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removing silver from blue clay; any advice

J

jrmack

New member
happy new year everyone! I was wanting to querry you guys on removing silver from wet blue clay....my plan is to dry it and then heat it using a torch and see if silver would come to the top; but should I make it into a powder or maby make a inch or so thick patty and dry before heating. any advice would be helpful! the clay is in a valley floor in nw pa. its encompasses about an acre and is below the surface about 3 feet... the layer is about 2 feet thick and has pingpong ball size rocks in the clay-I was told that the rocks are found typically 1000,s of feet below ground by an old guy that has had a few stone quarrys. when you uncover the clay it turns kind of black and shimmers on the surface and it smells,also in this area it is wet all the time... any help or insites are apreciated
 
Wow now thats a tough one. Nevada is the king of silver with colorado right behind. I wonder if a forum based in those states might get you the info you desire. There were a couple of posts on forums now long gone as they have fallen these past 2 years like leaves in the fall. Wish ya all the luck in the world. John
 
Are you sure that what you have is really metallic silver? It sure does not sound like it. Not everything that has a silvery shimmer is really silver. Although you give very little in the way of a description, I am guessing what you are looking at is a silver colored mica. Both the clay and mica are normal products of weathering of schist and related rocks which are common in PA. Metallic silver is unusual, and normally occurs only in desert areas in and around some silver mines (only a small percentage of these). Normally, metallic silver is black when it comes out of the ground, it is not silver colored.
 
The clay you are describing owes its color to an anaerobic environment that's keeping the iron minerals in a reduced state and the pH acid. When you expose it to air, the iron minerals and also sulfur content oxidize, giving the change in color and also the odor. The sheen may be microscopic iron sulfide.

I didn't see anything your post suggesting a reason to believe that the clay contains silver.
 
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