Unknown Metal Help!

[enigmatic]

Hello everyone. My name is Guido and I am the NFG here and just bought a SD2100 with goldscreamer/li-ion batt/reg set up. I was poking around Ivanpah NV and found this strange stuff. I think I was over a slag area melted glass and broken brick with fused material on it. My detector went off (screaming) and I started digging this string metal up. It seemed to be in streams going down deep and deeper. I did my best not do wreck it since I don't know what I am dealing with. As I got around a foot deep I reached my left hand in there to get the dirt out and ...Ouch! something pricked my hand...I thought it was a cactus or cat claw that worked its way in the hole, but it turned out to be a Trap Door Spider attached to the middle of my index finger! I don't think that happens often! I did find a dirt rock that had a silk tunnel going threw it so I wrecked his home...Scared the hell out of me more than hurt! I enclose a photo of the little guy. As for the metal I had a piece of tile with me and it streaked brown more than black. What do you think. Sincerely; Guido P.S. wear gloves!

[Ridge Runner]

Guido

I have found a lot of the same when hunting around a place where a house has burn down.I know some had tin roofs so I'm thinking that must be it and you also had lead head nails.

I hope this helps with your question.

Chuck Anders

PS Called Slag

[hendo]

Hey Guido, Be careful out there, as I think that is part of the Mojave National Preserve, don't let the rangers catch ya! Hendo

[Hammer]

Hard for me to tell by photos, but could have been caused by lightning strikes, just a thought

[vini]

I found a chunk of that detecting up in Oakhurst one time I thought it might be lead ?

[acronn]

Interesting, you can almost see how the lead was dripping. If it's lead you can write with it on a piece of paper so that is an easy test if you don't know what the metal is. Nice pictures.

[Reno Chris]

Its the result of a fire and its man produced. If its heavy its lead, if its light its a mostly zinc alloy that used to be more common called pot metal. Either way, its not worth anything.

Chris

[enigmatic]

Had to check the map...yea it is in the Preserve, a small attachment they thought the desert tortoise needed...great...in the border by two miles. Preserves, National parks, Wilderness, Apache-Pima and Gila Indian Reservation, Area 51 sensors {no kidding}...get tired of it...can't swing a dead cat in the desert without hitting someone. All the land that has what we are looking for has be taken...weird. It seems that the US Government (I have worked for 25 years) wants to keep use as we are financially. And if that's not enough they try and bankrupt us too. Control the land then the people. But that's another form. The metal is heavy, but it does not write on paper. It seems like lead to me. It was more interesting to post as what condition it was in than what it is...I will give it to a bullet casting buddy of mine and ask him if it melts a 621 degrees. Thanks all...Guido

[enigmatic]

Hello all...a update on the mysterious metal in question. I asked the guys at work who have a ASPEX spectroscopic instrument to do an analysis on this stuff...at times I love my job! The metal contains the following elements...lead, Mercury, gold, silver, zinc, tin, vanadium, iron, aluminum, titanium, manganese, tungsten, chromium, and nickel! Lead was the primary metal in the conglomerate of the alloy. I am not too sure what to do at this time. Assuming there is enough gold in the matrix I don’t know how or who can take it to get the gold/silver out and there may not be enough to make it worth my wild. Gold is now floating around $848 dollars an oz. The metal was undoubtedly cast off or spill off from a pour job after melting the ore. Anyone have any ideas out there? Guido...

[Uncle Ron]

Guido...Did your assay suggest the % of diff. metals? ... You can get some cheap bone cuples from John at Hisperia and do some simple smelting around 1,945 degrees, F...The cuples will suck up all the lead, etc., and leave a gold bead or button...Cheers, Unc

[enigmatic]

Hello Uncle Ron... The machine that was used to do the test and the people that did were not assayers, but they look for sub particles in oil and when those factors are high we change components. Lead is the high component. From what I have heard the old times used lead as a flux in the past. I don't know if the 1800's used this technique or not, but it would explain the high lead. None the less I would be in favor of trying your technique when the times comes. Thank you...Sincerely Guido...

[sawmill]

Guido

It looks like you have found where someone dumped smelter waste.

Lead has always been used when assaying gold. The problem with a

spectrograph is that it will show the smallest trace of a metal in a sample.

I have got spectrograph reports back that read just like yours did with

all the same metals. But when you look at the percentage on metal it

was not enough for anything.

You need to get a fire assay done before you attempt to smelt any of

that stuff. Also by the list of metals in your find ,DON"T breath any fumes

if you attempt to melt it.

Also there is some combinations of metal in the mix when separated and

remixed can be extremely explosive. Silver chloride and mercury can get

real nasty.

[enigmatic]

Whoa...Himmm I have to find an assayer...Don't want to breath nothing nasty, I had no intention of doing it myself. I can't afford the GPX 4500 or others like it so...Here are some pictures of my BOY! Had to modify it a little. I'm never happy with STOCK! It is a SD2100... I bought a S-handle, complements of Dawn at Nuggethunting.com. Its not in the catalog...have to ask for it. Makes swing this monster around a little easier. I just had to kick the 11' Minelab mono to threw the uprights and got a 14" Coiltek mono, but it came with a Goldscreamer, Li-Ion battery. Also, bought a handheld CEN-TECH metal detector and mounted it with Velcro to the box. This is a new trick I am trying out and see if it works out in the long run...Gotta love Velcro! Thanks for the comments guys...Guido!

[whats4supper]

there's two ivanpahs, about 20 miles apart.

the first ivanpah was on the eastern flank of the clark mountains. take I-15 south past Primm, and the next exit, head west. look for a substation sort of to the left after driving somewhat towards the golf course. the ripped up graded road goes up to the colisseum gold mine, but on your way there, look off to the left and you'll see some old mines before starting up the grade, and actually the old wagon road to the colisseum and taylor silver mines on top, originally left from Ivanpah, which was a silver,arsenic, antimony camp. there were a few smelters built in the areas, but the process had bugs, and within a year of discovery, the camp folded. If this is where you were, the metal is likely antimony silver (notice the bluish tinge).

The other Ivanpah is actually a stop on the UPRR. Take I-15 to the Nipton turnoff, and about 5-8 miles or so, turn right onto the Ivanpah/Cima road. stay on this road, and do not turn right about 8 miles further towards Cima. Rather, head towards the railroad. When you cross over the tracks, you will notice a number of filled mines, a mill or two, and an old railroad grade. this RR preceded the UPRR by about 25 years, and connected the town of Vanderbilt, Barnwell, Searchlight, and Hart, as well as lanfair valley, with the santa fe RR. Vanderbilt was a gold area, both hardrock veinworks and placer gold. most of the vanderbilt area is private property and not part of the Mohave park. The owner does not care if you detect on the property, just watch out for hazards, and stay away from the Golden Quail millsite. This camp started because miners returning from California mines took note of the greywhacke ore structure that was similar to sierra mines. The Gold bar mine was a principal producer, and for a while the whole town was intact into the 1979's or so, after which, someone bulldozed the entire town. Interesting area, relics, some bottles, coins.

[enigmatic]

The Ivanpah I am referring to is the first one in the Clark Mountains. After reviewing it on the map it is just one mile inside the Mohave Persevere! AAAHHh. As for the blue tinge...yes it does have it, never really noticed it before. As for antimony I did notice antimony wash is adjacent to where I was at on a USGS map. I use NASA World Wind 1.4...in Topo...excellent software! Thank you for the info...Guido...

[whats4supper]

There is a nice spring at the old town site, near the rock house. But there is a shaft right in the middle of the road, or close enough, that depending on where you park, the passenger getting out might be making a quick exit downward about 80 feet.

Going up the wash, or taking the ripped up graded road to the Colliseum mine on top is a scenic drive either way. one of the pits is filling with water. that mine was sunk on some old volcanic pipes. though it was originally mined for silver and copper, Canadians got some pretty good gold out of it. There is an old mill ruin from the 1800's along the road. on one of the dead end roads branching towards the north into a bowl, just over the ridge is the old Taylor silver mine; one of the few old mines that is relatively safe- drafty and good air, still the old workings hazards found in any mine. most of the rest of the mines on clark mountain were lead, zinc, copper, and some gold, but gold locked up in ores in combination with the other metals.

Farther west, and north of I-15 are the shadow mountains, which have promising gold and platinum placer, though in pockets, and some old mines towards that goal. The copper world mine, noted best by the millsite north of I-15 on the kingston road, just to the east is the 900 tons of slag that the metallurgist botched. A lot of specimen hunters still go up to the mine.

If you continue on I-15, past bailey road (also an access point along the north side of the freeway, going west) on the down side going west, you'll see some old silver prospects and the stone house, while farther down is the lead/zinc carbonate mine called the Mohawk (rusty colored ore, and ore bins on the ridge), and going under the freeway south to the foothills, is the old silver mining camp/ruins of Mescal.

As for gold, there were some decent gold placer mines and vein mines in the vicinity of Crescent, NV, just past nipton, but the landscape rock outfits have messed up many of the old sites, as well as access roads. another spot, also now inside mohave NP, are the morning glory and new trail mines, on the eastern flank of the Clark Mountains, accessible from the Cima Road. There has been some nice stuff taken from there, as well as a working open pit mine in the 1980's, but at the new trail mine recently, was discovered a barrel of uncrystalized methamphetamnie, so if you go there, just watch out for 'visitors'. The new trail is just off the ridge and down the mountain from Kokoweef, of the lost river of gold fame. to get to the kokoweef, turn off at bailey road, and make the s curve east then south, and follow it a ways.

If you notice, part of the clark mountains are metamorphic rock, and the other is limestone, with the rough division of the two at Bailey Road. Gold was found in the metamorphic part, as well as rare earth metals, while silver, lead, zinc, copper were found more in the limestone part.

[enigmatic]

Thanks Whats4supper on the info...I have seen that 80 ft hole...Precariously placed with no wire fence last time I was there. The unknown metal actually came from a area near a spring to the west. I have not seen the Coliseum Mine...I know it exist, just have not been there. Its on the list of things to see. The Shadow sound very interesting to me. That's on the list too. I have seen the Mescal Camp by going under the freeway. I had to cut some shrubs away to get threw it. I followed the jeep trail to the interior of the Mescals and seen the other mines ...Pretty colorful rocks there with a hand crank, but that was it. Looked around for the possible entrance of the underground river of Mr. Dorr. I also been to a mine at the west face of Clark Mountain near Pachalka Springs, its way up there....not very extensive. Worked it over, but found nothing. Also from the Pachalka springs there are some Indian petroglyphs to the south east a third of a mile away. Guido...