Admin nuggethunting Posted July 22, 2006 Admin Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Hello All, Over the years I have probably tossed and kicked thousands of ironstones/hotrocks. It's very possible for a piece of iron to contain gold. Many years ago I found the piece pictured below with a GP Extreme. The piece sounded just a bit louder than the other ones in the area so I decide to check it out. Low and behold it was covered with GOLD! If you happen to get an ironstone or hotrock that sounds like a metal target it might be worth taking a few extra seconds and picking it up. I know I just got "Lucky" with this one. If I remember correctly the piece was just over an ounce in weight. One of my stranger pieces though ... Take care,Rob Allison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave wiseman Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Beautiful contrasting piece there Rob.....Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rexb Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Reminds me of a post of Garimpo's. Maybe there's a little more iron coated gold out there than one might imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamar Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Dear Rob;Shoot, if you don't check those ironstones in an area around San Ramon/Concepcion here in Bolivia, you'll be throwing away nuggets! Most gold nugs there are encased or semi-encased in ironstone conglomerates which the geologists called ferrocrete. Generally, I collect a sackful of them,and then when I am waiting for the coffee water to boil, I examine them carefully. After a thorough visual exam, I then set each one on the inside blade of my pick and whack them lightly with my hammer to crack them open and see if there's any gold hiding inside. My first prospecting trip there I threw away about a billion of those ironstones without ever realizing that there could have been gold trapped inside of them It wasn't until after I talked to a local prospector and he clued me in that I started having a small measure of success in that area. Now, my general rule of thumb is, "If it makes the detector sound off and it isn't trash, give it a whack or two with the hammer before throwing it away". I also like collecting odd specimens too, so I always drag home a wheelbarrowful of hot rocks, ironstone etc, to examine at a later date. I'm starting to get quite a large pile of rocks behind my house Your friend;LAMAR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whats4supper Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 You'd be surprised at how many nuggets are associated with pyrite (what you have is weathered pyrite). Pyrite isn't just iron: it's also arsenic, copper, and other metals.For any of you working the banks and hills in NW Mohave county AZ, or over on the nevada and california sides, this type of nugget is fairly common. Nuggets and float from Eluvial deposits, as well as gold out of a hardrock vein. In fact, a lot of gold in this form looks like rust or iron oxide, until you pull out a loupe.Quite frankly, imagine the frustration of God answering your prayers to lead you to the treasure, just to have you pick it up and then pitch it. Lest you think you are alone, my pitches included many meteorites over in Lost Basin that i did not recognize for what they were, until later, when an associate showed me his collection. I probably pitched enough back into the desert to pay off my house mortgage.If you haven't got the Jim Straight booklet that Rob is currently pitching, you are missing out on some very pertinent geological information, detector tips, and discovery strategy that you will not get most anywhere else. BTW: nuggets like the one above is part of the discussion in Straight's booklet.Paypal $12 to auplacers@yahoo.com, and Rob will send you one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airboy Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 I while back I got a hit on this weird heavy brownish black rock,and kept it for some reason only to find out later that it was a metorite (I had found several with the borrowed whites gold master2) I just didnt know what they were. I tend to keep just about everything if it makes a signal now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted July 24, 2006 Author Admin Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 Hello All, What I tell everyone, especially new detectorist is to pocket any strange pieces. If you found something, but have no clue what it might be, you can always drag it back home and find out. With all the Internet forums, it's easy to post a picture and get a good ID on a find. Meteorites can be anywhere, so keep your eye out for them. Take care,Rob Allison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whats4supper Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 ditto to ROB!and, meteorites can be quite a bit more valuable than gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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