I grant that this is a gold prospecting forum, and it may sound like I'm being a heretic, but I like to think outside the box and as such I like to keep my options open as far as valuable minerals.
Do folks on this forum prospect for minerals of value other than gold?
If so what are they and what problems have you encountered with them?
Replies
Like Tim Garnets go in a vial other then that I find alot of pretty rocks they kinda collect in the gardens around the houes but I think most Prospetors have that problem too ! Laughing Here !!!
In Shasta county you can't NOT find the occasional garnet or garnet chip. It's nice when you find a good sized one with those soccer-ball facets and a bright red color. Makes the trip that much better.
I used to help out my brother in law on his sapphire mine in central Queensland. He would dig down underground about 30ft to the old river wash level using heavy machinery. Then the wash was removed, and screened to remove large rocks and then put through a sluice, sapphires are very heavy and are easily caught in the riffles. The sluice would also collect iron stone and the occasional gold nugget. At the end of the day the sluice would be cleaned out. Separating the iron stone from the sapphires was a bit of a chore, but I saw one miner who used a conveyer belt with a electromagnet this removed the iron stone easily and the sapphires ran off of the end of the belt into a container. good hunting Neilo
Metal detecting in the land down-under ( and perhaps visiting the opal fields ), has been a dream of mine for the last 20 years.
What minerals are you interested in looking for?
Why?
What area are you interested in?
Would you know one if you saw one?
What minerals would you be able to identify in the field?
Thinking outside the box is the best thing you can do keep it up!
Not trying to be a smart ass by my answer, just trying to find out a few things about your knowledge or lack of
as far as prospecting is concerned. Answer all the questions and lets go from there.
Area I'm interested in, would probably be Colorado and Utah.
As for why, I am disabled to the point where most prospective employers would not even take a second look at me so I'm trying to think outside the box to add a few extra $ to my pocket.
As for what minerals I can identify in the field - - would it help to know that I seriously considered going into geology while in high school and so I took every geology class they had, and 3 more geology classes in my only year of collage ( where I occasionally surprised my instructors )?
I really don't know how many different types of minerals I could field identify, as I have not tried before outside of class, but I have never really had a problem identifying sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks as such, and often have a better understanding of geologic processes than most museum guides I have met.
Please do not misunderstand me, I'm not trying to toot my own horn ( something I don't like doing ), I just don't know how to quantify the answer to the question of 'What minerals would you be able to identify in the field?' I often recognize metal ( copper and iron ) oxidation or sulfides for what they are . I recognize many of the forms that silica takes such as quartz, flint, obsidian, chert ( as well as several of their closer relatives ). I know some basic field testing procedures to differentiate between dolomite and limestone. I know that I can use UV to identify some minerals and know some basic field chemistry tests to identify others, and have done borax bead tests before and figure that with most of that, field identification can often be made through a basic process of elimination - for anything else I might have to subject a sample to a stronger chemistry test. I know a fair amount of theory, I just lack practical field experience, and would have to go back and relearn a few things, but relearning is not a issue for me.
As for what minerals I'm looking for I don't have anything particular in mind, at this time, but I know of some people who would be willing to pay a few $ for even something as mundane as a few hundred lbs of iron ore I may come across ( these folks smelt iron as a hobby or studies in primitive technology and are always on the look out for new source material ).
Very good reply Greg, sounds like you only need to refine
a few things. If gem and/or collector type minerals are of
prime interest , I would sugest Utah, and Wyoming instead
of Colo.. The reason being MUCH better access, and the
fact that they have Jade, Rubys, and a whole lot more of
interest, and the Wyoming Geological Survey has lots of
published reports, maps, and are more user friendly.
You say you can do chemical testing in the field, thats
a big plus and puts you way ahead of most other pro-
spectors, I also do these kinds of tests, and while they
are not of value as far as gems are concerned, there
value in identifying the metals and rare earth minerals
are unsurpassed. With your knowledge and background
you should be able to pick and choose what ever you
want to find and hunt for it with confidence. I have a
good bit of information for Wyoming, if interested in
it as a hunting area, send me a PM and we can go from
there.
We dont really have any close to Seattle except for a green stone my gem friend says to save.... but i hate it with a passion because it clogs riffles pretty bad. (I wont ever tell her but I toss that green lol) Clogs up concentrators as well. There is one very rare stone here. I found a tiny piece about 6 months ago. It is clear like quarts or diamond but a different substance all together. Unlike quartz, inclusions are required so I saved a few of them, only one is about 1/2 carat. A GF came over and looked at it and asked me why i had glass chips in the glass bottle rotflmao. But no here we have some regions with hard mineral deposits and then things like petrified wood and opals. Never found an opal larger than 1/8 and thats no economic prize. Usually you would need to drive for anything good.
oh yes I always am looking for any thing other then gold ..where I am at there is alot of garnet and I save every little piece. I dont no if it is worth anything but it is pretty
i an sure most of us look for other things besides gold as i have always been looking for other minerals and gem stones it does help if you live in a aera that does produce other things sauch as minerals and gem stones