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Just wondering how to ID Silver nuggets?

T

tvanwho

Member
I found a spot in Arizona/Nevada area that looked promising for gold so did some research and found it was an old silver producing area at one time. Also, found out there is a Canadian junior mining company there drilling test holes and buying up property?? I guess their test holes look promising for both gold and silver. Dunno why they had to pick my spot to drill? At 7 cents a share , I am tempted to buy 1000 shares, and see if they will let me on the property then, guess it can't hurt to try? Hopefully, they haven't claimed the spot I want to dig at, a 3 fork wash at the base of a 7000 foot peak..
But my further research indicates that silver nuggets could be picked off the ground by eyeballing alone 125 years ago.Some of the underground workings were following silver veins of 4-6 inch thick solid metal until they ran out.
So, what does a silver nugget look like ? Are they silvery or black and what would they sound like on my MXT or Lobo detectors? I am assuming they would put out a low iron probabilty reading in Prospect mode like a copper or gold nugget and sound off like a silver coin? Am I likely to find gold nuggets in the area too? Hope to get out there sometime in 2013. When is it too hot to be in the desert, altho it will be in mountains?

-Tom V.
 
tvanwho - I have never found a silver nugget but have found many silver coins. The coins come out of the ground with a grey to brown tarnish on them. Not sure if silver nuggets would be the same as they could be influenced by other minerals/sulfides that could cause a different appearance. Usually when a coin is found the tarnish, sometimes, is easily removed and sometimes just by wiping with finger or clothe. Hope to get more replies to this thread as I am in Az. hunting right now and have potential for silver.
 
If it was a pure silver nugget it will read just like silver coins. But pure silver nuggets are rare, usually you are dealing with various silver sulphides and these usually weather to a sooty black surface with silvery colors when broken. http://nevada-outback-gems.com/prospect/gold_specimen/Silver_ores.htm

Silver test at http://www.delostooleauthor.com/silver_lead.html
 
Thanks Steve,Will the Silver sulfide nuggets be extra heavy and sound off on my MXT or Lobo? Did Jim H send you some of his Silver finds? THe ones he sent me go off with a bang in Prospect mode up to 12 inches away from my 6x9 MXT coil, but barely a Peep in Coin mode,Sens 4 ( lots of intereference in my house) , Disc 2 which don't make sense unless I have things set wrong?

-Tom
 
Just depends on the grade (how much silver) of the specimen. I found several pounds of high grade silver recently on my trip to Phoenix using a Gold Bug 2. Sounded off well but a machine less hot might not have found them.

You had discrimination set at 2 which was probably enough to make the difference. Discrimination should never be used unless you are literaly forced to deal with extreme nails or other trash. It will cost you good targets.

Steve Herschbach
 
Is that a secret spot in Phoenix area for the higrade silver?Maybe you can PM me? I keep fergetting that the whole world can see Internet postings.
Some photos would be nice?
Thanks.

-Tom
 
I always wiped Silver coins to see the date UNTIL my coin dealer told me NOT to do it !!! Wiping a silver or gold coin will leave microfine scratches . Not visible without a loupe. But the coin dealers will see them right away, especially if they are buying the coin from you. Expect to get 50-80% less coin value if you wipe the silver coin. I learnt this the HARD way. If the dug coin has sharply reeded edges, stick it in a kleenex and let it soak at home in olive oil or soapy water. DO NOT RUB IT or use a TOOTHBRUSH on it or anything abasive.

-Tom
 
I used to be crazy about handling my coins I found not wanting to ruin their "value". Bottom line except for the rarest of finds it does not really matter. I hit all my silver coins with silver polish and make them shiny as new these days. Only a few keep the fine patina of age.

Steve Herschbach
 
Did you use an MXT to find this piece-in Prospect Mode-what percent iron reading? How do you tell its silver ore and not a hotrock? I am assuming it screamed like a silver dollar would?
Thanks for posting the photo.

-Tom V.
 
If you read my post again Tom you will see I used a Gold Bug 2. I did not take that photo. It is a photo of similar ore found near Tombstone, Arizona being sold by a guy on eBay.

Steve Herschbach
 
Yes, I see it now,sorry, must be getting old? But ,how would I know that was a silver chunk and not a positive hotrock?
I may need to acquire a GB2 for my machine collection.
Thanks.

-Tom
 
Hot rocks aren't always magnetic but that would be a test I would try. Of course, when hunting with my Infinium hot rocks aren't hard to identify so plan to look more carefully at the black targets I find. Thanks for posting that nug Steve. It is an eye opener. Could that nug be melted to render it pure???
Silver coins are not for sale by me. Silver is the money and always go into my stash. Microscopic scratches don't matter unless the coin is pristine and collectable. I have yet to dig a pristine silver coin but it could happen. There is usually pocket ware and other scratching from days gone by. I never sell my gold or my silver as selling today could make me sorry when the price sky rockets in the future. Went to Alaska a few years back and did well. Sold around 30 oz. for $180 an oz (198:geek: and now I kick myself. A great investment, for me, is to trade dollars for gas used to get gold and silver.
 
Natural metallic silver is rare. Not unheard of, but not very common. Silver as sulfides and in combination with other metals is much more common. when minerals are conductive they will respond to your detector, but like metal, not like a hot rock. Non conductive silver ore minerals for the most part will be ignored by your detector.
If you would like to see some other types of silver ores, see my webpage at:
Silver Ores and ore minerals
 
The town that refused to die and built on Silver Mining. I have a college friend who lives in Pearce, a ghost town near Tombstone.Pearce Hill was famous for its gold and silver ores.Last time I was out there, there was a small operation removing rocks from underground on a conveyor belt.Otherwise the town was dead.
Thanks Chris, I have checked your webpage, cool silver and gold specimen photos.
I seem to recall they have a ton of gold ore specimens at the Superstition Mountain Museum near the Az ghost town of Goldfield.
Its kinda hard to remember what all these ores look like tho? Wish we had a pocket size book of color photos with descriptions and tests and how to id gold and silver ores for field use? Got any suggestions?

-Tom V.
 
Hmm, Just looking thru the rocks I brought back from my recent Az trip and one of them looks quite similar to the photo. Extremely rusty tho, but covered with sparkly black splotches and veins.
I was gonna crush it up and pan for gold? Maybe I better post a photo and see what you guys think ? It has caliche on 1 side, little bits of white quartz showing and EXTREME rust, sparkles don't look like mica, not very heavy for its size tho, 1/2 the size of my fist. No sound on my MXT. I eyeballed this piece by the quartz outcroppings I was checking out on the hillside.

-T
 
Guys,it took me an hour to get the good picture just about right on my rusty Arizona rock,So, is this silver ore or just a rock? Why so rusty? It makes a slight positive hot rock tone on my Lobo with the 3 x 7 coil,Sound gets louder on either edge of the coil, less sound in the center of coil.I have to be careful as the palm of my hand will make the detector go Zip.Had to hold the speciamen out with my fingers instead to avoid this issue,The black stuff looks metallic and sparkles.Wonder if I should crush the rock or leave it be?
2nd photo, quartz and greenstone rock from hillside outcropping.Why is the quartz all squished up into flat layers,like it was squeezed in a vise? Some of my other speciamens have flattened crystals. Should I crush these up to look for gold?

-Tom
 
Its really hard to judge photos and figure out what they are made of. The silvery black stuff could be sulfides or could just be mica on schist. Its just not possible to be sure from a photo. Quartz in veins often fractures at the surface just from natural forces of weathering. Iron staining at the surface is also common and can be caused by iron minerals, including possibly pyrite weathering and producing iron oxides.
My guess is that your Lobo is seeing a bit of iron mineral and not gold, but crush it up and see. How does the rock read in discriminate mode?
 
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