Links: Field Tests for Gold and Silver (or other Elements or Metals, and Sometimes Minerals)

After reviewing links on my 2009 blowpipe tests post (spurred on by this recent comment on another post), I decided to do a little more research concerning field tests for gold, silver, and other metals (primarily; some of these links are for minerals in general, though I haven't included links for the usual hardness, scratch, and other well-known tests and characteristics). The articles and books listed below may include information about blow-pipe tests (B) or info about other types of tests (O). Some include general gold, silver, and other metal or mineral prospecting information (P), many include information about other metals or elements besides gold and silver (ME), a few include info about minerals, not just elements (M), and a couple are more unknown in their coverage because they are not available in full online (U). I've listed them by year.

Merritt, W.H., 1911, Field Testing for Gold and Silver: A Practical Manual for Prospectors and Miners: Crosby Lockwood and Son, London. (B, O, P)

Osborn, H.S. and Von Bernewitz, M.W., 1920, Prospector's Field Book and Guide: Henry Cary Baird & Co., Inc., New York. (B, O, P, ME, M)

Davison, E. H., 1937. Field tests for minerals [snippet view only]. London: Chapman & Hall. (M, U)

Fansett, G.R., 1940, Field Tests for the Common Metals: Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 147. (B, O, P, ME)

Stevens, R. E., and Carton, M. K., 1948, Simple field test for distinguishing minerals by abrasion pH: American Mineralogist, v.33, p. 31-50. (O, M)

Roseveare, G.H., 1966, Field Tests for the Common Mineral Elements: Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull 175. [this appears to be a reprint or update of ABM Bulletin 147 linked above] (B, O, P, ME)

Franke, W.A., (no date, prob 1990s), Quick assays in mineral identification, A guide to experiments for mineral collectors and geoscientists in field work. Published online. (B, O, ME)

Pray, R.E., 2006, How to Prospect for Silver Field Tests You Can Use to Detect the Hidden Metal [abs only, or subscription required]: ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal (P, U)

Basic Field Tests for Gold and Various other Metals - at Nevada Outback Gems (O, P, ME)

And of course there now is portable or handheld xrf. This is my favorite model (although I've used only two models from one manufacturer).

Links: Blowpipe Tests

Blowpipe analysis - the determination of elements present in minerals by use of a blowpipe - was not taught when I was in school, but was routinely used by geologists of my dad's era. I probably missed learning this skill by only a few years: blowpipe testing was being taught during the early 1950's; it was not being taught where I went to school by the early 1970's.

A bit about the history of blowpipe analysis can be found here. Some examples of some old, collectible blowpipe kits can be seen here and here. Blowpipe tests are still described in some rock and mineral field guides and in some mineralogy texts - for example, in Dana's Minerals and How to Study Them and in Rocks, Gems and Minerals: Revised and Updated.

For the record, the mineralogy textbook I used in school was probably this one: Dana's Manual of Mineralogy, 18th Edition by Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr., 1971; the one I have now is Manual of Mineralogy (after James D. Dana, 21st Edition by Cornelis Klein and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr., 1993 in hardback. If you search the latter book on Amazon.com for "blowpipe tests," you will come up with erroneous results, because the search-inside feature switches to a completely different book (Manual of mineralogy, including observations on mines, rocks, reduction of ores and the applications of the science to the arts, Dana, 1855 - here's the 1876 version at Open Library), not just a different editition as it says. My 1993 edition doesn't mention blowpipes at all!

More Blowpipe Links:
Brush, G. J., and Penfield, S. L., 1906, Manual of determinative mineralogy and blowpipe analysis (Mineralogical Research Company used books); read, search, or download this book here. The Manual has a with a Table of Flame Colorations on page 136; you also can peruse a modified version of this table, Table of Flame Colorations and Emission Spectra, at webmineral.com.

Elderhorst, W., 1861, A manual of blowpipe-analysis, and determinative mineralogy, Elderhorst: The Internet Archive

Dana, S., and Ford, W. E., 1912, Dana's manual of mineralogy for the student of elementary mineralogy, the mining engineer, the geologist, the prospector, the collector, etc: The Internet Archive

Getman, F. H., 1899, The elements of blowpipe analysis: The Internet Archive.

links last updated on 30Jul2023

Thesis Area Mined!

The Pinson adit, from whence came jasperoid hand samples for my thesis, no longer exists - it was located in the northwest portion of what is now the A Pit of the Pinson Mine, near the bridge area between the A and CX Pits.

North is up in this air-photo image from a recent field trip to Barrick's Pinson Mine; the scale bar is 1000 feet. This digital photo of the paper image shown on the field trip contains some minor distortion due to operator error (mine!). The air-photo appears to be identical to what you can see on Google Earth, with one exception: Google Earth wraps the air-photo image over older topography, which looks strange when you try to view the existing pits using an oblique angle.

The shed or old barn where the samples were stored is likewise no longer in existence. It was located in the main drainage - Granite Creek - north of the combined A and B Pits, possibly about where the trees or shrubs in the creek are still present. In this MSRMaps map, the shed was located about where the old road crossed Granite Creek. The Pinson Pit in the MSRMaps image is the original, 1980's A Pit [from a map dated 7/1/1988 according to my original link]; the smaller-than-now A Pit is where the adit was located. The adit was put in by the Cordex I Syndicate in the early 1970's, prior to my sample collecting in 1976.

While collecting samples, I stayed at the home of Fred and Dorothy Barnes on the site of the then inactive Getchell Mine, in a house that is probably not there anymore. In order to call their house, you had to get an operator to ring Getchell #1 or Getchell #2. From outside Nevada, one of the last states using toll stations or ring downs (into at least the mid 1980's - or early 1990's?), you had to tell the operator to put you through to a Nevada operator. Out-of-state operators generally didn't believe numbers such as Midas #2 and Coaldale #1 still existed, and would insist that you give them an area code and a 7-digit phone number.