Could very well be Mercury covered gold.

Can you post a picture?

 

I'll get some pictures tomorrow. We have some 55mph wind and I "folded up" my equipment until better weather.

 

 

Dang 55mph winds.....baton down the hatches and hold on.

     It could be a lot of things including Arsenic!!! Mercury will amalgamate ( coat ) with Gold, Silver, and Copper.

 

     DO NOT HEAT OR USE ACID on what you have because your question leads me to believe you may not know all the safety precautions as the fumes can be deadly!

 

     If you have a lot of this material, send it to a Lab for testing or take it to chapter meeting and find a member that has the experience to help you.       Ron

One thing that a friend taught me is to put a piece of the stuff in a pan with water in it and rub it against the bottom of the pan and then turn it over and see if it is gold on that side .And the mercury will roll up in small balls in the pan.And if you are in CA there is a very good chance it is gold covered in mercury as I have a bunch of it.

 

Thank you!

 

Thank all of you and the advise is great!

 

I have found that the area I was sampling is loaded with mercury (cinnabar), silver and galena with various other minerals I've never heard of.

 

I do plan to get re acquainted with most of the minerals to be found in the Southwest before I strike out prospecting on my own. It seems I have forgotten almost everything taught to me starting at a young age. My parents were avid agate hunters and lapidary enthusiast.