How'd it go today?

[davidwyby]

Headed to Vegas to a Red Rock Canyon NCA M-Th for a rock climbing trip with Miriam.

If things weren't so crazy I'd come up.

 

[Dave Shepard]

I'm surprised given the woodsy country you're in

The mills and tree cos are the only log trucks. No independent trucks any more.

 

[Burnham]

That's a pretty spot, @SeanKroll. M and I camped there for several days a few years ago, enjoyed some very nice hikes.

Post in thread 'Off to camp/hike southern Nevada and Arizona'

Mar 10, 2018

OK, here's some pics to start with. Plenty still to organize yet.

These are at Red Rock Canyon, a BLM site a little west of Las Vegas. Apparently it's one of the top five rock climbing areas in the US. Over 2000 identified routes. We camped here for just shy of a week, had some very nice hikes, slick rock wanderings, and canyon scrambles.

• Burnham

 

[davidwyby]

 

[flushcut]

Any gold in the quartz?

 

[davidwyby]

Any gold in the quartz?

I was wondering about it. Most quartz is smashed to bits. I wonder if naturally or from prospectors.

 

[flushcut]

Looks a little big to have been mined, but I’m no miner.

 

[Kaveman]

As a general rule, if the quartz shows signs of oxidation, which that specimen does, it contains gold. As for how much? You'd have to crush it and process it to find out. Probably significantly less than a gram from that hunk of rock. A dump truck full of that stuff is probably worth the time and effort, but not by much.

 

[flushcut]

And just how do you know it’s not the mother load? Lol

 

[Dave Shepard]

The exhaust on my Golf is coming apart. It sounds like I'm in a fog horn when it upshifts.

 

[Kaveman]

And just how do you know it’s not the mother load? Lol

Science! Quartz, and all the other minerals it may contain are deposited in a liquid state, thus, there can only be a certain percentage of other minerals in suspension within the liquid column. As they settle, they self segregate according to the strongest law on earth, gravity. Over time, more unstable elements oxidize. The deeper into the rock strata the host quartz is housed, the less oxidation can occur. The longer a specimen rock is exposed the more oxidation that will occur. The more unstable the minerals present, the more oxidation that can occur, etc.

David's photographed rock shows low to moderate levels of oxidation. In context with several hundred years worth of desert variety lichen growth, the specimen shows low levels of oxidation. When we consider that gold is likely only as high as 0.001% of suspended minerals, and that the specimen discussed exhibits low levels of mineralization overall, it is reasonable to conclude that the quartz is worth more as a specimen stone, than the value of any contained gold. Thus, it is not worth the energy required to refine said stone in search of mineral wealth.

Thank you for attending this short TED talk on geology. Understand that it is a primer and that the only law of geology I have learned is in consideration of land slides. "If it has slid once, it WILL slide again."