Morlock

You can probably file a placer claim over a lode claim and they'll sure take your money but it won't be valid.

It looks too fresh to be fossilized.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/16/buried-treasure-forrest-fenn-rockies

You can use Whink instead which contains diluted hfl acid but takes a very long time to get the results you probably want. But very safe to use.

I definitely wouldn't crush them. Be patient. Have you thought about selling at a local rock and gem show? Also, I would consider removing some if not most of the quartz with hfl acid to expose more gold. Aesthetics matter....

There's so much junk in those lakes it's a wonder whatever meteorites that might have stuck to it didn't come off when dragging the sled.

They supposedly found a meteorite using a sled in a lake. What are the odds? https://abc7chicago.com/meteor-meteorite-what-is-a-2020/6416866/

Wade and Adam haven't posted any pictures recently. I wonder what they're hiding?😉

Do you have access to a short - long wave ultraviolet lamp? Sometimes those nodules can be fluorescent.

Slag. Sorry.

I find it a little suspicious he died so soon after the treasure was found. It had supposedly been buried over a decade.

I didn't think he was that old.

I see some banded agate but you could have some petrified wood as well. It's hard to tell with the photographs.

Looks like either quartz or calcite. The vinegar test will help indentify it.