Silver?

Cool stuff but I can't say Lets wait for BA or Homefire I am no prospector 

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,15950.msg102386.html#msg102386

looks like its silver but i dont know

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,15950.msg102568.html#msg102568

I'm not a silver expert at all either, but I'd check specific gravity and hardness. Looking at examples it resembles platinum over silver but a photo can be deceiving. If it's really soft it's likely lead, but definitely check it close. It's that top nugget that makes me wonder.









Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,15950.msg102681.html#msg102681

In as much as silver is not a nugget metal, I truly doubt it is silver. Does it appear rusty colored or mostly a dark gray to black with rusty looking places near the little holes on it? Maybe Hematite. I have many large and small Hematite and Magnetite "nugs" that I have picked up over the years that I kept with the intention of having gold plated so they would look like big gold nuggets. Does yours have a heavy feel to it? What makes you believe that it may be a precious metal other than hope and desire? What indicators do you feel there are? Have you scratched a part of it to see if there is color underneath? If you haven't done that, you could have saved a lot of money instead of buying acid kits. When you scratch it, if it is a soft metal it will easily dig out a little brightly colored trench. If not and the scratch just chips the rocok or leaves a white scratc line, then it's not a precious metal. Slow things down a bit and do a little research before you jump from found it to pay to test it. You could be doing all of the field tests yourself to see what it might be. Take a nail and scratch a part of this "nug" you found. Does the scratch show soft silver metal? Is so, then proceed to test, if not and it looks like a reddish rust color or a black color, then it's probably just Hematite. Take it to a local rock hound. Find one by looking up "Gem and Mineral Clubs in ******" That asterisk field should be the name of your city. Go to Google and try that to see if there are local clubs in your area.Then you can take your finds to one of their meetings and ask around. You'll know in a minute who to take it to, because everyone else will be showing him a rock and asking him questions. I was that guy for many years. I would never get to sit down at a meeting because all kinds of newcomers would be coming over to ask me questions. I didn't mind it though, because that's why I was there, to promote the hobby/lifestyle that we were all involved in. So don't feel shy or as if you are going to be bugging anyone. If he wasn't a good guy willing to help people out, he wouldn't even be at the meetings. Most new guys to a hobby jump way too far in and don't take the time to learn how to do what they are tryig to do. You just don't go out and find big chunks of precious metal as easy as finding any other rock, or everybody would do it and the stuff wouldn't be worth anything. Learn the basics of the hobby before jumping so far ahead of yourself. You might be able to field test a piece and instead of hauling all that heavy rock home, "just in case", you could leave it right where you found it. Field tests look at Color, Streaking, Luster, Hardness, Cleavage, and Specific Gravity. This may sound like a lot, but it isn't and is quick and easy both to learn and to tst your specimen. Just knowing the hardness test can answer your biggest question right now. Look up hardness test on Google and then go scratch your specimen with that nail. 

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,15950.msg103246.html#msg103246

		Quote:			Posted by Utah
	Thanks for the insight! The kit was only $2.50 so no big deal(still not arrived yet). I believe it could be a precious metal because the river I found it in is a known silver,gold,platinum producer. There is no rust of any type, it is non-magnetic, and it is light weight. When I do a scratch test it is "a soft metal it will easily dig out a little brightly (silver) colored trench..."

Sounds more like an "aluminum nugget" as you describe it further. In nature, no such nugget exists but a soda can thrown into a fire creates an aluminum nugget in the coals.

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,15950.msg103259.html#msg103259