


Frank

 

[Goodyguy]

When I see iron stained decomposed (rotten) quartz like that, I examine closely for any visible gold. Sometimes it's not visible but hidden inside so crushing and panning is advised.

I've crushed a lot of rotten quartz that didn't pan out but sometimes you get lucky.
The iron staining is usually a good clue but not always.

Wouldn't hurt to have a sample or two assayed to see how much value is locked up in sulfides and get advice from there. Picking the right samples is the tricky part.
You're dealing with lots of unknowns and the fun part to me is the detective work, the hard part is the mining after the detective work is completed.

Best wishes for a profitable future,
GG~

 

[Goodyguy]

Here is a pretty good list of mining terminology to aid you in your discussions........
Mining Terms

 

[aaroncalw1986]

was that pick found buried in a tree stump?

 

[Mine Shaft]

Lol, emerald? I believe the only emerald you'll find in Cali is the variety grown in the "emerald triangle", also, without even looking at the pic I can almost guarantee you are not seeing gold in the ribs. That tunnel was dug (presumably) for gold, whoever dug that would not expose a section of visible gold and then just leave it in the wall and keep digging.

Hi Kingclean, FYI there are Emerald's in Cali lol here is a pic of the proof and a nice nugget stuck in it for good measures. This was extracted from our claim in Socal.

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Hi Kingclean, FYI there are Emerald's in Cali lol here is a pic of the proof and a nice nugget stuck in it for good measures. This was extracted from our claim in Socal.

What makes you think those are emeralds?

Is there a way to test it?

Looks like Olivine to me, but I’m no mineralogist.
Then again Olivine doesn’t appear to have such a defined crystal.

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Per the long ago post about how miners are not going to leave a section of gold bearing ore just hanging on the wall....
My dad knew a couple old miners that had a mine up in the mountains (we have it now). It was a father and son operation. The dad mostly worked the mine for specimen gold. The story goes that the son was up at the mine getting ready to blast for his dad and his pa told him to wait while he grabbed his savings out of the mine. Something to that effect.

Along the hanging wall he had intentionally left an intact 2” thick slab of quartz vein. When it was popped off with a chisel, the backside was covered with gold! He asked his dad why he hadn’t grabbed it earlier when he knew the kind of gold it held. He said it wasn’t going anywhere..kind of like a savings account for the bad times.

I’m positive that mine has decent gold in it, the exposed vein on the surface was running about an ounce to the ton of ore if I remember correctly.

Have to also remember the old timers were sorting ore by candle light many times. No metal detectors back then.

 

[Mine Shaft]

What makes you think those are emeralds?

Is there a way to test it?

Looks like Olivine to me, but I’m no mineralogist.
Then again Olivine doesn’t appear to have such a defined crystal.

He took it to Kay Jewelers they said yes natural dark green emeralds in Quartz. Look close at the perfect hexagon shape of the gem. I looked at pic's of "Olivine" not close to the shape of the little gem's in the quartz stone.

 

[Clay Diggins]

Hi Kingclean, FYI there are Emerald's in Cali lol here is a pic of the proof and a nice nugget stuck in it for good measures. This was extracted from our claim in Socal.

Your mineral does look like it may be green Beryl. Beryl is not an uncommon mineral. It is found in many colors some of which are considered gem stones. Morganite (pink), Heliodor (gold), Aquamarine (blue green) and Emerald are the most desirable color groups of Beryl and if of sufficient quality and size can bring a good price in the gemstone market. They are all the same mineral but different colors.

Emerald is a particular rare green color of Beryl. I have traded in Emeralds for more than 40 years. Your mineral in no way approaches the color profile of Emerald.

Heavy Pans

 

[OwenT]

For the shape I might also think pyromorphite but the dark color isn't as typical of that.

 

[BlasterJ]

I kind of want to take a gemology class at the community college when it opens again.

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Your mineral does look like it may be green Beryl. Beryl is not an uncommon mineral. It is found in many colors some of which are considered gem stones. Morganite (pink), Heliodor (gold), Aquamarine (blue green) and Emerald are the most desirable color groups of Beryl and if of sufficient quality and size can bring a good price in the gemstone market. They are all the same mineral but different colors.

Emerald is a particular rare green color of Beryl. I have traded in Emeralds for more than 40 years. Your mineral in no way approaches the color profile of Emerald.

Heavy Pans

Good to know. I’ve always thought I might incorporate an emerald into a trophy nugget ring.

 

[Mine Shaft]

Thank you Clay good to know that info.