Thanks Rod.
Green Quartz ?
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it could be chlorifide in the rock
Syndyne
Shaun Galman
Hi all,
Wonderful to see that gold in those pieces Paul! I'd do a little happy dance if I saw that too
Not discounting Wal's thought's of Greenstone as there's a small chance that could be possible, but to me that looks very much like Serpentine you have there. It wouldn't surprise me if so, as it's quite a common occurring mineral, particularly among gold bearing areas with Quartz outcroppings. It's much softer than Quartz on the Moh's scale so it would make sense that it's worn down more in the tumbling process. Greenstone (or Jadeite) is quite a hard material at around Moh's 6-6.5 so I wouldn't suspect it to ware down as much as that during tumbling with the associated Quartz -and it would take a nicer final polish than that also.
Very nice specimens none the less! Be interesting to see that final gold content tally.
Kindest regards,
Shauno.
Wonderful to see that gold in those pieces Paul! I'd do a little happy dance if I saw that too
Not discounting Wal's thought's of Greenstone as there's a small chance that could be possible, but to me that looks very much like Serpentine you have there. It wouldn't surprise me if so, as it's quite a common occurring mineral, particularly among gold bearing areas with Quartz outcroppings. It's much softer than Quartz on the Moh's scale so it would make sense that it's worn down more in the tumbling process. Greenstone (or Jadeite) is quite a hard material at around Moh's 6-6.5 so I wouldn't suspect it to ware down as much as that during tumbling with the associated Quartz -and it would take a nicer final polish than that also.
Very nice specimens none the less! Be interesting to see that final gold content tally.
Kindest regards,
Shauno.
SWright
Steve Wright
G'Day all
the green material is alomost certainly the mineral Chlorite (Mg,Fe,Li)6AlSi3O10(OH)8. It is common in quartz vein systems in eastern Australia.
Araluen
the green material is alomost certainly the mineral Chlorite (Mg,Fe,Li)6AlSi3O10(OH)8. It is common in quartz vein systems in eastern Australia.
Araluen
WalnLiz
Wal nLiz
Syndyne said:Hi all,
Wonderful to see that gold in those pieces Paul! I'd do a little happy dance if I saw that too
Not discounting Wal's thought's of Greenstone as there's a small chance that could be possible, but to me that looks very much like Serpentine you have there. It wouldn't surprise me if so, as it's quite a common occurring mineral, particularly among gold bearing areas with Quartz outcroppings. It's much softer than Quartz on the Moh's scale so it would make sense that it's worn down more in the tumbling process. Greenstone (or Jadeite) is quite a hard material at around Moh's 6-6.5 so I wouldn't suspect it to ware down as much as that during tumbling with the associated Quartz -and it would take a nicer final polish than that also.
Very nice specimens none the less! Be interesting to see that final gold content tally.
Kindest regards,
Shauno.
When i was referring to "Greenstone" Shauno, I was not referring to "Jadeite" which is a silicate of sodium and aluminium. Jadeite has nothing to do with metamorphosed dolerite, basalt, chert, sandstone, shale, tuff etc which make up the greenstone belts in which gold is formed.
Metamorphosed greenstone is softer than quartz and would wear quicker in a tumbler. Either way it would be hard to tell from the pics.
Cheers Wal.
Syndyne
Shaun Galman
No worries at all Wal, good point! Greenstone does cover a fairly broad area of mineral formation. It is likely to be of that type.
You've got me looking at the Greenschist types of Greenstone now -those coming from the Metamorphosed side. Very interesting! Perhaps another good candidate?
I was thinking the same thing as far as getting to see and feel the pieces in person. Interesting specimens though and the fact that they have gold on board is enough for me
Kindest regards,
Shauno.
You've got me looking at the Greenschist types of Greenstone now -those coming from the Metamorphosed side. Very interesting! Perhaps another good candidate?
I was thinking the same thing as far as getting to see and feel the pieces in person. Interesting specimens though and the fact that they have gold on board is enough for me
Kindest regards,
Shauno.
headbut said:WalnLiz said:Confusing looking calculation you have there mate....lay mans version...
1. Weigh dry stone. "A"
2. Get small plastic container (eg marg tub), fill with enough water to submerge the stone without hitting sides or bottom. Tare your scales to zero.
3. Suspend stone and record weight. "B"
4. Divide "A" by "B"....that equals SG.
5. If SG is above 2.65 do a dance of excitement
Cheers Wal.
Hi Wal , should it be divide A by C (diff between A & B) ?
Headbut is correct
SG is weight in air divided by difference between weight in air and weight in water)
Wal might of been thinking of the rough SG test which is
SG = weight of stone divided by number of cubic centimetres of water displaced by stone in graduated cylinder (cc)
Good to see you spotted gold in the stone Headbut
Here is an interesting page on estimating gold content from WA
http://www.gold-prospecting-wa.com/gold-in-quartz.html
Syndyne
Shaun Galman
Hi all,
After much reading and fact checking and even more reading I may have a definitive answer for you Paul.
First off, let me say that Wal was very much correct and on the money with Greenstones, SWright was also correct -with Chlorite along with HTY's correct suggestion of a Chlorified rock and I was correct in the summation of it being Serpentine (or Serpentinite as it's also known depending on your geographical location).
And here's why: After correlating the few varieties of Greenstones (Thanks again to Wal for pointing that out as it's a very interesting area of gold to look into, away from the more porphyritic and metallurgic associations) with Serpentine formation in Australia, I found two separate articles here that pointed out that the most common variety of the Greenstones is Greenschist, which is otherwise known as Chlorite Schist, and particularly if you're located in the Eastern parts of Australia, -another name for it is Serpentine.
The more informatively written article says that the Metamorphic grade of Serpentine makes up the upper part of the Greenschist facies. Both have a very similar make-up and contain almost identical elements making them extremely difficult to tell apart even under careful testing. It comes down to geographical locations in a nut shell. Around Eastern parts of Aus, the more commonly associated name is Serpentine, while the Western and possibly Southern parts of Aus. follow the Greenschist/Greenstones or Chlorite Schist identity.
We have one of the largest ares of Serpentine belting in the world here on the Eastern side of Aus. It makes up a good proportion of the black sands and Ilmenites we see with gold.
Out of my own further curiosity I put the pictures Paul posted up earlier for Dad to come and have a look at -without mentioning what they were or letting him read the responses. He just had a close look for a few seconds then asked me if that was white Quartz banding and I said yes, then without a second glance just walked away and said "It's Serpentine." If that didn't rub the salt in for me, he then yelled out from the other room a few seconds later "You should know that by now!". All I could do was have a little chuckle to myself. Test passed! We all get a passing grade. A+ and high-fives for everyone.
I'm also liking the OT Specific Gravity discussion here. I've never had anything to do with that side of gold processing so it's been a good learning experience. It seems there's a few different methods/calculations around that you men with good experience have used over time. Might be worthy of it's own thread?
Kindest regards,
Shauno.
Just as a clarification Greenstone is, and always will be the lesser name for Jade or Jadeite. What we are talking about here are the Greenstones (with an s on the end importantly).
After much reading and fact checking and even more reading I may have a definitive answer for you Paul.
First off, let me say that Wal was very much correct and on the money with Greenstones, SWright was also correct -with Chlorite along with HTY's correct suggestion of a Chlorified rock and I was correct in the summation of it being Serpentine (or Serpentinite as it's also known depending on your geographical location).
And here's why: After correlating the few varieties of Greenstones (Thanks again to Wal for pointing that out as it's a very interesting area of gold to look into, away from the more porphyritic and metallurgic associations) with Serpentine formation in Australia, I found two separate articles here that pointed out that the most common variety of the Greenstones is Greenschist, which is otherwise known as Chlorite Schist, and particularly if you're located in the Eastern parts of Australia, -another name for it is Serpentine.
The more informatively written article says that the Metamorphic grade of Serpentine makes up the upper part of the Greenschist facies. Both have a very similar make-up and contain almost identical elements making them extremely difficult to tell apart even under careful testing. It comes down to geographical locations in a nut shell. Around Eastern parts of Aus, the more commonly associated name is Serpentine, while the Western and possibly Southern parts of Aus. follow the Greenschist/Greenstones or Chlorite Schist identity.
We have one of the largest ares of Serpentine belting in the world here on the Eastern side of Aus. It makes up a good proportion of the black sands and Ilmenites we see with gold.
Out of my own further curiosity I put the pictures Paul posted up earlier for Dad to come and have a look at -without mentioning what they were or letting him read the responses. He just had a close look for a few seconds then asked me if that was white Quartz banding and I said yes, then without a second glance just walked away and said "It's Serpentine." If that didn't rub the salt in for me, he then yelled out from the other room a few seconds later "You should know that by now!". All I could do was have a little chuckle to myself. Test passed! We all get a passing grade. A+ and high-fives for everyone.
I'm also liking the OT Specific Gravity discussion here. I've never had anything to do with that side of gold processing so it's been a good learning experience. It seems there's a few different methods/calculations around that you men with good experience have used over time. Might be worthy of it's own thread?
Kindest regards,
Shauno.
Just as a clarification Greenstone is, and always will be the lesser name for Jade or Jadeite. What we are talking about here are the Greenstones (with an s on the end importantly).
headbut
Paul
Thanks for settling that Shaun & as all were correct , cant get better than that
Syndyne
Shaun Galman
Cheers Paul. Definitely drinks all round tonight
You're more than welcome. I knew these dusty old books would come in handy.
I'm actually still deep in the books now looking into the various forms Serpentine takes on. Just reading that it can decompose down into a greasy grey and yellow clay substance (I immediately thought of the China Clays we're all familiar with and love to hate) and going on into the NZ area where it can take on a more platy form of Asbestos. Very interesting reading.
Cheers,
Shauno.
You're more than welcome. I knew these dusty old books would come in handy.
I'm actually still deep in the books now looking into the various forms Serpentine takes on. Just reading that it can decompose down into a greasy grey and yellow clay substance (I immediately thought of the China Clays we're all familiar with and love to hate) and going on into the NZ area where it can take on a more platy form of Asbestos. Very interesting reading.
Cheers,
Shauno.
Hi Wal, can you explain what you mean by suspending and submerging? Do you tie the specimen with string and dangle it by hand into the water until it is submerged?WalnLiz said:
TT
Hi TT
Check this video on how to sespend the specimen...
[video=480,360]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF4NqIYh6zg[/video]
Check this video on how to sespend the specimen...
[video=480,360]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF4NqIYh6zg[/video]
WalnLiz
Wal nLiz
TTKooAu said:
G'day TT,
This is the simple method we use for finding the specific gravity of our gemstones. It's a quick and easy method to get the SG out in the field.....cheers, Wal
http://www.johnbetts-fineminerals.com/jhbnyc/articles/specific_gravity.htm
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It's not serpentine or greenstone. Sepentine forms in subduction zones and is rarely associated with quartz. I agree with HTY it's chlorite.
SG tests on quartz are basically worthless as all quartz have different weights. Because of the heavy iron content in WA the quartz weighs lots more than east coast quartz.
DD
SG tests on quartz are basically worthless as all quartz have different weights. Because of the heavy iron content in WA the quartz weighs lots more than east coast quartz.
DD
Ramjet said:
Hey Ramjet, that's a great video, takes the mystery out of it.
My buddy has a specimen with a load of pyrites in it, but we suspect it may have some colour as well, given it's pedigree.
I'll post a shot of it in the alluvial gold section, then hope to weigh it soon and post the result.
Many thanks and to Wal, too.
TT
headbut
Paul
Looking at pictures & reading about chlorite ,it has an SG of 2.6 to 3.3 , so that throws out the previous test , the only way is to break it down to see it anything inside
Bust it up Paul, I'm interested to see what's in there.
headbut
Paul
Well that was exciting NOT - the quartz you can see are actually the only tiny bits of quartz that are part of this rock. The main body appears to be the green stuff , call it Chlorite which was solid through. The bit I thought was gold is some foreign substance, maybe sand. Will pulverise and pan to see if anything in it
Tried to red circle highlight the quartz but barely noticable
Tried to red circle highlight the quartz but barely noticable
Bugger
headbut
Paul
Bugger bugger RR
