Options
Not sure where to post this....found Silver while Hiking in Arizona!!!!
kryptonitecomics
Posts: 9,185 ✭
After class today I set out for a hike in McDowell Mountian regional park. I had been hiking and went up into so elevation on Wednesday and on the way I found some really cool dry creek beds full of rocks. I knew it was a long shot finding anything of value but I took a look on line and got some good ideas of what rough gemstones from the area would look like and then read up on the precious medals found in the area.
I knew from past reading that a lot of times you will find Gold and Silver mixed in with quartz so I decided to focus my efforts on located quartz deposits if at all possible. So after about an Hour of walking in the dry creek bed in the 100 degree heat I noticed a large outcroping of rocks, dirt, you name it....and the rock looked to be quartz. I didn't see anything that looked like gold or silver......just dirt but since the rock was kind of jutting out sharply I thought I would see if I could get some of it to chip off.
I found a rock that looked like a big chunk of rusty iron thaqt must have weighed 30 lbs or so and and slammed it down onto the edge of the quartz......nothing happened except my hands hurt like heck lol Up the rock went again...then down again with a huge thud......it sounded like something had cracked and then I just realized it was my aching back making noises
One final time and that's it....it's too darn hot out here to keep wacking away at rocks........up the rock goes over my head....down it goes.....dirt flys everywhere as do some small chips of rock..... hm Ok this is getting interesting as now the rock has a pretty good crack in it and it looks like one more blow should do it. I think I can, I think I can.....up the rock goes....down the rock goes......victory as the quartz breaks off into about 4 large pieces with some small chunks all around........I don't see the glint of gold....but.....
I do see something shining up at me from one of the chunks......Silver!!!!! I look at some of the other pieces which don't look like anything but white rocks but then I look at whats left of the out cropping and I see more silver....
There is no way to get the rest of the rock to budge and I didn't have the energy to keep wacking away at it so I grabbed the chunk and decided to head back to the hotel. I am extrremely excited but I know the value isn't in the ore as it take tons of crushed rock to produce a few ounces of Silver.....it's the adventure and now a cool Souvenir to take back to Florida with me
I would have had images of the whole darn adventure but I was having a problem with my camera batteries so I left them in the room to charge. Here are some shots of the rock with the raw silver......and I will also include a little history of Silver Mining in Arizona
Silver Minning in Arizona
I knew from past reading that a lot of times you will find Gold and Silver mixed in with quartz so I decided to focus my efforts on located quartz deposits if at all possible. So after about an Hour of walking in the dry creek bed in the 100 degree heat I noticed a large outcroping of rocks, dirt, you name it....and the rock looked to be quartz. I didn't see anything that looked like gold or silver......just dirt but since the rock was kind of jutting out sharply I thought I would see if I could get some of it to chip off.
I found a rock that looked like a big chunk of rusty iron thaqt must have weighed 30 lbs or so and and slammed it down onto the edge of the quartz......nothing happened except my hands hurt like heck lol Up the rock went again...then down again with a huge thud......it sounded like something had cracked and then I just realized it was my aching back making noises
One final time and that's it....it's too darn hot out here to keep wacking away at rocks........up the rock goes over my head....down it goes.....dirt flys everywhere as do some small chips of rock..... hm Ok this is getting interesting as now the rock has a pretty good crack in it and it looks like one more blow should do it. I think I can, I think I can.....up the rock goes....down the rock goes......victory as the quartz breaks off into about 4 large pieces with some small chunks all around........I don't see the glint of gold....but.....
I do see something shining up at me from one of the chunks......Silver!!!!! I look at some of the other pieces which don't look like anything but white rocks but then I look at whats left of the out cropping and I see more silver....
There is no way to get the rest of the rock to budge and I didn't have the energy to keep wacking away at it so I grabbed the chunk and decided to head back to the hotel. I am extrremely excited but I know the value isn't in the ore as it take tons of crushed rock to produce a few ounces of Silver.....it's the adventure and now a cool Souvenir to take back to Florida with me
I would have had images of the whole darn adventure but I was having a problem with my camera batteries so I left them in the room to charge. Here are some shots of the rock with the raw silver......and I will also include a little history of Silver Mining in Arizona
Silver Minning in Arizona
0
Comments
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
<< <i>I found a rock that looked like a big chunk of rusty iron thaqt must have weighed 30 lbs or so >>
Shane that could have been a huge $$$$$ meteorite?
Nice adventure and a COOL find Indiana!
https://www.ebay.com/mys/active
Why? I'm curious.
Are we talking pure silver? Silver and lead? A little gold in there? Copper? I don't know about how the native metal deposits go, but it's clear they are not 100% pure in one metal; how far off...that is what I am curious about.
I've never found anything cool yet with my rock hammer. I have seen some 'funny looking rocks' in ore piles. And i've looked into plenty of scary looking mining tunnels; it takes more guts than I have to go into an old mine; perhaps it was "safer" when new. It's hard to imagine what it took to dig those mines.
Nice find and good story.
Visit my son's caringbridge page @ Runner's Caringbridge Page
"To Give Anything Less than Your Best, Is to Sacrifice the Gift" - Steve Prefontaine