Recent Pickups - Gold Specimens

You're most welcome.

I know very little on that most interesting subject, but I am pretty sure when you start messing with those chemicals, it can be very dangerous via the chemicals that one could breathe. I say this before watching the video you provided, but I am going on a memory from a post here from many months back....

They are worth very much more as mineral specimens than they would be for their gold value.

Well worth keeping as such.

Very cool pick up there! I have to agree keep them in the original form. Looks like one of them has a nice chunk of quarts on it.

@CWalker...

Yes, you can use Hg to selectively extract Au from powdered rock but be aware that Hg has a significant vapor pressure, bio-accumulates, and is quite toxic. Having the proper lab equipment, including a good fume hood, would be essential to doing this safely. The best way to pull off the Hg might be to use a glass distillation system with a water cooled condenser to catch the Hg and control the fumes. Pulling a slight vacuum on this system with a water aspirator might be useful.

Chemical extraction via the use of sodium cyanide solution to complex the gold, filtering, breaking the complex to release the gold, and then filtering, washing, and drying the final product. While this is possible it is quite hazardous and should not be attempted by anyone without the proper knowledge, experience, and equipment. A fatally toxic dose of cyanide is quite small and accidental poisoning of an inexperienced person is a highly likely outcome. Additionally, cyanide solutions are unstable below about pH 8 or so and can give of highly toxic HCN gas. Yes, this is the same gas used is some of the "gas chambers" to perform executions.

hah I havent messed around with any of that yet..... do a little prospecting every now and then and the problem always arises.....how to get micron/flour gold out black sands....and of course the invisible gold you cant see. Mercury I guess is looked down upon in the prospecting community(for good reason), but highly effective IMO will pick up everything right down to individual atoms of gold far to small to see. Its a simple one step deal, only need the one chemicle and a "retort"(and you can reuse the mercury over and over again). Other methods might be better I just havent really researched much casue I'm happy with just gettin the gold that I can see in my pan, altho it shure would be nice to know I'm gettin it all and not throwing gold back into the creek.

Think I read somewere in certian instances there could be more "unseen" gold in you pan the visible gold. Alot of people would like a +50% return on there gold panning efforts....wouldent you. Could add up big time come the end of the season?!?!?

Do a search on "The Sixteen-To-One Mine" in California. Your specimens look very similar.

I think that you got a great deal. Really nice pieces.