Q&A for How to Identify Gold in Quartz

Not at all—finding gold in quartz is incredibly rare. You should consider yourself very lucky if you find a piece of quartz with gold in it!

Sulphide minerals and pyrite can sometimes be mistaken for gold. Suphide minerals are yellowish and shimmery, while pyrite is shiny and yellow. Still, these minerals all pale in comparison to pure gold, which is brilliantly golden.

Quartz (silicone dioxide) is found in abundance around the world, being Earth’s second most common mineral after feldspar. Shape-wise, rock quartz forms crystals in hexagonal prisms with sharp ends of six-sided points looking like little pyramids; however, some quartz embedded in rock has an irregular mass, with no definite shape. Color-wise, while most quartz is colorless and transparent, it does come in a variety of colors as well, including purple, red, brown, pink, black, blue, green, etc.; the color depends on whether it's found in igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary rocks. You can test quartz: Since quartz is extremely hard (quartz has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale), it will be very hard to scratch if scraped with a blade, but take care not to injure yourself if you try this test.

Gold is found in hard rock deposits, the most common of which is quartz. It can also be found in alluvium, granite rock, volcanic rock and slate.

Be sure you know the value and proper weight of the gold you have before you look for buyers; this will prevent being underpaid for the gold. Remember too, that prospected gold has varying percentages of impurities, which affects the final price. Places you might try selling the gold include: Local gold stores, a jeweler’s store and through an online auction site such as eBay; it is best to avoid pawn shops if you want a good price. When selling, do get various quotes before settling on the buyer of your choice.

Yes, gold can be found in quartz. It nestles in the veins (lines) or cracks in quartz and will appear as small particles or scales. In some cases you may be able to see small masses of gold within quartz but much of it is invisible to the naked eye. Other minerals may look like gold in quartz, especially chalco pyrite, also aptly known as “fool’s gold”.

As expected, gold has a gold color. However, when still in nature, gold does not shine in the way it does once polished and turned into jewelry. Unlike the other minerals that glisten in the sun and can fool you into thinking you have gold, real gold will still look golden in the shade or indoors. Gold is often found inside of hard rock deposits, which means that often you won’t see it until the rock is mined and split open.