southernau Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 In a small creek near by I can pan some very small gold / pyrite? The material is -100mesh. Its below the black sand in the pan. What is a quick field test I can do to determine if its gold or pyrite dust or something else. I know roasting will remove pyrite but looking for a quick field test. I have been fooled by pyrite dust before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Furness Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Gold dust, nuggets, basically anything natural gold when pounded out will stay together and just flatten out. Pyrite on the other hand will shatter into a million even smaller pieces ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldfinger Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I don't think pyrite dust would be gold in color. :twocents: Try dabbing some of that dust onto your finger and smear it on a piece of white paper. You should see a greenish black color if you have pyrite. But my guess is it's something else, perhaps mica?Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Furness Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I agree with you there Steve but I didn't want to confuss the issue. Another way to test for the possibility that it is gold is to look at what you have in the sunlight ... it shines right? Now block the sun with your body and look again ... is the material still shiny even if not as shiny but still 'lusterous' or is it conciderably duller or not shining at all. If the former ... still shiny ... it is possibly gold but the latter it is definitely not gold. In other words gold has a luster all of its own whether in bright light or shade. I still like the hammer test best though ... gold is soft and malable while pyrite is hard and brittle.Mike F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertNuggets Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Get a loupe on amazon or eBay. When you find gold you'll know it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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