Of course any prospector is interested in ores and ore minerals. I've done up some pages to show folks what various types of precious metal ores look like. I've got specimens of gold ore from around the world and silver and copper ores as well. I've also got specimens of gold nuggets as well as platinum. I also have links to the various precious metal ore minerals on my mineral collector's pages. I think these ore photo pages will be a site you world want to look at to compare the various ores and have a good idea of what you might be looking for when you are out prospecting in the field.
Gold ores mostly are based on their content of free, native gold. Pictured on some of the pages below are a number of examples of free gold in various forms. Even with gold bearing sulfides such as pyrite or galena, the gold is present as tiny metallic particles. While a small amount of the free native gold in gold bearing ores is coarse sized, the greatest percentage is fine sized. These fine gold particles can be so small they are hard to see - some are even microscopic in size. The only other common form of gold in ores is when the gold combines with tellurium and other metals. These minerals, like calaverite, are known as tellurides.
On the other hand, silver ores are based mostly on sulfides that contain significant silver as a part of their metallic content. The silver may be present mixed into the crystal structure as in galena, or be an essential part of the mineral itself as in pyargyrite. A few silver minerals are not sulfides such as silver chloride, known as cerargyrite. Silver also occurs mixed with gold as tellurides. Native silver metal does occur in certain places, but unlike gold, it is fairly uncommon. Native silver forms from secondary processes during weathering. Like many base metals, silver can concentrate during the weathering process, forming rich bonanza grade secondary ores from primary ores that are low to moderate in grade. The secondary concentrations of silver form above the water line below the outcrop of the vein.
Copper ores come in both oxide and sulfide forms, and both types are important copper ores across the world. Primary sulfide minerals like chalcopyrite and bornite are fairly common, while oxidized forms of copper minerals like azurite, malachite and chrysocolla are also common. These oxidized copper ores form near the surface and sometimes create rich secondary ores. Native copper has been an important copper ore in the past, but is now an unimportant source of the metal. Like silver, it forms from secondary processes related to weathering. In a few places silver and copper form mixed specimens that are part silver and part copper.
Take a look at the links below to see my ore photo pages and you will likely learn more about the various kinds of ores of these important metals and how they occur in nature. The photos come from mines all over the US and the world.
Photos and Information on Precious Metals Ores of all types can be found below. Check out the following Links to view the images:
Native Gold and Nuggets, Part 1
Native Gold and Platinum Nuggets, Part 2
California Mother Lode Quartz Veins
Copper Ore Deposits of the USA
