Natural Lead Occurance in Goldfields?

[Flowerpot]

Greetings, na noo, na noo.
When out detecting I always find pieces of lead like these and a lot of little bits of lead shot. My question is though, do these large pieces with the white coating on them occur naturally where gold should be too or might they be there because of human reasons? The pieces are in hard clay with lots of small bits of quartz and only an inch or two down.
Was lead used to extract gold from quartz in the old days by miners on site or something like that?
It would be fantabulous if these were all gold instead of lead, but alas they are not.

 

[Dron]

I don't think it's natural.

Most lead in nature occurs as ores, primarily as Galena.

I think what you have there is fragments of bullets. When bullets hit something traveling at high velocity they deform or fragment off and turn into weird shapes.

The old gold miners used to hunt rabbits etc. for their dinner which is why there is so many bullets still on the gold fields.

Here are some I found last trip that I think are fragments that must have cooled rapidly in water forming organic looking shapes.

I think the old timers used to make their own bullets too, by pouring molten lead into moulds. Here is a biiig chunk of lead I found near an old hut site. Would be fantabulous if it was gold, my scales go up to 100g.

Anyhow if you're finding bullets it's a good sign that the area you are in has not been thoroughly detected before. So keep at it!

 

[Flowerpot]

Thanks so much Dron, that's really helpful info. Makes a lot sense.
The area is where I found my 14.9g nug, so I'm hopeful there is more gold there not yet found. :Y:
Holy moly if that big chunk of lead was gold.... :lol:

 

[Guessologist]

As for naturally occurring lead, you really don't ever see it, it's very rare but noted in the big lead-zinc lodes at Broken Hill and Mount Isa. It would also oxidise to that white crust in a geological instant so to speak, you see how quickly man made stuff oxidises!

 

[Sleckie74]

They must have shot the ***** outta this bit of quartz hehe its about the size of a fiddy cent

 

[nuggetino]

i get excited when there's a lot of lead about. On another note if the lead you're finding is warm and accompanied by the sound of gunshots you're best off leaving the area. :Y:

 

[Mackka]

Nice to have you back Nugget tino

 

[Flowerpot]

https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...4996_19dc37e2-f9a3-4f26-aad6-015e2fa67bc7.jpg
They must have shot the ***** outta this bit of quartz hehe its about the size of a fiddy cent

Lol now that's blooming interesting Scotty, hmmm

 

[Sleckie74]

https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...4996_19dc37e2-f9a3-4f26-aad6-015e2fa67bc7.jpg
They must have shot the ***** outta this bit of quartz hehe its about the size of a fiddy cent

Lol now that's blooming interesting Scotty, hmmm

Sure is I kept it just for interests sake I thought I showed you that bit already? Your on tomorrow?

 

[Flowerpot]

Yes I'm am Scotty, could you bring it in?

 

[Sleckie74]

:Y: Ill be at the wonka factory around 730 :Y:

 

[malri_au]

My thought on lead slag like this is possibly 'in field cuppelation' of ores.

From reading about it,I gathered that lead was used to bind other metals to the lead,separating the gold.

If anyone else has a theory on these,throw it out there!

 

[Prospector B]

The reason for the lead shot all over the GT is because nightly during the rush the old timers used to fire their weapons into the air. Sometimes this could last hours and one of the reasons was to keep the guns clean and serviceable, though I'm sure it was fun too! I read that in a book last night

 

[Flowerpot]

My thought on lead slag like this is possibly 'in field cuppelation' of ores.

From reading about it,I gathered that lead was used to bind other metals to the lead,separating the gold.

If anyone else has a theory on these,throw it out there!

Yeah malri thats along the lines of something i'd heard about lead too. Would like to know more too if there is any info on that...

What book are you reading ProssyB? Sounds like it's be an interesting read.

 

[madtuna]

Lead was used to seal shut tins and cans back then before we clicked that it wasn't real healthy for us.
That lead being molten was most likely the result of tins disposed of in the camp fire.

 

[Flowerpot]

Yes that makes a lot of sense too mt :Y: thanks

 

[SinHof]

ProspectorB Wrote,
The reason for the lead shot all over the GT is because nightly during the rush the old timers used to fire their weapons into the air. Sometimes this could last hours and one of the reasons was to keep the guns clean and serviceable, though I'm sure it was fun too! I read that in a book last night smile.

This nightly occurrence was known as the "Evening Thunder"; as you noted, it was to check that their firearms were serviceable and that their powder was dry. Also it was to let would-be thieves know that most diggers were armed.
Cheers, SinHof.

 

[Prospector B]

That's the one SinHof.

The book is Metal Detecting for Gold & Relics in Australia by Douglas Stone, Bob Sargent and Sharman Stone - ISBN 0 9596392 1 7