Learning Center What is a mineral?The most common minerals on earth Information for Educators Mindat Articles The Elements The Rock H. Currier Digital Library Geologic Time

Minerals by Properties Minerals by Chemistry Advanced Locality Search Random Mineral Random Locality Search by minID Localities Near Me Search Articles Search Glossary More Search Options

The Mindat Manual Add a New Photo Rate Photos Locality Edit Report Coordinate Completion Report Add Glossary Item

Mining Companies Statistics Users Mineral Museums Clubs & Organizations Mineral Shows & Events The Mindat Directory Device Settings The Mineral Quiz

Photo Search Photo Galleries Search by Color New Photos Today New Photos Yesterday Members' Photo Galleries Past Photo of the Day Gallery Photography

Discussions

💬 Home 🔎 Search 📅 Latest

╳Discussions

💬 Home 🔎 Search 📅 Latest

Groups

Recent Images in Discussions

Techniques for CollectorsDissolving mica

17th Apr 2010 12:21 UTCPaul Hewitt

Is there a safe method of dissolving mica? I have some Wissahicken schist full of sub-mm sized crystals. Manually separating them has been problematic at best. I have read that HF will dissolve mica but I really don't want to fool around with that stuff. The mica is very small flakes now and would dissolve easily in the right solution I think.

Paul in Pa

17th Apr 2010 12:50 UTCJolyon Ralph Founder

Short answer: No

Long answer: No, there isn't.

17th Apr 2010 14:57 UTCAlfredo Petrov Manager

Hot sulphuric acid works well on biotite/phlogopite mica. If you splash any of it into your face, we'll take up a collection to buy you a nice white cane.

No acids do a good job on muscovite mica, which is remarkably acid resistant.

17th Apr 2010 16:59 UTCSteve Hardinger 🌟 Expert

And maybe the acid treatment will dissolve the sub-mm crystals faster that it will dissolve the mica?

17th Apr 2010 18:38 UTCDonald Vaughn

why are you trying to separate them anyways?

17th Apr 2010 23:16 UTCPaul Hewitt

Thanks for the replies. I want to separate them so that I can see what the little crystals are. When they are all jumbled up with the mica it is hard to get a good look at them.

Paul in Pa

7th May 2010 15:45 UTCReiner Mielke Expert

Try water separation. A stream of water at just the right velocity should wash away the mica flakes without washing away heavier or more equant particles. Panning might also work.

11th May 2010 11:28 UTCRock Currier Expert

In the past I have successfully removed mica from specimens using a micro abrasive tool using glass beads at about 60 to 80 psi gas (air) flow. Of course if the material you want to expose is softer than about 5 you may damage it when you abrade away the mica.

29th Mar 2012 20:24 UTCRaheel gee

i want easy way for mica mash point 1ooo withouit gringing

30th Mar 2012 09:11 UTCRock Currier Expert

Do you want a way to dissolve mica or a way to grind it to a powder? What is mash point 1000?

30th Mar 2012 19:21 UTCIan Merkel

Make a thin section!

30th Mar 2012 21:33 UTCRalph S Bottrill 🌟 Manager

I agree with Ian but you should be able to easily crush and pan it down to a heavy concentrate that usually contains most interesting minerals.

8th Sep 2013 15:24 UTCkumar

we can seperate the mica by froth floatation method

8th Sep 2013 16:49 UTCA. A. Faller

How big is the specimen? I once heard a collector claim she put a mica-ridden specimen in her kiln, and "fluffed" the Mica up, I suppose like you would to create "vermiculite", and a lot of it subsequently got literally squeezed out of the specimens' surface areas. I wouldn't know if she "wet" the specimen first, and then "baked" it. Of course, extreme heat could also alter the other minerals, so proceed at your own risk!

Just DON'T use acid! get a "pro" to do it for you...

14th Mar 2014 14:53 UTCNorm

Egad. All I'd like to know is whether I have golden mica flakes or gold flakes/dust or just pretty golden rocks. Where I'm working the creek to date I haven't found any sure enough nuggets and I don't have an experienced man looking over my shoulder. All I have for sure is historical proof that the creek was a big time gold producer 170 years ago and plenty of black sand at the end of the panning. And several metallic shiny golden flakes that don't resemble the golden looking crumbly layered variety I turned up in other creeks.

Until I started fooling around with a gold pan I had no idea that there was such a thing as gold colored mica. All I had ever seen is silvery mica. Plenty of that around. They used to mine that here.

It may turn out to be a real funny if the few pics I have seen of gold around here turns out to be mica after all from the past prospectors who have no problem "turning color."

I thought the answer might be sulfuric acid but I see that golden shiny mica doesn't react. After a lot of dissolving I still wouldn't know if it's gold or mica. So, what's next? Jeez.

14th Mar 2014 15:07 UTCD Mike Reinke

Norm,

Gold is much, much, heavier than mica. Gold would be under the black sand, mica on top. The first time I panned on vacation far from where I lived I got excited at the 'gold' in my pan, but it almost floated, so, not gold. I hadn't noticed 'gold' colored mica before either. Heartbroken again...

14th Mar 2014 15:10 UTCReiner Mielke Expert

Try mercury, gold will stick to it mica will not. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-WO97CZKns

14th Mar 2014 15:54 UTCDoug Daniels

Actually, the gold will dissolve into the mercury (actually, amalgamate), so you wouldn't see any gold until you "burned" the mercury off.

15th Mar 2014 08:43 UTCRock Currier Expert

You can also turn a torch on it. Gold will melt, mica won't. They used to us it for little windows so you could look into ovens and fire boxes.

15th Mar 2014 22:44 UTCPeter Haas

Mica, like all silicates, is slowly dissolved by hot concentrated alkali. Gold will survive this procedure, but many other metals don't.

Mindat.org is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: April 27, 2024 02:11:44

Go to top of page