Bags of Joy

[NuggBugg]

Hey everyone. So my mate at work kindly gave me a couple of bags of gravel from a Glen Innes Sapphire mine he bought near a decade ago. I've classified one bag down into 1/4", 1/8" and concentrate and found 3 yellowish sapphires out of the larger stuff, ones got a bit of pink in it and a few little blue shards. Plus a piece of pyrite once I can post pics up I'll show the little beauties off.
I have a couple of questions if anyone would be kind enough to answer.
1st: How can I be sure they're sapphires?
2nd: Is it possible there might be fine gold dust in the concentrate?
3rd: Will running the material through a sluice seperate the gems from the gravel?
Cheers in advance

 

[Mackka]

To number three, I believe so.
Number two possibly
Number one I would take them to a reputable jeweler or gemologist.
Just sayin.
Mackka :Y:

 

[Firepanther]

Number 1 you could try a hardness test. Sapphires are a 9 on moh scale so see what you have thats close to it and try scratching the sapphire. Also post a pic might help
Number 2 would be worth a look
Number 3 if set up right it could help

 

[Pete's Pick]

No 3. A sluice will poorly separare sapphires from wash. They have a specific gravity around 3.5, silica is 2.8 so not much difference. Gold is over 19 by comparison.

Sapphires are commercialy recovered with pulsating jigs which vertically pulse the bed so saphires can settle onto a screen then periodically cleaned out.

 

[NuggBugg]

Alrighty cheers fella's, guess I'll be picking through the 1kg container of small stuff by hand. Only thing in my garage I can think of that would simulate a vertical pulse is my jigsaw mounted upside down :lol: something to think about. Currently making a small sluice so I'll post that up eventually. I think there's a gemologist/jeweler in Nerang about 40mins away from me but last time I asked for a quote to get an opal valued they wanted one of my kidneys as a deposit. If anyone knows of one in the Scenic Rim region or close by, a name drop would be great. Thanks again!

 

[LONEWOLF]

NugBug, Get 10 posts up and I can PM you... I have something here that will help you....

LW....

 

[NuggBugg]

Nw LoneWolf I'm only 1 away now

 

[NuggBugg]

Is it cheating if I do this :8

 

[7.62marksman]

how may did you say you had to go mate

 

[7.62marksman]

lmao layful: :lol: :lol:

 

[NuggBugg]

Hehe :argh:

They're not the best pics

I reckon that bit of pyrite was thrown in there because I didn't find anymore traces of it

 

[NuggBugg]

Probably topaz :lol:

 

[aussiefarmer]

If your good at panning thats how i get saphs :Y: you just need to be gentle when down to a cup full left in the pan, the best thing is you get the gold aswell not like seiving

 

[NuggBugg]

Ah cheers aussie I'll give it a go.

The little stuff I've yet to go through

The larger stuff I found the yellow gems in.

 

[NuggBugg]

And the concentrate I'm going to sluice

Good fun, even if I don't find anything. It all adds up to experience eh

 

[aussiefarmer]

That coarse gravel i would spread out in the dark and try LED light and if possible black light :Y: you may be surprised how the LED helps the eye see gems.
If you have a glass top table you could shine light through them :Y:

 

[Mungoman]

Remember the Breville old country kitchen electric frying pan? Well, it had a pyrex glass top, didn't it...

Yep, chuck a couple of handfull of gravel in one and shine a torch from underneath.

Best thing since sliced bread - if you can get it off Mum. :Y:

 

[NuggBugg]

Great ideas fella's tyvm :Y: I'm sure my wife won't mind me using the fry pan lid, especially if she doesn't find out :lol:

 

[NuggBugg]

Just remembered I have some clear perspex left in my garage so I'll be making a little inverted table this weekend to view the coarse gravel on :Y:

 

[NuggBugg]

Done :Y:

I see something shiney :gemstone:

Works beautifully! :inlove:

That was just the first handful. Many more to go