Hawkguy - 31-8-2015 at 19:02
Okay so today I tried getting gold out of beach sand, but it just left me confused.
I've always noticed this gold flake looking stuff at a certain part of the beach, a sheltered 30m or so. It is only in that area on the beach, which
is several kilometers long. The flakes are among the sand, each piece being 0.5 - 2.5 mm long. It gets more abundant in the sand the deeper it is dug.
Hopefully that made sense.
Today I went out in the storm and gathered about 3 pounds of the sand, and tried panning it out. Despite that gold should be about (9?) times heavier
than the sand, it still didn't settle. In fact, the flakes would be washed to the surface by the water and would deposit ON TOP of the sand. Also, I
pulled some pieces out with tweezers, and rubbed them over white paper. They left long, strong coloured gold streaks, and crumbled.
Is this gold, or what? Its a light flaky solid which crumbles easily. I'm thinking it might be pyrite, since I recovered some from rocks only a few
kilometers away.
Texium - 31-8-2015 at 19:19
If it is pyrite, it should react with hydrochloric acid to evolve hydrogen sulfide and yield a yellow iron(III) chloride solution. If it doesn't react
immediately, maybe try warming it a bit. If it is actually gold, that shouldn't do anything to it.
Hawkguy - 31-8-2015 at 19:25
Thanks Mate, will do. I have uses for pyrite and for gold, so its a win either way.
j_sum1 - 31-8-2015 at 20:39
Mica is another possibility I think.
hyfalcon - 1-9-2015 at 02:25
Without seeing it, my vote is for mica also. The fact that it floats to the top tells you that.
Pyrite would stay in a layer in the bottom. It's heavier than sand, but lighter than gold would be.
[Edited on 1-9-2015 by hyfalcon]
[Edited on 1-9-2015 by hyfalcon]
MrHomeScientist - 1-9-2015 at 07:08
It's mica.
Flaky solid that crumbles easy, not very dense, sparkly appearance, often found on beaches and in streambeds. All of that screams mica. Pyrite has a
black streak, so it's not that either (you might as well test it if you have some acid handy just to be 100% sure).
If it was gold just sitting out in the open, someone would have mined it already!
UC235 - 1-9-2015 at 13:18
Sounds like mica or possibly powdered shells from members of the family Anomiidae (Jingle Shells). Pyrite is extremely unlikely since it rapidly
weathers to hydrous iron oxides (it is also quite dense which this is not).
[Edited on 1-9-2015 by UC235]
Morgan - 2-9-2015 at 05:13
Here's an account of mica on the beach.
"The glitter swooshed around in the water like a snow globe, and the metallic flecks, which were softer and flatter than regular sand, stuck to my
skin when I stepped out of the waves. Instead of enjoying some beachside R&R, I found myself panicking."
A Beach So Beautiful, I Thought It Was Polluted
https://figureoneblog.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/a-beach-so-be...
NedsHead - 2-9-2015 at 05:33
sounds like pyrite, they don't call it fool's gold for nothing
[Edited on 2-9-2015 by NedsHead]
elementcollector1 - 2-9-2015 at 12:55
Yep, it's mica. I've run into this stuff on Oregon beaches enough to know what it is...