jagetype
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2013
Posts: 12 
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Post by jagetype on Jul 14, 2013 15:15:51 GMT -5
Hi, new here. Ive always liked rocks since I was a kid, I got a 60.00 bounty hunter VLF metal detector for my birthday So now I like to detcect old mine dumps around cobalt in my spare time , and i come across pink cobalt and green nickel ores sometimes with silver.. The other day I was board so I took out a flat bastard file and started to rub it on some old corroded green ores from cobalt. To my amazement the ore polished up quite nicely First I filed the rock then I wet sanded with 2000grit , and then rub down and buff with aluminum mag polish, Took an hour or so to do Finished rock looks almost like nickel marble type rock It has really sparked my interest in building a rock tumbler will post a pic as soon as I can figure out how.. says the forum has exceeded it's attachment space everytime I try to upload.. |
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sheldon74
having dreams about rocks
Member since May 2013
Posts: 59
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Post by sheldon74 on Jul 14, 2013 16:15:00 GMT -5
Can't wait to see some pictures!
A lot of the Cobaltite and Nickeline around here will contain silver. If you find silver and calcite you can always try giving it a muriatic acid bath to bring out the silver more or completely dissolve the calcite and only leave the silver. As always, safety first when using acids.
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jagetype
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2013
Posts: 12
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Post by jagetype on Jul 14, 2013 20:10:09 GMT -5
 ![]()  Still can't load a pic to this forum.. so I changed my profile pic to the picture I was going to post hmmm muriatic acid, I was wondering what to use.. , I have some pieces that I'd like to try in an acid bath thanks for the info ![]() |
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Post by Peruano on Jul 15, 2013 9:58:05 GMT -5
Jagetype, Chances are you are trying to upload your photo rather than posting it on a third party source (i.e. Photobucket). Open a photobucket account (free), upload is easy and they accept thousands of photos, and then copy and paste the image info (3rd or 4th option of the linkage options) and you will be posting photos of interest to us all. Interesting results. The hook may be set. Tom
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jagetype
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2013
Posts: 12
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Post by jagetype on Jul 15, 2013 10:48:13 GMT -5
Thanks Peruano
Photobucket worked for me
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Post by vegasjames on Jul 15, 2013 17:43:38 GMT -5
![]() Still can't load a pic to this forum.. so I changed my profile pic to the picture I was going to post hmmm muriatic acid, I was wondering what to use.. , I have some pieces that I'd like to try in an acid bath thanks for the info Why do you want to do an acid bath? Muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) will dissolve some on the nickel and would react with the silver forming silver chloride, which is light sensitive. You will likely destroy the beauty of the stone. |
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jagetype
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2013
Posts: 12
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Post by jagetype on Jul 15, 2013 20:08:02 GMT -5
 Maybe not use acid with the nickel ores.. but I'm curious to try a couple silver nuggets I have, out to canadian tire tomorrow to get some acid  Heres a couple pics of what I found in Cobalt today, from the Lower O Brian road,, from down Ragged Chutes ,, and from the Nippising 73 Meyer "the big leaf on the rock with shiny blue"   |
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jagetype
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2013
Posts: 12
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Post by jagetype on Jul 15, 2013 20:31:27 GMT -5
Going to try and cut a couple more nickel ores from the bucket with a file..
, Really thinking about building some sort of rock tumbler.
I'm curious how the different ores would come out once tumbled
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Thunder69
Cave Dweller 
Thunder 2000-2015
Member since January 2009
Posts: 3,105
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Post by Thunder69 on Jul 15, 2013 20:52:58 GMT -5
IT could come out like hemetite...Long as it is around the same hardness...The piece you did with the file is really cool...Also you could get a small tumbler and supplies from the the Rockshed to test it out...John
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sheldon74
having dreams about rocks
Member since May 2013
Posts: 59
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Post by sheldon74 on Jul 16, 2013 7:58:28 GMT -5
Nice finds, jagetype! Fighting off the flies and mosquitos was well worth it. Not to mention the insane heat wave we have been having! I'm going to get myself a vibratory tumbler soon and do some tumbling myself. I think the Silver/Cobalt/Nickel ores would come out looking just like the piece you filed in the picture you posted. Probably even better after a good polishing. What are you going to do with your pieces after?
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sheldon74
having dreams about rocks
Member since May 2013
Posts: 59
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Post by sheldon74 on Jul 16, 2013 8:57:59 GMT -5
Muriatic acid has no effect on silver or nickel. Sometimes a light etching to remove calcite is beneficial to expose the ore in the rock. Otherwise it just looks like a rock. This is a common practice for people that collect mineral specimens. Here is a piece I etched last year to expose the silver in the vein. There was very little silver showing before the acid bath.   |
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jagetype
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2013
Posts: 12
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Post by jagetype on Jul 16, 2013 9:50:23 GMT -5
Nice finds, jagetype! Fighting off the flies and mosquitos was well worth it. Not to mention the insane heat wave we have been having! I'm going to get myself a vibratory tumbler soon and do some tumbling myself. I think the Silver/Cobalt/Nickel ores would come out looking just like the piece you filed in the picture you posted. Probably even better after a good polishing. What are you going to do with your pieces after? Thanks, and yes I almost got heatstroke chopping at a boulder,my face was like a sprinkler lol , the mutant mine flies were just loving it. Not shure what to do with the pieces as of yet, Just collecting for myself right now. |
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jagetype
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2013
Posts: 12
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Post by jagetype on Jul 16, 2013 9:55:29 GMT -5
That acid etching looks awsome Sheldon, I sent my mom to pick some up this morning. Does it eat away all the cobaltite stuff? I have a big piece of ore with lots of cobaltite veins and bits of silver sticking out can't really see the silver , Because of the Cobaltite  |
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sheldon74
having dreams about rocks
Member since May 2013
Posts: 59
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Post by sheldon74 on Jul 16, 2013 10:54:51 GMT -5
The acid won't remove the Cobalt. The piece you posted looks like it has very little carbonate in it so I don't think you will have very good results. It may just end up looking like a large piece of cobalt with the same amount of silver showing but now it would have voids in it where the material was dissolved. It might be better to cut and slab something like that up so you can see what is on the inside. (It would make great cabs too!)
You could try it on a smaller similar piece and see if you like the results.
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jagetype
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2013
Posts: 12
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Post by jagetype on Jul 16, 2013 11:40:08 GMT -5
I've only tried to cut stone one time with my Chop Saw for metal.
I didn't get to far, only 1/4in in ,blade was wayyyy to fasst, lol.
Thanks for the ideas
If only I knew someone with a rock saw hmmmm
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jagetype
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2013
Posts: 12
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Post by jagetype on Jul 16, 2013 13:02:08 GMT -5
Speaking of metal chop saw, lol I cut a piece of ore from the bucket with the side of the Blade only took 5min,,, 15min total with the finish file and shine. A lot faster than the first one I did with just a file. Here's a pic of the end result, there is a shiny vein of silver, running through the nickel and calcite stuff.  |
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jagetype
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2013
Posts: 12
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Post by jagetype on Jul 16, 2013 14:33:42 GMT -5
  I just took this piece of ore that I had and sat it in a Margarine container, as soon as I poured in the Muriatic acid, The acid instantly turned green then started smoking, I quickly snapped on the lid and run away, lol. How long should I leave it in there? |
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sheldon74
having dreams about rocks
Member since May 2013
Posts: 59
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Post by sheldon74 on Jul 16, 2013 16:30:45 GMT -5
Edited because I Double posted.
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sheldon74
having dreams about rocks
Member since May 2013
Posts: 59
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Post by sheldon74 on Jul 16, 2013 16:31:02 GMT -5
I hope you are using all safety precautions and did some research since you decided to try this. Did you mix the muriatic with water? It is too strong to use by itself. You need at least 50% water added to the muriatic to dilute it. You must also add the acid to the water and not the water to the acid in case it splashes on you. You can leave your ore in as long as you want. You can completely remove all carbonates or stop when you get the desired result you like. If your solution stops bubbling then either there is nothing left on the rock to remove or the solution needs to be refreshed. When you are finished you can use baking soda to neutralise the acid to properly dispose of it. If you have any questions before trying this again shoot me a message or post in here and I can try to help you out.
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jagetype
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2013
Posts: 12
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Post by jagetype on Jul 16, 2013 17:38:30 GMT -5
   Whell I put the Acid In full strength, I have proper gloves ect.. I just took it out, it appears to be mostly cobaltite? It is really dense heavy , but might also might contain alot of silver. It's hard to tell, but I do see silver in there, it also looks like circles with hard needle like Silver hairs around them, can't tell from the pics, but it looks cool, I kind of want to smash it with a hammer to see if there is silver. |
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