The Search for Minerals
As prospecting involves the search for minerals it is advisable to know something about these things. Minerals are the material from which most metals are extracted and it is the metals which command the high prices. What follows then is a brief description of the most common metals used in society and the characteristics of the minerals from which they come. The ability to look at a pretty red rock and say something more profound than, “My, that’s a pretty red rock.” is important to success in prospecting. When you bust open a big stone with the geologist’s pick you had best know what it is you are looking at or you might miss the big find - which would not make you the least unusual. But it is more fun to sit on the deck of your yacht in the Caribbean and talk about the big find that you made than to sit in your rowboat on a lake in northern Saskatchewan and talk about the big find you missed.
The descriptions that follow are only meant to whet your appetite and your are urged to find a good guide on rocks and minerals and maybe even take a night course at the local community college this winter. If nothing else this will support the habit of other prospectors who have to teach in the winter in order to pay the bills for their summer passion.
|
