NATIVE GOLD

SPECIMEN DESCRIPTION

An aesthetically undulating miniature of leaf Native Gold from Round Mountain mine in the Toquima Range, of Nye County, Nevada, USA, measuring 4.3 x 2.1 x 0.6 cm and with a net weight of 4.5 g. The leaf Native Gold is bright metallic gold, indicating high purity, with a surface displaying a minutely crystalline rough texture, like fine sandpaper. The Round Mountain mine is a large open pit which exploits a complex orebody hosting antimony, arsenic, fluorine, gold, manganese, mercury, silver, thorium and tungsten. Due to the presence of silver, the gold variety Electrum also occurs, Electrum being the mid-member within the gold-silver continuous solid solution series. These specimens are coloured much nearer to silver than gold and so are readily distinguishable from the much purer Native Gold specimen. In profile this specimen looks like the curved petal of a water arum lily (Calla palustris). A beautiful example of Native Gold from the Round Mountain mine.