Sampling an Outcrop

After the prospector has found an outcrop and has defined that it is an outcrop and not a buried placer of some kind, the time to sample the outcrop is right now. This is a different type of sampling that would be done in the case of getting material together for it to be assayed though. This type of sampling is sort of like a testing that has to do with gathering enough of the representative rock to find if the outcrop has any gold in it or any other material that could be deemed as valuable mineral in order to justify the expense and trouble it would be to do an assay or test drilling on the area. This test is in many occasions done on the field itself.

As you would expect, all of the mineral identification techniques that can be found in different places that are within the abilities and equipment of the prospector can be tested. The trick though, just like it would be in sampling that is more extensive, is to not deceive yourself. After a prospector has found an outcrop he will probably be the person that will be the high grader and he will always deceive himself into thinking that the outcrop is richer than it actually is indeed.

However a good amount of doubt of the values inside an outcrop should always be there in the mind of the person that is investing one. Remember that in many occasions there is just pure white quartz that does not have any value to it. Either way you should still break off a few pieces with the rock hammer and look at it under a magnifying glass that has a minimum power of ten to inspect it. if this test shows that there is any sort of sign of gold or other minerals, you should break off more pieces and process them with the mortar and pestle system.

If the outcrop has a noticeably dissimilar color, or if any of the other tests for valuable minerals remains to be accurate, you should then sample and get hold of a technical amount so that it can then be assayed in a laboratory.

Nonetheless the only clue to more riches might be the color changes located on the surface rock. These color changes usually occur because of the water and several years of chemical action on the rock. These colors in most cases are not very outstanding but in many cases they do mean that there is indeed valuable minerals under the surface. In the case in which an outcrop meets, or right under the surface, they in many occasions show an enriched area of leached out (which is decomposed by chemical action) ore that can be very rich. While it is not common to find an enriched area, if you ever do find one, that is very large, but the ore that can be found in some occasions often runs t the thousands of dollars. Outcrops are worth being looked into to see if it has an enriched area that the prospector is able to clean out by hand. Don’t give up on the small areas because in many cases these turn out to be real top prizes.