Research project

[D-Tex]

Hello to all on this forum; I am conducting a research project and need to enlist some help in order to collect samples needed. I have had some support from members on a different web forum with encouraging results, let me explain.

I have a lot of interest in what is called " geochemical prospecting for elements " ; to those of you that have never heard of it, it is the use of different technique's used to locate mineral deposits by testing samples of rock, soil, plants,

trees, water or gas's or air . I won't go into the analysis process's used as that is a subject far to complex to explain in this space and time but just say it's done in a lab and can be quite expensive to have much of it done. All mining

company's world wide employ these as a first step in there mineral exploration programs to locate area's of interest before using more expensive technique's. So what and how is my interest ? Hot Rocks ! I posted the question " Are

all hot rocks created equal " on a forum as stated above, as a result of that I can truthfully state that they are not ! Those of you that use a metal detector have no doubt had at least some dealing's with them. Some area's have far

more of them than other area's . Most people think they are made up mostly of iron, but they are wrong, true, some are but most are not. I sent six sample's to the best analytical mineral testing company in the U.S. to find out just

what was in them, no guessing on my part or anyone else's, I wanted to know for certain . I ordered a 36 element test on them and much to my surprise ( I was not expecting more than twelve or so but to cover all the base's I went

with that amount ) there was trace amounts of all 36 elements in EVERY SAMPLE . Understand, most rocks will have at least seven or more of the more common elements in them, no big surprise there, but these "hot rocks " were.

The test's are reported in wt. % for some elements ( Al, S, Ti, Ca ) while other's are reported in PPM ( parts per million ) or PPB (parts per billion ) as gold is , if tested for, but due to the very small sample wt. used (0.05 g ) is of only

minor interest in this project. Gold should always be assayed from much larger sample's. Now you might ask why I would be interested in knowing what's in these " hot rocks " , I want to see if they may be used as " PATHFINDERS "

for the elements they contain, just as pathfinder elements are used to find other elements as in Arsenic can be used for Gold, Silver, Copper, Cobalt, Zinc. Copper is used to help locate Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc, and there are many

others in use. Yes its a long shot but never trying is never knowing. I realize this is only a thumbnail picture of this project but you should be able to see where I hope it will go.

Now you ask what I need and what you will get in return. What I need is a few interested people to send me samples of hot rocks that they have found with there detectors, I AM NOT INTERESTED in just mineralized rocks, rocks

you may think are "ore " only true hot rocks is what I need or want. They only need to be golf ball size, if they can be broken in half to get that size that would be great, that way one can be used to make the sample that I will send

to the lab for analysis the other to be kept for reference if needed. I do not need to know the exact location of where the sample came from but do need a general one such as the county, with state, or other. You are the one that

needs to know the exact location because I will send you a copy of all test results and if something of interest is reported in it you would want to know where you got that sample. Put each sample in a zip lock bag and give each one

a different name or number, write it on the bag with a felt tip marker. Samples should be mailed in a small as possible Flat Rate box from the U.S.P.S. . Understand, you will be paying for this postage, I will pay for sending the sample

to the lab and having the testing done. When I have the results back ( sometimes takes them a while due to there work load due to large company samples ) usually around three weeks or so I will send you an E-mail that will include

them and my comments . I do require your name, address, and E-mail address, this can be sent to me by E-mail or PM here on the forum. I would like samples sent from all over the US. if I can get them, don't need them from northern

AZ. as I have already had enough from that area for the time being. Due to the expense of the testing I can only send a small number of samples in at a time but please send your samples, and I will get to them as soon as I can.

Send to

M.E. Woods
218 Swift Current Dr.
Huffman TX. 77336

E-mail at swgeocem@earthlink.net

Thank you in advance for your interest
D-Tex

 

[KinTN]

What do hope to learn from this? You may have said but I didn't see it exactly.

 

[D-Tex]

hello KinTN; Thank you for your reply, I have been gone for the last two weeks, had to

move my sister back from FLA., just got the moving truck emptied and returned

to U-Haul. Now to your question, In testing a " hot rock" for a 32 element set

of tests I hope to learn if any of them will show up with a anomalous result.

As these are reported in ppm or wt / % they will be compared to what is

a normal amount to be expected and if any do show as anomalous the

question then will be " is this element one that would be of interest

to a mining company, if a deposit of it could be traced to it's source

Lets use REE's ( any of seventeen known one's in use today ), lets

use neodymium , you may know its use as extra strong magnets ( just

one of its use's ). Most of the REE's ( rare earth elements ) are not

all that rare, the term was put into use many years ago before what

they could be used for was known, in fact they are somewhat common.

The trick is to find deposits that (1) are pure enough, (2) large enough

to contain mineable amounts, (3) in a favorable location (4) one that

is in short supply, there are other things that could be added to this

list but if these can be met the others would most likely take care of

themselves. A "hot rock" had to come from a deposit or formation

somewhere, that's the puzzle to work out if one is found with an

anomalous amount of any of the 32 tested for. I know for a fact

that " hot rocks " do contain elements that are of great value and

people don't have a clue by looking at one what is in it or what it

could lead them to. They are " Pathfinders " that could show the

way but they all contain different elements in different amounts

that's what I want to find in the samples I am requesting.

If you have any other questions let me hear them and I will try

to give you an answer that will serve.

 

[Hobby]

I think most of the Neodymium is mined in china ? Rare earth elements seam to be lacking in the US .

 

[D-Tex]

Your right up to a point; China has the worlds largest deposits of rare earth elements, how ever, there have been

good size deposits found in the U.S. in the last few years and will be going into production before to long if all go's

well. I used Neodyminum only as an example, there are now over seventeen of these unusual elements. They

are not rare, there found in a lot of different places, the problem is to find a deposit large enough to be of interest

to a company. They are all hard to process, and some have such strange characteristic's that there is no use

for them at this time, also some cannot be separated from others that are found with it except at very great expense

so they are just not used except in labs for experiments. The U.S. must find and develop deposits of these elements

because we depend on them to much to entertain any notion that China or any other country will keep us supplied

as they develop there's and find use for them.