New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

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starflash		Posted : Monday, 10 January 2011 5:22:22 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 16/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 192 Location: auckland, tairua Thanks: 18 times Was thanked: 38 time(s) in 30 post(s)		can anyone shed some light on what is attached arround the perimeter to this small piece of gold, i have heard everything from silver, mercury, lead, tungstin, flurospar. anyone know for sure? is this a slug of silver? Edited by user Monday, 10 January 2011 5:45:06 AM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified starflash attached the following image(s):

1864hatter		Posted : Monday, 10 January 2011 11:24:17 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 4/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,007 Location: Auckland.... Thanks: 49 times Was thanked: 566 time(s) in 269 post(s)		Perhaps platinum? i know there are some areas where platinum and aluvial gold nuggets have been found but in not sure if it is possible for them to join together. certainly interesting
		And now....On sandy beaches and muddy soil, rings and coins await my coil!

gingerbreadman		Posted : Monday, 10 January 2011 1:33:38 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 19/07/2010(UTC) Posts: 473 Location: south of the black stump Thanks: 34 times Was thanked: 96 time(s) in 74 post(s)		looks like mercury to me especially that bit thats stuck to the gold.how hard is the other bit..? mercury isnt hard put a lighter under it and see if you smell the fumes!!

criticol		Posted : Monday, 10 January 2011 2:43:31 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 14/05/2010(UTC) Posts: 234 Location: coromandel Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 66 time(s) in 48 post(s)		Hi Starflash. Sorry, I cant give you an opinon on what it is, as it does not come up too clear on my computer. At a guess I would agree with GBM,as mercury is a real good sticker onto gold! But if you go around sniffing mercury fumes too much, you will addle your brains, and your teeth will fallout, apart from many other problems that can beset you! Platinum associated with gold, has been found at odd spots in N.Z. mainly around the coasts of the very Southern tips of the South Island. Cheers---Colin. Edited by user Monday, 10 January 2011 2:44:25 PM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified
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kiwijw		Posted : Monday, 10 January 2011 3:14:42 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		. Edited by user Saturday, 9 July 2011 1:51:03 AM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

criticol		Posted : Tuesday, 11 January 2011 1:26:29 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 14/05/2010(UTC) Posts: 234 Location: coromandel Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 66 time(s) in 48 post(s)		Hi J.W. Thanks for the STRONG Back-up! Thank god there are some of us around to hopefully correct a folly before it damages somebody! or their health. Other members---Please take note! Cheers---Colin. Edited by user Tuesday, 11 January 2011 1:27:26 AM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified
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starflash		Posted : Tuesday, 11 January 2011 4:21:49 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 16/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 192 Location: auckland, tairua Thanks: 18 times Was thanked: 38 time(s) in 30 post(s)		just got back from the hospital re: the mercury poisoning, thanks alot gingerbreadman, just jokes hahaha. yep taken from the coro Probably is mercury attached, though i thought mercury was an unstable metal. the silver looking nug is hard, is heavy and dents with a knife cut, similar qualities to gold. im picking silver on the last, i thought though silver disolved in water over time, if not, where are all the silver nugs in the coro, after all some mines in the area produced 100 fold more silver than gold. cheers for all your replies starflash Edited by user Tuesday, 11 January 2011 4:22:24 AM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

gingerbreadman		Posted : Tuesday, 11 January 2011 2:05:22 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 19/07/2010(UTC) Posts: 473 Location: south of the black stump Thanks: 34 times Was thanked: 96 time(s) in 74 post(s)		Haha am i bad maybe i should have said try rubbing it onto your hat 1st...ya no like the mad hatter....i was banking on no one out there being quite that silly as to burn it off and sniff it all up just to see what it is.....mind you people do sniff glue and petrol and paint for that matter so i take it back DONT burn it starflash..!!

criticol		Posted : Tuesday, 11 January 2011 2:41:41 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 14/05/2010(UTC) Posts: 234 Location: coromandel Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 66 time(s) in 48 post(s)		Hi Starflash. Nope! Silver does not dissolve in water! But Silver can, and does get "Sulphated" which causes it to go Black. Just stick a piece of Silver into th yolk of an egg, and observe the change to the outer skin? Also Silver will very slowly dissolve in Sea water, due to the Chlorine in salt water. This also applies to gold,especially in certain oceans of the world where the salt content is much more highly concentrated. (Salt = Sodium chloride!!!) I think the "Dead sea" is a case in point. Hope this helps. Cheers---Colin. Edited by user Tuesday, 11 January 2011 2:42:50 PM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified
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criticol		Posted : Tuesday, 11 January 2011 2:47:11 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 14/05/2010(UTC) Posts: 234 Location: coromandel Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 66 time(s) in 48 post(s)		Hi GBM. It is my opinion that you made a genuine Boo-Boo in your knowledge of Mercury? Admission is always appreciated! much better than a lame excuse! Sorry, its just my mean streak showing through! Cheers and regards---Colin.
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criticol		Posted : Tuesday, 11 January 2011 3:38:35 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 14/05/2010(UTC) Posts: 234 Location: coromandel Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 66 time(s) in 48 post(s)		Hi Starflash. Sorry, forgot to mention that Mercury associated with gold can be quite "Hard", depending on the gold content that is dissolved into it. That means, that more gold = harder Mercury. Cheers---Colin.
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nzgold		Posted : Wednesday, 12 January 2011 10:23:26 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 5/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 97 Location: New Zealand Thanks: 23 times Was thanked: 20 time(s) in 19 post(s)		Hi Criticol, it's interesting what you explained about the silver going black.... I find the odd silver pre dec. coin on the beach that has a sort of black coating on it.... I've always wondered what that is - now I know- Silver Sulphide.(Ag2S) Thanks! ;)

gingerbreadman		Posted : Wednesday, 12 January 2011 1:25:15 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 19/07/2010(UTC) Posts: 473 Location: south of the black stump Thanks: 34 times Was thanked: 96 time(s) in 74 post(s)		criticol wrote: Hi GBM. It is my opinion that you made a genuine Boo-Boo in your knowledge of Mercury? Admission is always appreciated! much better than a lame excuse! Sorry, its just my mean streak showing through! Cheers and regards---Colin. Hi there critcol not to shure what you mean..boo boo...admission..excuse..? i think you mite be mistaking my poor sence of humor for actual knoledge! though i have seen a lot of examples just like starflashs wee bit of gold in some places i dredge theres a fare bit of that stuff stuck all over the gold..when it comes to getting gold i like to keep it real simple i dont use mercury.

criticol		Posted : Wednesday, 12 January 2011 1:42:11 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 14/05/2010(UTC) Posts: 234 Location: coromandel Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 66 time(s) in 48 post(s)		Hi there GBM. Boo-Boo is a “Slang” expression for making a mistake in whatever you are doing at the time, whether it’s explaining something, or cutting a piece of timber shorter than you wanted it to be, or similar mistakes. Your admission, that you really shouldn’t have told Starflash to strike a lighter to it and smell the fumes, was much more appreciated than you making some lame excuse for why you told him to perform that action. You’re right, it was a very poor, and possibly dangerous sense of humor. Hope this explains it better? Cheers---Colin.
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gingerbreadman		Posted : Friday, 14 January 2011 12:58:06 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 19/07/2010(UTC) Posts: 473 Location: south of the black stump Thanks: 34 times Was thanked: 96 time(s) in 74 post(s)		Hi colin now that youv explaind it like that i get the picture thanks for that i can see were i went wrong i gess it would have been like telling someone to stick there tounge on electric cable to see if it was going not a good idea!. i think youv been holding out on us gold fossickers colin all this hard work we do to get a little color when we could be makeing it!! I can now see were you get your varst knowledge from http://homepages.ihug.co...~criticol/index.html.htm

starflash		Posted : Friday, 14 January 2011 1:19:43 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 16/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 192 Location: auckland, tairua Thanks: 18 times Was thanked: 38 time(s) in 30 post(s)		OMG!

criticol		Posted : Friday, 14 January 2011 1:40:28 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 14/05/2010(UTC) Posts: 234 Location: coromandel Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 66 time(s) in 48 post(s)		Hi GBM. Yeah, maybe you could be making it too if you tried. Glad you didn’t take all the above in the wrong way, I wasn’t trying to upset you!! But I see that you may be slightly upset by criticizing my website again? Oh well, everybody has there own Hobbyhorse to ride. Cheers---Colin
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criticol		Posted : Friday, 14 January 2011 1:41:44 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 14/05/2010(UTC) Posts: 234 Location: coromandel Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 66 time(s) in 48 post(s)		Hi Starflash. I presume OMG means Ohh- My- God ? Was it such a shock to read my websites content ??? Cheers---Colin.
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starflash		Posted : Friday, 14 January 2011 1:55:34 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 16/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 192 Location: auckland, tairua Thanks: 18 times Was thanked: 38 time(s) in 30 post(s)		i did have an inkling it was possible, ive tried the egg thing and the small nug was silver, but the attached piece must be mercury i guess as it did not go black or discolour. thanks for your advice, much appreciated colin

criticol		Posted : Friday, 14 January 2011 2:24:47 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 14/05/2010(UTC) Posts: 234 Location: coromandel Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 66 time(s) in 48 post(s)		Hello Starflash. You are most welcome! Regarding the bit of gold that you think may have Mercury attached and that your so damn curious about. Try this: If you have a small "Propane" torch, you can put your specimen in the cup of an old stainless steel spoon, and play the torch flame on to it. If its mercury it will either dissapear as fumes, or ammalgamate properly with the gold-- in which case the gold will become sort of Spongy and brighter. You can also do this over a little fire in the backyard if you prefer.) Now the words of warning!!!PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!!! DO THIS OUTSIDE, AND STAY "UPWIND" OF THE WHOLE APPARATUS, AS MERCURY FUMES ARE INVISIBLE AND POISONOUS!!!! DO NOT JUST PUT THE SPOON ONTO A HOT STOVE ELEMENT, AS THE MERCURY WILL RECONDENSE INSIDE THE HOUSE, AND BECOME A POTENTIAL SOUCE OF DANGER TO THE RESIDENTS. Cheers---Colin
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