FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Arron]

Is this fools gold or real gold sorry for the blurry photos

[SteveB]

Photos are poor ways of identifying most mineral and you’re are totally useless to even known what you are asking about. Could be pyrite, could be bits of solder, could be flecks of mica. the photos also appear to have been processed making them useless in every way. A local jeweller should be able to tell you if you’re serious. Can only assume you dont have gold, if anything probably common pyrite (called fools gold for good reason). Don’t waste everyone’s time with mobile phone photos. You can try using a drop of hydrochloric acid on whatever it is you have to see if it bubbles. This wont prove anything since its unclear what you are talking about. But identification needs testing and you’ve ignored the sticky thread asking identification queries to provide at least some simple test results. Bye.

[Bob Carnein]

As you say, the photos are blurry. In the first one, it looks like the black, grainy surface beneath the flakes can be seen through a couple of them. Is this true, or is it simply a reflection? Are they opaque? Are the flakes big enough to allow you to test whether or not they're flexible (bendable) or elastic (snap back when bent)? If you poke them with the point of a knife blade or a needle, what happens? The term "fools gold" can refer to several minerals with quite different properties--e.g. pyrite, chalcopyrite, altered biotite mica, etc. How did you collect the material? Did you pan it? You need to give us more information.

[James Catmur]

Impossible to say without better photos and more tests, as others have said.

https://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/viewtopic.php?p=19487#19487

My best (but probably wrong) guess is mica.

[ALshawani]

Impossible to tell from this picture