Gold Ore for Dummies

Nope, no gold particles

Ever watch reruns of "Gilligan's Island"? Of course not... unless you've binged on Netflix. Whatever the case, you may have noticed that the one person who could be depended on for thoughtful answers to technical questions was the professor. Nobody asked Ginger or even the captain how to make a radio from a couple of coconuts and the innards of a dead shark, although perhaps if they had wanted to make eyeliner from charcoal... whatever. Our point is that the "information" model of the former eHow.com depended too much on scientifically ignorant liberal arts majors attempting to explain science, which is why we can find so much dumbassery in the dregs of the site. You know, dumbassery like Christina Hadley trying to answer the question, "What Does Gold Ore Look Like?"

It's clearly a question Hadley had never asked herself, which is probably why she didn't understand the answer she was supposed to give. For starters, Chris didn't quite understand the meaning of "ore" with respect to gold, telling her readers that,

"General descriptions of gold ore vary because gold travels when it is exposed to the elements."

That, to be perfectly frank, makes little sense. Hadley also passes along a bit of bogosity that makes even less sense:

"Lode deposits of gold containing minerals are the result of volcanic activity, so minerals like quartz may appear near gold."

Given that quartz is one of the most common minerals on the planet, that statement does very little to help identify gold ores and it's of zero use when discussing placer gold. Or perhaps you'd like to figure out just what this factoid is supposed to mean:

"The ways that gold collects in minerals will shape the look of gold ore."

From the ensuing verbiage, it appears that she's attempting to differentiate between lode and placer deposits, although it's not really clear. She also passes along other bits of... interesting? information:

• "The absence of cleavage with the ore’s gold is a notable feature. Evidence of quartz and sulfide minerals surrounding gold veins may be clear."
• "indicators of the presence of sulfides like arsenic, copper, iron, and silver may also appear within gold ore."
• "A jeweler’s loupe can help you distinguish flecks of gold within gold-bearing ore bodies."
• "...pyrite and arsenopyrite are carriers of invisible quantities of submicroscopic gold."
• "Another obstacle to seeing gold in gold ore occurs when gold entwines with other metals within the ore."

Need we say more? 

So, according to this "expert," if you want to find gold you look for quartz near a volcano and pick up anything that doesn't have cleavage. Carry a "jeweler's loupe" with you to recognize gold where it "entwines with other metals." Oh, and look for minerals that are "carriers of... submicroscopic gold," although Hadley never says how to recognize them (nor does she explain how FeS₂ could even contain "invisible" gold). No, it's pretty clear that our Dumbass of the Day is talking through her metaphorical hat when it comes to economic geology. Duh.

SI - MINERALS