Over on the other site there is a thread about a guy that has taken about 15 BB sized pieces of pyrite and melted them and got a small amount of gold back from it. I know we have some super prospectors on here and I bet 1 or 2 have done this same thing. So whats the story? How can you melt pyrite? I have a zip loc bag as a joke that I filled a few days back that has maybe 2.5 pounds of pyrite in it and now I am wondering can it have gold? I know what sounds to good to be true usually is. But heck if I can fill a 5 gal bucket in 30 minutes and process it down in a few hours and get something out of it. Is it worth it? Or just to time consuming?
As always Thanks for the comments
still goldless
Replies
thanks I wont wast my time on that then.
thats cool i did not know that about the other metals or gold in pyrite
When hard rock mining Gold can be found with numerous metals including Silver, Copper, Nickel, Zinc and, Cinnabar.
Thank you FlourMike. That is what I was looking for.
Yes some types of pyrite holds gold and other metals. But usually not a great enough amount to be commercially viable. Its not that you cant do it its the end product has a very bad value. Unless your in the upper rockies or certain places in cali. I have not melted any and tested because we just dont get very much of it here. If he found a gold laden pocket it may be more gold content. I would think metals from most pyrite even though they have gold in them and the final color is sort of golden would range from .175-.350 or so. Lots of copper and silver and other metal mixes. A real heavy concentration might leave behind .500 to .650? hard to say till the acid hits it and as usual it will vary a lot even in the same vein.
I believe no one does it because the effort and time is a big disapointment.