When quartz is found in gold bearings areas it is possible that gold will be found as well.
Gold ore in quartz rock.
Gold quartz specimens are in a completely different league of their own.
Most of the world s production comes from a handful of mines in northern california.
One way that gold prospectors look for gold is too try and locate its source the place where to gold forms in the earth.
These are a real treat for gold prospectors and collectors as well and are often valued at a premium due to their beauty and rarity.
This chunk of vein quartz from mariposa is typical of gold quartz material from the mother lode district of california.
Gold and quartz specimens.
Remember the specific gravity of quartz is 2 65 times heavier than water whereas pure gold is 19 3 times heavier than water.
In most gold ore the gold is present in tiny specs either within minerals like pyrite or spread out free among the quartz.
It is sometimes associated with other minerals as well including iron and manganese oxides calcite pyrite and other sulfides as well.
Often these gold in quartz specimens are very beautiful and interesting causing them to be highly valued by mineral collectors sometimes even more than the value of the gold itself.
It is found underground by hard rock miners in only a few locations in the world.
Gold is most often found in quartz rock.
Quartz is the second most abundant mineral on the earth s surface and it can be found in many locations that have very little or no gold.
Normally even good rich gold ore has no gold metal which is visible to the naked eye.
It nestles in the veins lines or cracks in quartz and will appear as small particles or scales.
Yes gold can be found in quartz.
However many prospectors give more attention to quartz than it really deserves.
Gold bearing quartz is one of the world s rarest forms of natural gold.
Gold veins often form within quartz rock and it is certainly an indicator to look for.
How to find gold in quartz.
The white color of quartz makes it easy to spot in many environments.
This page is dedicated to the gold that s still attached to quartz or a host rock.
In its original form gold appears in igneous volcanic hydrothermal hot water veins where it is deposited along with quartz amethyst other minerals and heavy metal ores.
In epithermal gold deposits it is quite common for sizable gold veins to run through quartz rock and these specimens can be located using a quality metal detector.
The mother lode of gold in california is a region crisscrossed by many such quartz and gold filled hydrothermal veins.
Quartz may be found as small stones in river beds or in large seams in hillsides.
In some cases you may be able to see small masses of gold within quartz but much of it is invisible to the naked eye.
This type of gold is highly desired in the mineral collecting community.
Gold is often found associated with the mineral quartz.
