The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-13
SUGGESTIONS FOR
GOLD PROSPECTORS
Mineral-Bearing Quartz Usual
Iy Carries Some Yellow
Metal.
ORE DEP0SITATI0NS
OFTEN PECULIAR
Values Not Necessarily Found
Only in the Oldest of
Formations.

In recent years prospecting has been
carried on by some OF our largest mining
and smelling concerns as n business
proposition. Instead OF the mineral hunt
er without any knowledge OF geology
and about the same qualifications for
distinguishins minerals. expert geologists
and n,ineralogists are paid fixed salaries
10 look for ORC deposits. Naturally this
puts the ordinary prospector at dis
advantage. unless he has n working
knowledge OF tho mineral he is looking
for and the rocks in which 1t is likely
TO be found, says Mines and Minerals,
which offers the following suggestions on
prospecting for gold.
At first IL was the general belief that
gold was most likely to be found in veins
that traversed tho oldest formations OF
granite Sneiss and slaty sChists. Recent
ly this belief has been changed because
rocks containing gold have been studied,
and gold has been found in rocks OF more
recent formation. II the placers are leIt
out OF consideration. gold Is always found
with quartz alone or associated with
somo other rock-forming mineral, pref
erabiy a magnetism silicate. Most quartz
veins are barren but II there IS any min
eral at all in them gold Will probably be
associated with II, for gold is found win
copper, iron. lead and zinc in such de-
posits. At the surface the quartz VIII
be stained to rusty brown by Iron oxide
and perhaps be pltted or honeycombed
2ua5tZ Of this description is Always MAYS
crushing and panning II fails TO show
gold. fire assay should be made Of an
average sample.
Fat and Lean Places.
There are rich and lean places along
every vein. for which reason the pros
pccror should look for the richest before
stalking his claim. There are not enough
bonanzas or rich gold deposits TO go
lightning will strike in this game; how
ever. from an examination OF the rocks
in which the lucky ones struck bonanzas,
the writer has found them TO be near
eruptIve rocks and in magnetism Sill
Gates.
BY eruptive rocks is meant those rocks
which were forced from below upwards
through assures in the surface, and since
they We're putty-like masses at the time
of eruption they are called magmas
Such magmas were accompanied by solu-
tions which carried minerals and wher-
ever there was some kind of material
which would set up a chemical reaction.
she metal minerals were deposited, Sol!i-
tions carrying gold would, on coming In
contact with magnetism rocks, deposit
the geld In r. small area: consequently.
bonanzaS are not extensive.
1t Is To be understood that there are
some exceptions To this rule; for instance,
the solutions carrying gold may come
I'm contact with substances that VIII pre-
clpitate the gold, such as carbon, fiuorine,
ron pSElte. SsNuiluiii' ctS'' put Suc'i bS
posils are not as likely To he as concen- :
tratcd as those near tale and scrpentlnc
The magmatic rocks from which the gold
solutions were derived are usually gray,
while the tale and serpentine rocks are
yrcenish and have a soapy feel To their
powder II the country is comparatively
ilat In the Immediate vicinity Of those
rocks the surface soil will be colored
gray or reddish brown by iron oxide and
be mixed with sharp quartz which VIII
cut the shoe soes, also the gravel from
the brooks and dcpressions will furnish
black sand and gold on panning.
Aqueo -ieneous rocks that were shat
tered by earth movements and afterwards
had their crcviccs cemented by quartz
solutions, while low grade, as rule have
tho gold more uniformly distributed over
q larger area. Frequently such magmas
have sulphidc, telluride and huoride metal
minerals as component part OF their
mass in which case the minerals are said
to be accessory" and frequently have
pnld assnclalnG WITH them. In some cases