I have classified, now what about that darn clay? Options

[rubinscube]

So I classified my concentrates down to a par above flour gold, which we have a lot of here in Colorado. I still have a fine brown talcum clay powder material that seems to be as fine or finer than flour gold. The darn stuff is sticky and I can't see squat barely when I run my desert fox or even when I hand pan. Any advice would be much appreciated and thanks to all the help with my other posts.

[Boogie]

So I classified my concentrates down to a par above flour gold, which we have a lot of here in Colorado. I still have a fine brown talcum clay powder material that seems to be as fine or finer than flour gold. The darn stuff is sticky and I can't see squat barely when I run my desert fox or even when I hand pan. Any advice would be much appreciated and thanks to all the help with my other posts.

I think I've encountered the same stuff. Does it almost have a pale yellow tint to it? I've gotten some mega super small pale yellow/blonde stuff in my Desert Fox cup that doesn't act like gold at all except it somehow managed to swim upstream and jump into the cup along with some black sand and flour gold. It's real hard to get out of the pan. I looked at some of it under a microscope and it's 95% shards of some sort of glass like material but it looks like there is also some microscopic gold scattered around along with some other interesting looking microscopic "nuggets". A spec of flour gold is huge compared to the material in this stuff. I'm going to keep all I find until I learn what to do with it.

Boogie

[rubinscube]

I think I've encountered the same stuff. Does it almost have a pale yellow tint to it? I've gotten some mega super small pale yellow/blonde stuff in my Desert Fox cup that doesn't act like gold at all except it somehow managed to swim upstream and jump into the cup along with some black sand and flour gold. It's real hard to get out of the pan. I looked at some of it under a microscope and it's 95% shards of some sort of glass like material but it looks like there is also some microscopic gold scattered around along with some other interesting looking microscopic "nuggets". A spec of flour gold is huge compared to the material in this stuff. I'm going to keep all I find until I learn what to do with it.

Boogie

your clay sounds simalar to mine, mine has the color of coffee. maybe I will save it also and run it through a tumbler with Hg when I am done

[CP]

You also might think along the lines of weights when researching what the "clay" material that acts like gold could really be.
Possibly a little historical research about past production from the same areas and upstream that could be possibly involved in the alluvial deposits where they were found. Then use that and specific gravity (weights) to eliminate what it's not and more likely is what would be caught in the spiral pans becuase it's a bit heavier than all the rest like gold.

I would think if it's actually a clay material then it would wash off panning but maybe not in the spiral panners.

CP

[Coalbunny]

Go to your local hardware store and buy a 5 gallon bucket (specifically for the clays) and a 5 gallon paint stirrer. Get your cordless drill and hook up the paint stirrer to it. Then fill the bucket 1/2 to 2/3 full of clays and add water until it's about 1" below the lip of the bucket.

If you can manage it, make a clamp that will hold the drill in place without you having to hold it constantly.
Have water trickling in, and have the water trickling out go over the rubbed rubber mat.
While the water is removing the muddy water, the drill is in place to keep stirring and breaking up the clays, you can also add clay periodically.

Back when I was helping a friend on his claim-lease we tested the clays and found they dissolved in acidic water. So he helped break it up by adding enough muriatic acid to it to change the pH to at least 3.5-4.5. The water/clays were about 8-9.5. The change in pH helps a lot in breaking up the clays, and after breaking up the clays the pH reverts closer to 7. Upon contact with river water the pH reverts back to the alkali pH.

[Boogie]

You also might think along the lines of weights when researching what the "clay" material that acts like gold could really be.
Possibly a little historical research about past production from the same areas and upstream that could be possibly involved in the alluvial deposits where they were found. Then use that and specific gravity (weights) to eliminate what it's not and more likely is what would be caught in the spiral pans becuase it's a bit heavier than all the rest like gold.

I would think if it's actually a clay material then it would wash off panning but maybe not in the spiral panners.

CP

That's a good idea! Thanks for the tip! I think the stuff I'm finding is localized to a specific area because when I process other cons, I don't get (as much of) this mysterious slurry in the cup. I hope to soon get a color camera for my microscope so I can post pictures of this stuff. A black and white camera doesn't do justice.

I can't call this material clay, but it's the same color as rubinscubes' material (coffee with cream color, heavy on the cream).

Boogie
Boogie

[Boogie]

I just discovered that you can hold an iphone up to a microscope eyepiece to take pictures!

I've been wanting to post pictures of some blonde sand that I've been finding in my Desert Fox cup. This stuff is a super fine slurry and is yellow/cream colored. It doesn't act like gold yet it still defies the laws of gravity and manages to make it to the cup. I think I see a microscopic piece of gold in it. I don't know what all the other stuff is....

What's in YOUR sand? Post 'em if you got 'em

For those who are really into sand, check this place out :
http://www.paccd.cc.ca.us/instadmn/physcid...SAND/SANDHP.htm

If there is interest, I'll post more.

[attachment=4398:IMG_0331.jpg]

Boogie

[CP]

Hey Boogie,

I moved your picture into this thread since you were talking about that material and the microscope picture here already.

Once the pic is opened up full size it sure looks like about a dozen or so of the pieces have gold attatched to them, although small and tough to see, there must have been enough to make the weight of those pieces heavier. Possibly some of the rest have gold involved on the sides not shown or even within and not seen?
Good pic, glad you didn't throw that material away.

CP