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How to Test for Gold in Sulfide Form

Even an experienced miner can be lured by the appearance of fool's gold. Iron sulfide, or pyrite (commonly known as fool's gold), is the bane of many prospectors but there's an easy way to find out if you're deposit is the real deal. According to Controverscial.com, "Gold is often found adjacent to Pyrite deposits" and may even be mixed in with gold in certain deposits. Testing your discovery and separating the iron sulfide from the gold takes some basic tools.

Things You'll Need

Pot with a cover
Stove
Magnet

Instructions

- 1
  Crush your sample using a chisel. Extract a small piece the size of a knuckle that you can test. By some estimates, "Pyrite is found in, or associated with, more than 70% of the world's gold deposits."
- 2
  Place the sample into a pot and cover it. Put it on top of the stove and set the heat to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 3
  Turn on your oven fan or open the window. The fumes released from the matter will be sulfur and rather distasteful.
- 4
  Check the process regularly to see that the sample is melting down. If you smell sulfur you know at least a portion of the sample is fool's gold.
- 5
  Remove the pot from the stove after about forty minutes. Allow the sample to cool until it is safe to touch.
- 6
  Use a magnet for the final test of whether it is iron sulfide. When the sulfide burns off, you should be left with a piece of iron that is magnetic. Any nonmagnetic pieces may be gold.

Rocks & Minerals