NDN_Gold_lover Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 It's not lead...can't scratch or mar it with a fingernail, leaves no streak on paper like lead does, in fact i tried to scratch it with a penny made a tiny dent to the specimen but it really tore up the penny....it can be easily scratched with stainless steal tweazers, there is dark carbonesque matter on it that can be scaped off in flakes with moderate effort, it's shine is constant (0nce the dark coating is removed) and requires no polishing..... I found it between mariposa and coultervile, ca...on a red clay hillside about four inches deep where the red dirt meets the clay... on a trib. of ther merced river.Looks like the shape of gold nugget...but has the coloring platinum. it's less the 3/4 of inch long, maybe a 1/4 wide...weighs 2.1 dwts.Could it be gold covered with merc? if so how do ya remove the merc? Could it be platinum? How do i get rid of the rest of the dark matter without scratching it? what else could it be? any other tests i could do without acid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 hematite maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDN_Gold_lover Posted November 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 hematite maybe?should have mentioned Its not magnetic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubstake Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Looks like mercury to me, set it in a cast iron pan on an out side stove, and walk off for fifteen minutes, it shold burn the mercury off, or if you have some nitric acid you can do it with that. Grubstake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDN_Gold_lover Posted November 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Looks like mercury to me, set it in a cast iron pan on an out side stove, and walk off for fifteen minutes, it shold burn the mercury off, or if you have some nitric acid you can do it with that. Grubstakewhere could i get nitric acid? do you think a gem and mineral shop could do that for a fee? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 do a streak test on the back of a piece of white tile. Hematite isnt magnetic i think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDN_Gold_lover Posted November 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 do a streak test on the back of a piece of white tile. Hematite isnt magnetic i think.thanks, on your advice i looked up hemeatite, and then did a quick test, hematite's streak is red....this streak is a silvery steal grey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 My guess would be a placer Galena specimen. The oxidized portions are the darker spots (non metallic looking) The shiny areas are the most recently worn spots on the piece, probably the outer-most edges. You said the streak was silvery. Well, that might suggest that is is hackly or brittle, wich means that it is not malleable like platinum would be. Steel grey streak would match galena as well. Galena is pretty heavy for its size too, but not nearly as heavy as platinum. Platinums specific gravity is twice that of galena. A specimen of platinum the size of your specimen I would think would weigh double or more than what your weight came out to be.I hope it is platinum, and i`m incorrect ..but I have to look at the odds..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDN_Gold_lover Posted November 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 My guess would be a placer Galena specimen. The oxidized portions are the darker spots (non metallic looking) The shiny areas are the most recently worn spots on the piece, probably the outer-most edges. You said the streak was silvery. Well, that might suggest that is is hackly or brittle, wich means that it is not malleable like platinum would be. Steel grey streak would match galena as well. Galena is pretty heavy for its size too, but not nearly as heavy as platinum. Platinums specific gravity is twice that of galena. A specimen of platinum the size of your specimen I would think would weigh double or more than what your weight came out to be.I hope it is platinum, and i`m incorrect ..but I have to look at the odds.....I tend to agree with except for the hardness...Mohs harness scale puts galena at 2.5 to 2.75....i cant scratch it with a penny/ copper putting it between 3-4? of course its not a perfect "scale" going at really hard barley puts a mark on it and chews up the peny...perhaps its mix of meteals? left over minig residue?....just wondering, is there value to galena? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 So I assumed you detected it? Galena should not be detectable. So that would rule out galena.If you did detect it , then you would peak my curiosity for sure.Its not magnetic , so that leaves out ferrous material...iron, steelPlatinum does not tarnish or oxidize. that specimen looks oxidized?You have a copper penny? Or is it a newer zinc penny? Either way I tried to scratch the oxidized portion of my placer galena specimen with a penny. The penny took the most dammage ,and the galena suffered little to no wear.Heres a shot of my placer galena nugget, I broke off one edge for asthetics.You could just hit one edge with a hammer.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDN_Gold_lover Posted November 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 hi Adam,yea, i detected it....with a white's Vsat, I used an old wheat back copper peny....what would hitting it with a hammer test? teh black that is on there cant be rubbed away, but scraped off with a mertial harder than the black material but softer than the metal, it's not crystaline or doesnt seem to be..I dont have anything more powerful than a magnifying glass.-LeonSo I assumed you detected it? Galena should not be detectable. So that would rule out galena.If you did detect it , then you would peak my curiosity for sure.Its not magnetic , so that leaves out ferrous material...iron, steelPlatinum does not tarnish or oxidize. that specimen looks oxidized?You have a copper penny? Or is it a newer zinc penny? Either way I tried to scratch the oxidized portion of my placer galena specimen with a penny. The penny took the most dammage ,and the galena suffered little to no wear.Heres a shot of my placer galena nugget, I broke off one edge for asthetics.You could just hit one edge with a hammer.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Try breaking or shaving a little piece off and drop in hydrochloric. (muriatic) If its galena it will give off the sulfur smell. I'd also heat a little sliver with a torch. Watch what happens. Does it smoke off or glow red or ? Hold your breath if your worried its merc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigmatic Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Hello NDN gold Lover...if you run into a dead end on this thing and if you want shave a sprinkle of this stuff wrapped in a small paper...I wont need allot...less than a pinch, and I can run it in a Spectral analysis machine and let you know what you got. If so reply and I will give you my addess...Guido... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhlak Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Adam question ? why wouldn't a detector pick up galena it is just a lead ore could be that is it a pure galenaI am not a geologist but that doesn't make scene to methat a detector wouldn't pick it up lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigmatic Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Adam question ? why wouldn't a detector pick up galena it is just a lead ore could be that is it a pure galenaI am not a geologist but that doesn't make scene to methat a detector wouldn't pick it up lead.I have had a VLF machines pick up galena before at several mines near Goodsprings NV...Not a very strong signal, but it came up. I dont know about PI machines. havent bumped into Galena latley...Guido Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Well , now ya`ll got me thinking about my comment. I guess it was related to personal experience. That nice chunk of Galena in the pic can not be detected with the VLF I have here, and the PI didnt hear it when I found it.Guido if you have infact detected Galena then I guess it is possible. I figure its one of the trace minerals present within. Copper, zink, iron...(had to look that up) Wonder what VLF`s have to do with this too. Interesting...... I guess the specimen still remains a mystery ..... NDN....I said hammer an edge because thats a sure way to find out if its malleable or not.. And there is value in nice specimens of well crystalized Galena but not river worn stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike C... Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Well , now ya`ll got me thinking about my comment. I guess it was related to personal experience. That nice chunk of Galena in the pic can not be detected with the VLF I have here, and the PI didnt hear it when I found it.Guido if you have infact detected Galena then I guess it is possible. I figure its one of the trace minerals present within. Copper, zink, iron...(had to look that up) Wonder what VLF`s have to do with this too. Interesting...... I guess the specimen still remains a mystery ..... NDN....I said hammer an edge because thats a sure way to find out if its malleable or not.. And there is value in nice specimens of well crystalized Galena but not river worn stuff...Hey Adam I've detected galena before around RH Mike C... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rexb Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Well it looks like there is at least some possibility that the nugget could be platinum. Here are a couple links giving some indication of platinum from a mine apparently near or at the south fork of the Merced River. I don't know where your location is in relation to it. However, the reference seems to describe the metal coming from ore, other metals listed as being present in small quantities are cobalt, nickel and tin. For the first link, scroll down to the end of the visible page for the platinum reference:http://books.google.com/books?id=hwsTAAAAY...num&f=falsehttp://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:Gnk_2...=clnk&gl=us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigmatic Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 Well , now ya`ll got me thinking about my comment. I guess it was related to personal experience. That nice chunk of Galena in the pic can not be detected with the VLF I have here, and the PI didnt hear it when I found it.Guido if you have infact detected Galena then I guess it is possible. I figure its one of the trace minerals present within. Copper, zink, iron...(had to look that up) Wonder what VLF`s have to do with this too. Interesting...... I guess the specimen still remains a mystery ..... NDN....I said hammer an edge because thats a sure way to find out if its malleable or not.. And there is value in nice specimens of well crystalized Galena but not river worn stuff...Howdy Adam...thats weird concerning you not being able to pickup Galena?! I am confident it was Galena I found before...It had a suger cube or blocks surface on it and the place was littered with this ore...I dont know if there was other metals mixed in the matrix...The machine I used was a Tesoro umax II...It really could find the small stuff! I'm at a loss to understand this...In any event NDN will be sending a samlpe in for analysis...Guido... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDN_Gold_lover Posted November 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 It's not lead...can't scratch or mar it with a fingernail, leaves no streak on paper like lead does, in fact i tried to scratch it with a penny made a tiny dent to the specimen but it really tore up the penny....it can be easily scratched with stainless steal tweazers, there is dark carbonesque matter on it that can be scaped off in flakes with moderate effort, it's shine is constant (0nce the dark coating is removed) and requires no polishing..... I found it between mariposa and coultervile, ca...on a red clay hillside about four inches deep where the red dirt meets the clay... on a trib. of ther merced river.Looks like the shape of gold nugget...but has the coloring platinum. it's less the 3/4 of inch long, maybe a 1/4 wide...weighs 2.1 dwts.Could it be gold covered with merc? if so how do ya remove the merc? Could it be platinum? How do i get rid of the rest of the dark matter without scratching it? what else could it be? any other tests i could do without acid?Well here is the assay....it's NOT, Galena, mostly Tin, and a lill lead, merc, and gold......70% Tin 19.7% Lead 8.4% Vanaduim, 7.6% Mercury, 6.5% Gold...the other 6.2% is insignificat trace elements. So you basically have a tin nugget! There is 0% Platiunm in it....thanks Guido Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Thats awesome NDN,At least you know for sure now....That was a cool post and I was certainly hoping it was Platinum. Thanks for updating this, as I was totally baffled... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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