Native Gold

The wooded hills surrounding the commune of Roşia Montană in Romania have been worked for gold since the time of the Roman occupation and is famous for its magnificent specimens of Native Gold.    This small cabinet specimen has a rich coverage of fine filigree Native Gold which forms flattened sheets over a hard dark grey blocky matrix, possibly a Quartzite.  The majority of the Native Gold forms a mat of interwoven jumbled wires which under low magnification (i.e., x5 loupe) have a morphology of spongy cotton wool.  Only along two edges do these wires merge to form tiny lustrous metallic sheets.  Save for the latter, the Gold has a matt lustre, a sucrosic texture and is a sandy to ginger-tinted buttery gold in colour.  A rich example from the ancient mining district of Roşia Montană.