California gold VS Australian

[Cowboy]

Hello everyone. I have been reading this forum for many months but never posted. I have a question. I have seen some vendors of nuggets make the claim that Australian gold is typically more pure than Californian. I also see where they say Californian nuggets are more pure than Australian. Who do I believe, or are there too many variables to consider?

I live in Vermont near the Canadian border. I use an Ace250 to find coins. Searching for the older coins. I assume there is not much gold here in Vermont. In about two years I hope to move to Arizona or S. Colorado. I believe I have gold fever. Is it possible to get gold fever and never have searched for it?

Anyway, thanks for the information you guys present here and maybe someone can shed some light on my question. Take care.

[CaptGrumpy]

California Gold is far superior to that from the other side of the world. Our gold rotates clockwise when it flushes while their gold swirls counterclockwise! California gold is worth more because it doesn't cost as much to travel here as it does to Australia!

Gold has an artistic value no matter where it comes from, when it comes to making and designing jewelry.

I have yet to meet a nugget that I wouldn't take home!

[rexb]

I think Australia has a greater range of purity since it is a whole continent as opposed to California the state. On average I believe Australian gold is purer from Victoria, but Western Australia can be below CA purity. I think CA purity probably averages roughly around 90% give or take, Victoria gold can be above that more often than CA. As for other regions of Australia I am not sure, but I imagine there is a fair amount of variety.

Rex

[grubstake]

Calif. gold is much prettyer than Aussy gold. I always said I haven't seen an uguly nugget. Until i SAW SOME FROM AUS. mOST i HAVE SEEN WAS JUST FLAT UGLY. wITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS. gRUBSTAKE ps mAIPOSA gOLD IS SME OF THE PRETTYEST IN THE WORLD. gRUBSTAKE

[trinityau]

COWBOY, TRINITYAU HERE, I WOULD HAVE TO AGREE WITH GRUBSTAKE ON THIS ONE. THAT AUSTRAILIAN GOLD MAY BE MORE TOWARDS THAT 100 % MARK HOWEVER MOST OF THE GOLD I GET HERE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA HAS THAT DEEP BUTTER YELLOW COLOR. THAT REAL PURE STUFF IS ALMOST TO BRIGHT TO ME, I MAY BE PARTIAL TO CALIFORNIA GOLD, BUT WHEN YOU DIG A PIECE OUT OF THE GROUND AND IT HAS THAT DEEP BUTTER YELLOW TO IT, YOU KNOW YOU GOT SOMETHING. DONT GET ME WRONG, I KNOW I HAVE, AND PROBABLY MOST OF THE OTHER GUYS ALSO HAVE COME ACROSS SOME REALLY UGLY PIECES EVERY NOW AND THEN. BUT OVERALL I HAVE TO STAY WITH CALIFORNIA GOLD.

GRUBSTAKE, E-MAIL ME A PM AND MAYBE WE CAN GET TOGETHER UP HERE IN TRINITY AND SHASTA ONCE THESE 114 DEGREE DAYS START TO WANE.

JOEFORTHEGOLD .... WHERE ARE YUOOOOOOO ?

TRINITYAU

[joeforthegold]

I am gearing up for my trip to see you in Aug. I will try to give you a call Friday after work. Are we going to get to hunt some burn areas?

-Joe

[grubstake]

Sent you a pm trinityau. Grubstake

[AZNuggetBob]

From what I've read the purest natural gold ever discovered in the world was, believe it or not discovered in South Dakota, USA., Now if I could just remember where I read that? AzNuggetBob

[Inhere]

From what I've read the purest natural gold ever discovered in the world was, believe it or not discovered in South Dakota, USA., Now if I could just remember where I read that? AzNuggetBob

I don't know where you read It either, but I bet It was in an American book.LOL.

[CaptGrumpy]

From what I've read the purest natural gold ever discovered in the world was, believe it or not discovered in South Dakota, USA., Now if I could just remember where I read that? AzNuggetBob

Yeah that Black Hills gold is nice but California Butter can't be beat!

[DrKillstick]

just like girls.....they have some nice ones and we have some really nice ones....

I have seen some not so nice looking aussie nugs.......but hey gold is gold

[AZNuggetBob]

I think I read in and old California mining journal? I think it said it was in the .99 range. It doesn't really matter. Something I've noticed about gold karat everywhere, is that it can change very drastically from one side of the hill to the other. In doing research I've found this all over the world. But regardless of the karat, high or low nuggets are one beautiful piece of mother nature. AzNuggetBob

[Cowboy]

Thanks for your input guys......now go get that gold, I want to see some pictures. If I can't hunt nuggets here in Vermont, at least I can watch your finds. Take care.

[rexb]

I don't know where you read It either, but I bet It was in an American book.LOL.

Ha, that's funny, that reminds me for some reason when I was in France, their history books apparently say they were the first in flight, not the Wright Brothers, also they of course made the first car. Hmm, why was that not in my history books? Each country emphasizes the importance of their own discoveries, inventions, gold, etc.

[Cowboy]

Rexb, well put. Thanks for the perspective check.

[Chris Gholson]

Hi All,

Here is some information regarding gold purity my father Steve compiled for a new book we are working on. Listed below are a few facts and figures about geographical location and the fineness for quartz/gold (specimens) and placer (nugget) gold:

- Placer gold of California is as a rule, of high degree of fineness. It typically runs 920 fine (92%) with the remaining 8% consisting mainly of silver, small quantities of lead, copper (at most 0.25%) and trace quantities of platinum and the associated platinum group metals.

- Some data on the average fineness of California gold which were obtained from the mint returns embracing several months of 1898 which includes both placer and quartz mines are as follows: Nevada County –855, Placer County –792, Plumas County –851, Sierra County –858, Calaveras County –835, Tuolumne County –804.

- Sonora, CA., Tuolumne County – San Giuseppe quartz mine ran 982-998, some of the finest gold produced in California.

- The highest average of fineness in California is that of the gold from the placers at Folsom, CA., Sacramento County which ran from 974-978.

- Gold from the dredging areas of Butte County (near Oroville) averaged about 922.

- Some of the purest native gold found came from Mount Morgan, Queensland, Australia. It assayed as high as 998 with the remaining 0.2% being mainly copper with a trace of iron.

[nuggethunting]

Hello Chris and All,

I know I read some time ago on the Internet about some very pure gold found in Novich Scotia. I can't seem to find the link after an Internet search, but I know it was talking about gold being as pure as .980 fine there. I believe the location was somewhere along the Saskatchewan River.

Take care,

Rob Allison

[rexb]

Great information, can't wait to see the book, sounds like it will be very informative. A couple other places come to mind when talking about gold purity, Dahlonega, GA gold can run 0.964 See the link below which shows a scanned copy of an old deposit record from the U.S. branch mint once at Dahlonega. The first gold discovered there was purported to be 0.986.

http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/dahlonega/jpgs/mka056a.jpg

And Amasa Valley gold in UT runs 0.980 fine. (A Guide to Gold Panning in UT, pg. 133) However, the placer gold tends to be smaller at both of these locations and nuggets are relatively rare.

[Inhere]

Great information, can't wait to see the book, sounds like it will be very informative. A couple other places come to mind when talking about gold purity, Dahlonega, GA gold can run 0.964 See the link below which shows a scanned copy of an old deposit record from the U.S. branch mint once at Dahlonega. The first gold discovered there was purported to be 0.986.

http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/dahlonega/jpgs/mka056a.jpg

And Amasa Valley gold in UT runs 0.980 fine. (A Guide to Gold Panning in UT, pg. 133) However, the placer gold tends to be smaller at both of these locations and nuggets are relatively rare.

G'day Rex and all,

As far as I am aware there is no such thing as pure native gold. Alluvial gold tends to be finer, the theory being that the impurities tend to leach out as the gold takes a pounding moving down the creek.

Here It's the same as over there, fineness varies from place to place, all over the country.

[Cowboy]

Thanks for the information. Just what I was looking for. Chris Gholson, let me know when Steve's book is published. Sounds like it would make great reference material. Take care.....

[Cowboy]

I thought I would do a very unscientific test for myself. I acquired 3 different samples of nuggets from Ebay to see if I could do a side by side analysis to see any difference. The problem with this test is the samples do not have the same amount of weathering and tumbling. However, based solely on these results (not very scientific), I believe the Australian gold sample has more luster in more lighting angles. The camera does not do justice to the brilliance of the specimens, especially the Australian sample. I am not saying that Australian nuggets are more pure, just that of these limited specimens, I like the Australian. All 3 specimens are beautiful. Prospecting for gold on Ebay....geeesh, I gotta get out of Vermont.

[Curley]

Cowboy, In one place in Australia, I can find two nuggets 12 feet apart and both have very different lustres. One dull, one bright. Both from different shoots in the lode I guess. I reckon the gold from north Queensland seems to be the ugliest out of all the Aust gold. That stuff JP and Jack Lange finds is mostly from here. When you drop gold in acid too, that seems to me to spoil them more. I have always regretted doing that, therefore I won't ever again.

Cheers Curley.

[whats4supper]

gold is gold. at any one site, anywhere in the world, gold can be of a higher or lower purity. Gold nuggets are like a cantaloupe, and have a higher puriity on the outside than on the inside dues to natural leaching of alloy metals.

Luster is completely different. luster is caused by mostly outside contaminants of pollutants that affect the appearance of the placer gold, and is related more to the surrounding minerals makeup in the soils than in the gold itself, though some luster is also caused by internal alloy combinations as-well. Typically, gold can be alloyed with manganese, tellurium, copper, iron, silver, pgm, lead, zinc, bismuth, tungsten, chlorine, and uranium, and a variety of others, whose oxides, sulfides, salts, amd impurities can affect visual effects.

The reason gold from one site differes from that of another site, or even in a different portion of the same mine.

As for purity, is high silver areas, gold will typically run more brassy or whitish looking, where in other areas, will be more yellow, possibly indicating higher purity. gold in Meadview, for example, typically runs .961 to .978, placing it in the 23k range. No natural gold is absolutely pure.

some gold, due to the previous narrative, can appear silver, black, copperish, green, gray. some gold is high purity but can have an outside coating that makes it look less valuable or sightly

[nuggethunting]

Hello Whats4Supper,

Great post and agree with everything you said. Here in Arizona, I've seen all colors and lusters of gold nuggets. I've also found different types in the same areas, or even same drainages.

Hope everything is well on your end,

Rob Allison

[grubstake]

Mariposa GOLd is the most beautyful I have ever seen from anywhere. This is world class collectors stuff up here. My opion , but true. Grubstake