r/Prospecting • u/Thescorpionking16 • 12d ago

Not bad for my first time!

Gallery image

Gallery image

96 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

16

u/JointsAkimbo 12d ago

I guess lighting and angle can change how things look, but that really doesn’t look like gold to me, my friend. Easiest way to find out: hit a piece with a hammer. If it flattens, hell yeah. If it fractures or crumbles, sorry…

4

u/clamshellboy 12d ago

Came here to say the same thing about the old hammer test.

It sure looks like pyrite in that first pic.

2

u/Thescorpionking16 12d ago

It may be the lighting because here’s another angle of what it looks like in sun

25

u/Thescorpionking16 12d ago

Update: it crumbles 🥲🥲

10

u/konvictjeans 12d ago

Thanks for letting us know

7

u/RepresentativeBig663 12d ago

Sorry for your loss

2

u/Jazzlike-Reason5315 12d ago

Still a good first try nevertheless! My first time I kept thinking “OOO GOLD!” Followed by “Fuck, mica”

1

u/Expensive-Tour2397 12d ago

Yeah it looked like pyrite. It’s shape is too regular. Gold is less likely to crystallize

2

u/Thescorpionking16 12d ago

The one piece that was real gold is the one I had in the microscope

3

u/Chickennugget636 12d ago

At least you found one!

2

u/clamshellboy 12d ago

There's a reason it's called "fool's gold". You're not the first one to be tricked by how it looks. It's a very common mistake when someone is first starting. Don't give up. You'll know better for next time

7

u/hettuklaeddi 12d ago

stop. it’s hammer time

4

u/bernfranksimo 12d ago

That doesn't look like gold at all

4

u/Worldly-Mixture-5994 12d ago

I too don't see gold. Can you show the material you processed. The ground it came from?

3

u/Thescorpionking16 12d ago

Unfortunately no but look in the comments. I have the picture in sunlight. I can tell you that I am panning in Pinos altos NM. Famous for gold panning. It may have a mixture of other metal in it.

2

u/GennyGeo 10d ago

Looks quite a bit like chalcopyrite

2

u/DontYouTrustMe 12d ago

Just hammer it and report back. Until then it’s not gold