Many prospectors in the field would look upon quartzite that doesn't have any gold showing as barren when in reality there is plenty of this overlooked material that can assay as high as 80 ounces per ton without a speck of gold showing to the naked eye. The gold in quartzite occurs when sandstone is metamorphosed by hydrothermal action with gold and silver bearing hydrothermal waters that further cements the grains together. Sandstone is porous readily giving this water access. It is the silica in the water causes the transformation of sandstone into quartzite by cementing the individual grains together. If you break a piece of sandstone you can still see the individual unbroken grains, but if you break a piece of quartzite the grains of sand are also broken.
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| This kind of quartzite with a yellowish color may contain significant amounts of gold. |
Quartzite that is dull white in appearance is generally barren,but quartzite that is glassy in appearance in yellowish in color can often contain significant amounts of gold. We have seen samples of quartzite like this but it actually has assayed to more than 80 ounces per ton without a speck of gold being visible to the naked eye.