Co Cobalt is primarily used in lithium-ion batteries, and in the manufacture of magnetic, wear-resistant and high-strength alloys. The compounds cobalt silicate and cobalt(II) aluminate (CoAl2O4, cobalt blue) give a distinctive deep blue color to glass, ceramics, inks, paints and varnishes. Cobalt occurs naturally as only one stable isotope, cobalt-59. Cobalt-60 is a commercially important radioisotope, used as a radioactive tracer and for the production of high-energy gamma rays. Cobalt is also used in the petroleum industry as a catalyst when refining crude oil. This is to purge it of sulfur, which is very polluting when burned and causes acid rain.

Cobalt is the active center of a group of coenzymes called cobalamins. Vitamin B12, the best-known example of the type, is an essential vitamin for all animals. Cobalt in inorganic form is also a micronutrient for bacteria, algae, and fungi

Ni Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge.
It is classed as a transition metal so solid at room temp.
Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slow to react with air under standard conditions because a passivation layer of nickel oxide forms on the surface that prevents further corrosion. Even so, pure native nickel is found in Earth's crust only in tiny amounts, usually in ultramafic rocks [type of igneous]
gneous rocks are “fire-born,” meaning that they are formed from the cooling and solidification of molten (melted) rock. The word igneous derives from ignis, the Latin word for “fire.” Molten rock material is known as magma until it is erupted onto the surface when it then is termed lava.

The element's name comes from a mischievous sprite of German miner mythology, Nickel (similar to Old Nick). Nickel minerals were green, like copper ores, and were known as kupfernickel – Nickel's copper – because they produced no copper.

Nickel is one of four elements (the others are iron, cobalt, and gadolinium)[10] that are ferromagnetic at about room temperature.

Cu [from latin cuprum] atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orange color.

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Inorganic_Chemistry/Supplemental_Modules_and_Websites_(Inorganic_Chemistry)/Descriptive_Chemistry/Elements_Organized_by_Block/3_d-Block_Elements/1b_Properties_of_Transition_Metals/Introduction_to_Transition_Metals_II

The transition metals (Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) have partially-filled inner (3d) orbitals. The electrons in these orbitals can be excited by energy in the visible spectrum and these transitions are the basis for the production of color.

Impurities and color
iron in quartz will give it a violet color (amythest) or titanium will change to rose quartz. Quartz may look colorless (no impurities), light pink (titanium, iron, or manganese), milky white (tiny bubbles of gas or liquid), purple (iron), yellow (iron), or brown (extra silicon).

Can use oxalic acid several times until it turns a greenish color then you need to neutralize it!

Can use wood ashes, baking soda or agricultural lime as they are alkaline so will do a great job at neutralizing the acid.

Do NOT breath the fumes coming off as there will be a chemical reaction.

Continue to dump ash or soda until there is no more reaction.

Emerald Hollow Mine

Only mine open for prospecting hours 8 to 6
They do close for electrical storms
call if coming after 4 to verify open.

$25 for adults
sluicing, creeking and digging.
Brushy Mountains located in Hiddenite North Carolina. This is recognized as one of the most unique and interesting geological locations in North America.

 We are a host to more than 60 different types of naturally occurring gems and minerals, a treasure trove of gemstones can be found at our gem mine! Many of these are very rare and include emerald, aquamarine, sapphire, garnet, topaz, amethyst, citrine, rutile, and tourmaline. We have an abundance of world class smoky and clear quartz crystals as well. Hiddenite being the 4th rarest gemstone in the world, can only be found in this small town of hiddenite, North Carolina.

https://www.emeraldhollowmine.com/

Mindat.org
A lot of info in here, but one of the most comprehensive resources out there for #Rock and #minerals for #Geology

Have fun!

Rockseeker.com
info for all states.

Rockhound resource has some specific info on how to collect rocks.
Be careful as some may be illegal to collect on like tribal lands so
do your due diligence prior to going and collecting.
Find out as much as you can about the area, people there and terrain
prior to going.

Schist is a medium-grained metamorphic rock with a pronounced schistosity, meaning that the rock is made up of mineral grains that can be seen with a low-power hand lens, and are oriented in such a way that the rock can be easily split into thin flakes or plates. Schist is primarily composed of silicate minerals such as quartz, feldspar, and mica (muscovite and biotite). Shale, siltstone, and some sandstones can provide the parent rock for schist.

Bedrock is mother natures sluice box!

Use to locate,
Gov gold maps
sourdoughminer.com/GGM

prairie creek mine
prairie creek diamond area
wavelite mine

big bear mining co
gemstones

check kimberlite mines

diamond mines Cooperstown

Ron Coleman Mine

Mount Ida

Sorting Leverite and gold and silver ore.

Leverite is a geological term for a worthless stone. "leave er right there" sometimes it means ...

Gold ore

Gold ore wrapped in minerals

Fine gold ore

Rhodium palladium gold ore

Gold ore and raw natural minerals

Sponge gold

Gold in quartz with various minerals

Gold ore and quartz
it is dense

Gold in thin sheets mixed with quartz
often called leaf gold

Gold in quartz

Crystalline gold
you can see triangular or pyramid type shapes
also a diamond kind of shape
the same kind of shape diamonds crystallize in
this kind of shape sells for more than the gold value
as collectors of specimens prize this sort of shape

The gray is quartz and he red is iron [rust or iron oxides where the iron has oxidized]

Paper thin gold in this specimen, thinner than foil so the gold could be
taken and just mashed up.
It has high value because of it's nature.
The white material is not quartz this time, but rather

The rocks below formed when late in the life of the formation of the vein in the rock
formed from hot waters that have gold in them while going through cracks and fault in the rock
as it forms the first layer, quartz is layed down
in the life of the formation of the vein, gold is injected into this system.

Lighter layers of quartz that have gold shot through the cracks and crevices

This one below is thinner more leaflike gold

If gold goes through the quartz and the quartz is fairly solid,
the gold could be sawed out, to cut and make jewelry with it
doing cabs or other pendants.

Sometimes a piece is very fragmented and fractured as you can see below
can even be broken by hand, but that is gold shot through all of the cracks and crannies.

Some gold in quartz still in place inside of a mine

Gold ore from the Phillippines

Below is a piece found in Arizona,
the blue on it is copper mineralization
it's not unusual in quartz found with gold to have other metals found with it.
The copper minerals oxidize like the iron does in other rock specimens.
Copper will form blue and green kind of stains when oxidizing instead of the orangey red of iron oxidation.

Specimens of gold ore from Goldfield, Nevada
More than an ounce of gold in a pound of rock in most of this material.

Gold bearing quartz from Australia
Was originally covered with the rusty red clay and found with a metal detector as the gold could not be seen initially.
Struck with a hammer to see the gold inside.

Gold from Russia
looks like gold just smeared on the rock

A piece from Canada that has just a few specs of gold

Many mines will produce many tons of rock per day and take the little bits of gold in them as gold is worth a high price per ounce.

Though not making a lot per ton, they will produce tens of thousands per day and do very well.

Here is what a lot of common quartz looks like
stained rusty colored from iron in the rock
stained black from Manganese
< Manganese is a mineral that your body needs to stay healthy. Your body uses manganese to make energy and protect your cells from damage. Your body also needs manganese for strong bones, reproduction, blood clotting, and a healthy immune system.

You don't see a lot of obvious gold, probably a few specs spread here and there throughout the rock, a ton of it may be well worth processessing.
Sometimes the gold doesn't reveal itself very easily.
Remember, quartz is made of silicon and oxygen

a nonmetallic chemical element in the carbon family (Group 14 [IVa] of the periodic table). Silicon makes up 27.7 percent of Earth's crust; it is the second most abundant element in the crust, being surpassed only by oxygen. silicon.
So the two most common elements in earth's crust.
The two most abundant elements on earth combine to make quartz so likely the most common element.
Not all quartz has gold in it, but some does.
Atoms of oxygen and silicon join together as tetrahedrons (three sided pyramids). These stack together to build crystals. Billions of tetrahedrons are needed to build even a small crystal.

Below is some rich gold and silver ore from Nevada
The dark grey areas are a combination of various base metals
like zinc, lead, possibly some copper
but the whitest quartz has quite a bit of silver and gold it.
Back in the day huge amounts of this ore were extracted from Virginia City in Nevada and a lot of money made.

Below is the South African gold ore that was mined for years.
Known as conglomerate.
All of the tiny pieces you can see used to be pebbles.
The gravel had gold in it.
It was eventually buried, heated
over time the heat and pressure moved the gold around in the gravel and
also turned the gravel into solid rock.

Since the 1880s this ore has been mined in Africa worth vast amounts of money.

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