jadawg Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 Hello guys, new to this site and gold prospecting itself. On my days off i hit the mountains with my metal detector. Dug this rock up, it was hot. Anyway to tell if its the real deal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alluminati Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 While you wait for others with more experience to chime in, take it into the shade. Pyrite will go dark while gold will still glow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jadawg Posted October 6, 2018 Author Share Posted October 6, 2018 Thx guys ill try that when i get home. Question, does fools gold pick up on a metal detector? and yes, i found this rock and others like it close to a mining area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alluminati Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Pyrite is paramagnetic so I suppose you could have hit on it, although that rock is a metamorphic conglomerate so it could be the detector is responding to something the rock as a whole? Its actually not a bad indicator mineral. It could also be Pyrrhotite, that might be slightly more reactive to a metal detector. What kind of detector are you swinging and what is the general description of the geology without giving away your location? You want to find some bits of gold bearing quartz from within or around that schist, if you are searching near an old hard rock mine or area that historically had gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Wilson Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Not conglomerate, but granite. Throw it away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alluminati Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Granite is a metaconglomerate, could that not be associated with gold bearing quartz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hemmingway Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 2 hours ago, Alluminati said: Granite is a metaconglomerate, could that not be associated with gold bearing quartz? Granite is not a metaconglomerate. Rather, it is an intrusive (plutonic) igneous rock normally comprised of quartz, orthoclase feldspar and another dark material, for example biotite (black) mica............ Jim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Wilson Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Spot on, Jim, and rarely do auriferous quartz reefs or leaders occur in granite, although gold can be found on a granite bottom due to the weathering of folded sedimentaries which once may have occurred above the pluton, or an ancient water course carrying gold from nearby country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alluminati Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Greenstone belts found in granite and gneiss have gold, which is why in my limited experience this rock could potentially be an indicator. Although jadawg hasn't given much else to go on as to the local geology coupled with statistics of rocks without gold, then yes I agree it's probably just a rock lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jadawg Posted October 8, 2018 Author Share Posted October 8, 2018 Thanks guys for all the replies, i found this rock among many others that look just like it in an old riverbed in northern California. I have a gold bug 2 metal detector, and no i haven't done the sniff and smell test lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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