Silver Mine in Pa. ??? True or Not

Is there any truth to silver mines in Pa.  You can read old stories about Indians that found silver in Pa. but is there any truth to any of this I have been ask by the Clearfield Historical Society to check out two sites in Clearfield Co. to see if their is any silver at either site.  I just wonder if there is any other silver mines in the state. This area has lots of sandstone. Any info would be of help. Thank You   

I googled this "clearfield pa silver mine" , there's some stories, hope it helps

There are (Were) at least 2 in Lebanon County

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,89110.0.html

I live a couple of miles from Silver Mine Rd., there is a park across the road from the actual mine which is fenced off (no longer active).   Also silver was picked up from a field about 1/4 mile behind my house.  Answer: yes there was silver mines in Pa.

Can't buy it, the Twp. bought it along with the park land across the road, fenced and posted the mine area.   Totals several hundred acres and had been a concert location for about 20 years or so with a small amphitheater.  The "ONE" twp. official considers it his personal property.  Its cabled off and only parking along the road for a few cars.   Was good for lots of clad but now not worth the long walk.   Do not know if any silver left in the mine, heard it was exhausted.

I don't believe anything is exhausted but if no access we will never know

Several stories of one being near Coudersport, Pa. near the Ice mines,  Can't say if it is true or not.

I would like to thank everyone for their reply to this post. Now I will have to go out and find one. I just wasn't sure if there was any truth to the stories , I am going out this month to check out two sites in Clearfield Co. and I will post what I find. Thank You 
Denny

There is a legends that there was an old silver mines in the Forest/Warren County area, Pike County & a mine in Keating, Centre county area. I believe that they all are based on old Indian legends. Hope it helps. 

  Hey Silver Mine Hunters:  If you go to the Treasure Leads Forum and click on
the Mormon Treasure thread it has a reference to a Spanish silver mine in Penn.
Chapter 3 tells about Joseph Smith's treasure hunting antics.  Very interesting.

  lastleg

  Hey Silver Mine Hunters:  If you go to the Treasure Leads Forum and click on
the Mormon Treasure thread it has a reference to a Spanish silver mine in Penn.
Chapter 3 tells about Joseph Smith's treasure hunting antics.  Very interesting.

  lastleg

Thank you, I will check it out.

Try the mineral database and search by location...

http://www.mindat.org/

Chech this book out from 1863. Type silver into the search function. It lists 2 possibilities. http://www.archive.org/stream/thurstonsroutebo00pitt

Al

Generally speaking, you would not find silver in native format to be profitable enough for mining in Pennsylvania.  It does occur with copper in Adams County, and was recovered as a byproduct of iron mining at Cornwall and Grace mines (Lebanon and Berks Cos. I believe).  The mine in Lancaster County contained primarily galena, with traces of silver and those two metals are often found together, so any place you find galena in PA, you may find silver.  Many rumors of silver mines exist in the northern tier; however, the geology of PA, especially in the Allegheny Plateau is simply not conducive to hosting silver.  You would need some serious volcanic activity accompanied with hydrothermal solutions percolating through a host rock to create viable silver deposits and everything from the south west, through the north west, north central and to the north east is more or less flat sedimentary rocks.  That's why Adams County, which has had recent geologic volcanic activity, does have some copper deposits and some silver associated with them.

So generally speaking, I'd say that silver is present in PA, but not in any sort of economically viable deposit.  You could probably say the same for gold or diamonds - they are natively present, but not in quantities to be economically viable.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/UX4b_rhT0nU" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/UX4b_rhT0nU</a>

actually this may be one , Im just not sure The chiseling seems to indicate pre dynamite era , Just not sure if native Americans had metal tools , but i believe this is colonial era , I live in North east Pa , right near the Lennape Indian strong hold on the Delaware , Seems the entrance might have been tryed to be closed off , because there is a trickle of water , and after a few feet the mine droops a few feet the water is crystal clear , and about waist to chest deep ,  wonder what this mine was used for or to hide , it is a few miles from the areas listed bellow , about a 2hour hike deep in the woods no roads a few crude trails , i really do not know if anyone has even come across this mine , accept a hunter or 2 .
this is exeprpts from the united states treasure atlas volume 8:
1180a Legends say that the early Indians knew of a rich silver treasure or mine in a cave at Shohola Glen . According to the Legend the cave couls be entered from a hidden cranny in the ravine , with a second entrance supposedly in Panther Glen
1180b It is said that the early Indians of this region fought with silver-tipped arrows and sliver bullets
1180c An early Settler named helm was taken blindfolded to the mysterious cave by a befriended Indian chief where he reportedly saw piles of crudely mined silver on the floor , helms spent the rest of his life in search of the treasure cave without success.

007,

     That is a great start. It would be interesting thought to know the story behind yours. towns, names, etc would be helpful to compare the stories that we are all hearing about mines in PA. They all seem to have the same general story. You can PM me if you wish. Thank you.

     Also, since this is so far in the woods, could it be a bear cave and how do bear caves compare with what we are thinking about/looking for???   Thank you.

I showed my hubby these pics,he worked in the coal mines when he was in his late teens and early twenties. He said it was definitly dynamited. He said he drove many rock tunnels but this is almost perfect. The guy who lead this must of new what he was doing. He said he never seen one so smooth or without big rocks hanging down.. It looks like it was drivin in with air jack hammers. As for what kind of mine it is he has no clue. It could be a silver mine. He said they make rock tunnels for many reasons. Like to train water out of the mountain and mine airways.
Here is some reading about the area in google books.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Yx..._result&ct=result&resnum=10

I'm no cave pro by any means but...looks like that is almost perfectly round. Be pretty hard to haul coal out of...or any kind of ore in bulk. No flat path for trams or whatever. Would even be difficult to walk....I would think.

Maybe a giant earthworm lives in there...lol

Al

Being from Pa, I used to hear about some old silver mines, here and there, and thought they were nothing my hooey.

However, moving forward 30 years or so, we had a friend who was a fireman in New Jersey, but had his home in Pa.  He did lots and lots of research on the silver front, and found several old, old maps and newspaper articles from across the state that seems to validate the fact that there was silver and Pa, and not just a little, but some that were actually worked by indians AND white men alike.

It does explain some very old silver jewelry found by the parents of a friend of ours years ago.  It was definitely indian-made and consisted of silver and polished stones of different varieties (and was verified by an expert).

In fact, if you go into the Wyoming County courthouse in Tunkhannock, they have a very, very old original map which specifically has not only silver workings, but a few gold areas also.

There has also been industrial diamonds found in Pa - which makes sense, considering the hard coal that abounds there.

B

Being from Pa, I used to hear about some old silver mines, here and there, and thought they were nothing my hooey.

However, moving forward 30 years or so, we had a friend who was a fireman in New Jersey, but had his home in Pa.  He did lots and lots of research on the silver front, and found several old, old maps and newspaper articles from across the state that seems to validate the fact that there was silver and Pa, and not just a little, but some that were actually worked by indians AND white men alike.

It does explain some very old silver jewelry found by the parents of a friend of ours years ago.  It was definitely indian-made and consisted of silver and polished stones of different varieties (and was verified by an expert).

In fact, if you go into the Wyoming County courthouse in Tunkhannock, they have a very, very old original map which specifically has not only silver workings, but a few gold areas also.

There has also been industrial diamonds found in Pa - which makes sense, considering the hard coal that abounds there.

B

There is a vast difference in the temperature and pressure needed to make diamonds, vs. that needed for anthracite (hard) coal.  Diamonds come from the earth's mantle; about the only similarity between anthracite coal and diamonds is they both are made of carbon.  There is no other relation between the presence of coal, formed from buried sediments which are heated and compressed, and diamonds, which reach the surface in kimberlites, which are a type of igneous dike, generally with a mantle source, and usually exposed by erosion.

The markings on maps are most likely just speculative plays.  Take for instance the Pequea "Silver" mine, which is near where I live.  It has a trace of silver in the lead ore (galena) that is there, but that is not abnormal, as silver is a trace ore in galena a lot of times.  The only reason it is referred to as a silver mine is some investors salted it awhile back and tried to sell stock in the operation; took the money and ran.  It still is listed as a "Silver" mine, but its really not.

I appreciate the explanation about kimberlite and diamonds versus coal (which I don't think I said), but, what I did say, is that there have been industrial diamonds found in Pennsylvania - and there have been.

First - if coal was down about 100 times lower, they could be turned in kimberlite and diamonds.(pressure being the factor)

However, kimberlite (and diamonds) have been found in three places in Pennsylvania.  Two of these kimberlites were encountered in coal mines in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, and have not yet been detected on the surface.  But the third kimberlite can be seen on the surface near Masontown in Fayette and Greene Counties.  These kimberlites have been determined by Dr. Bikerman of the University of Pittsburgh, to have formed about 147 million years during the Late Cretaceous Period.

When Dr. Bikerman determined this, no diamonds on the surface had been found.  However, since that time, some low-grade diamonds (industrial) have been.  Of course, there are still people looking for more.

As far as silver.  Pennsylvania has a lost silver mine story - in Potter County.   Also, there is many silver  articles made by the native populations that have silver - but from where?

Also, the Wheatley mine (silver from galena), leached from 15-120 ounces of silver.


 

http://www.mindat.org/loc-16508.html

B

bump

HOLA amigos,

I don't have a lot to add, just a few points. For one, what kind of mineral deposit makes it commercially viable, is not the same as what it takes to make a one-man or "mom-n-pop" operation a viable operation. The overhead costs alone are a massive difference. The amount of ore needed is another.  Even in coal mining, I know of several "mom-n-pop" operations which continue to operate today (or at least four years ago) at a profit, when most of the large anthracite coal mines have long been shut down.  So when we find such old references to silver and gold mines as found on the maps mentioned, they were not talking about mineral deposits of such a size and richness as to justify a large mining company to set up and operate.

As a side note, over 50 diamonds have been found in PA, some of gem quality. The opinion of a geologist who examined several of them was that they had been transported to PA by glacial actions and thus deposited, which is hardly encouraging to someone wishing to start a diamond mine, but for the hobbyist prospector it is very encouraging. As for the gold discoveries marked on the county map in Tunkhannock (PA) we field checked several of these and they do indeed indicate it correctly - there IS gold there, certainly not enough to open a large commercial gold mine but on the other hand, very encouraging for a hobbyist prospector - nuggets as large as dimes have been reported found in the Susquehanna river near the same town, also likely brought in by glacial actions but who cares?

Silver occuring as some minor constituent of galena (lead ore) is often not enough to warrant mining the galena for the silver content, however it does occur in high enough concentrations in the galena sometimes.  One of the richest silver mines in the Black Hills, the Spokane mine, has galena as the main ore and the silver content was quite rich; likewise in the Carbonate district, galena with high silver contents were fairly common.

In sum, for anyone wishing to hunt for lost silver mines in PA, don't go looking for a lost Comstock lode - the geology is just wrong for any kind of deposit of that size, however the existence of SMALL silver deposits is likely and finding one might just turn out to be a paying proposition for the discoverer!

Good luck and good hunting amigos, I hope you find the treasures that you seek.
Oroblanco

Oroblanco:

  This is why I listen when Mr. O speaks.  He speaks from actual experience.

lastleg

Thank you Oro,
 I do have several good leads on where silver and gold has been found around Tioga Co. Pa.

[Simonds]

Gosh you are going to make me blush!    I just noticed we had some misunderstanding here between what many people think of when we say "silver mine" and what actually exists.  Anyway there are MANY interesting prospects in the eastern states, and you never know what you will find!

Simonds I am confident you will find gold - try out any stream that flows in a (general) northern direction and be patient, you may not find gold in the first pan or the first dozen, but it IS there.  The silver reported found in PA was associated with lead (hence the galena) and I have personally found small bits of galena in Susquehanna county - can't speak for Tioga county but you will recognize that galena right away, it is cubic in form and looks metallic, plus it is heavy so you can find it by panning if you are careful.  The next trick is tracing the galena back to the vein it is coming from, which takes a lot of patience and diligence.

Here is an example of what Galena looks like

there are many more photos online, be sure to study them so you will know it on sight, and just "for the record" galena IS found in Pennsylvania, check out this online book

http://books.google.com/books?id=Pw...und%20in%20pennsylvania&f=false
<Minerals of Pennsylvania By Amos Peaslee Brown, Frederick Ehrenfeld>

and note the listed occurances of galena which were known when the book was published, in particular the Pequen mine in Lancaster county had Argentiferous galena ore, Argent is Latin for SILVER!  The argentiferous galenas were found in mines in at least six counties, so your odds are actually pretty good.  So when someone tells you there can't be any silver mines in PA, you know better!   

Good luck and good hunting amigos, I hope you find that gold and SILVER! 
your friend in 'Dakota Territory'
Oroblanco
 

[Galena is the primary ore of lead and is often mined for its silver content (silver substitutes for lead within the galena structure)]

PS - just so folks know I am not just blowing smoke, here is a direct quote

"Galena is a lead sulfide mineral commonly found in hydrothermal veins; or as fracture filings, cavity fillings and replacements in limestone. Lesser amounts are found in many igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. Galena is the primary ore of lead and is often mined for its silver content (silver substitutes for lead within the galena structure). Its perfect cleavage, silver color and very high specific gravity make it very easy to identify."
http://geology.com/minerals/galena.shtml

"Pennsylvania
The Pequea silver mine near Conestoga in Lancaster County was worked from before the Revolutionary War to 1875. A minor amount of mining was done about 1900. The ore is silver-bearing galena in the Cambrian Vintage Dolomite. Production is unknown.[23]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver...g_in_the_United_States#Pennsylvania

Pequea Silver Mine (Pequea Mine; Pequa Mine), Conestoga, Pequa Township, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania, USA http://www.mindat.org/loc-18332.html

The Pennsylvania Topographic and Geologic Survey featured the mine in their magazine Pennsylvania Geology, Vol. 36 (2006), No. 1 http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/pub/pageolmag/pdfs/v36n1.pdf).

Also check out the Phoenixville mining district, some info at
http://www.mindat.org/loc-16508.html

The Wheatley Mine, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Primarily a lead mine, for economic reasons Wheatley billed the operation as a lead and silver mine. Concentrations of silver in the galena ore were assayed at between 15 and 120 ounces per ton.
Silver medallion made from silver coming from the Wheatley mine, PA

more info at http://www.pennminerals.com/museum.htm

Great information. Thanks O.

I know of some possible sites for silver mines in Economy Boro, in Beaver County.  The 5 different mines were used by the Economites during the early 1800.  All of them are in Economy Park, and 2 of those shafts have picnic groves next to them.

Erin
"VonDigger"

 Were else can a person go and get a PHD on any subject but here.    This site is the best.
I ended up with way more info than I ever thought possible. Thank  You 

Hey 007,
 You might want to rig up a remote control boat with a camera and see how far you can go in.... Or what you might find as well

PLL

Silver mine, eh???

Yup!  There was one literally within 3 miles of my parent's home.
There is a piece written about it in a detailed book of 'their area'.
The book was self published and cannot be purchased from Amazon and such.

I cannot recall how much it yielded.......I'll have to scan the page(s) of the book that gives the history, names (persons, company, etc...) that did the digging/mining.

ALSO within 3mile of my parent's home was quite the unusual - an OIL drill!  Again - IIRC , they DID strike oil.......but it was negligible in that it wasn't economically feasible to maintain operations.
The same book DOES have an actual pic (waaaaaay old photo!) of the actual drill tower (well.....all of 20ft or so!).  I'll scan that as well as the supporting text.


No.....it isn't anywhere NEAR Titusville.
<grin!>  <wink!>

[LIE!!!!]

Oh No!!!

I told you an outright LIE!!!!

I've borroed a copy of the book from my folks.  It's been a since I last browsed through the book myself.

Lemme set the record straight:
It wasn't a silver mine.....it was a magnesium mine.  They did find magnesium....but "...it was lacking the quality or quantity..." to make it worthwhile and was abandoned.

As for the oil drilling - yep, that happened.  I'll scan the pic & post it.  Around 1920.  About 50ft tall.  But the well turned out dry.  Undeterred, these local 'ancestors' went on to successfuly mine for natural gas in New York state and later uccess in Wildcat oil drilling in Oklahoma & Arizona.
But oil companies didn't give up on our home town.  the dug many 'test wells', put explosives
in he hole and used sounding equipment top 'map out' the underground geography.
In 1978.....a subcontractor for Exxon came to town and did 'hush hush' deep well exploratory studies for uranium!!!  They had sophisticated measuring/reading equipment in the back of large unmarked trucks and they lowered measuring equipment deep into the holes (600-1,400ft).

And though it isn't 'my town'....the book goes on to explain the details about how oil WAS successfully drilled in Cresco, Pa.  Who'd a thunk it, eh?


So - my original post above wasn't entirely accurate.
NO silver.
YES magnesium.
Attempted oil - dry.
Tested for uranium - results confidential?  Prolly nothing though as nothing more ever came of it.


My town ALSO had an actual quasi-military camp/presence in the 1930's.  Building foundations still remain.
We also had a few clubs/camps for boys (summer camp-like) with multiple large supporting structores - main hall (dining, meeting, offices) and dorm cabins.  There were various sports/recreation fields etc...  Again, foundations remain.  Date back to the teens.

There is so much neat stuff here - two churches dating back to the 1850's.  Three one room school houses two of which still stand today!) also from the mid 1800's.  Grist mills & tannery as well
This is why I need a hunting partner.  Permission for these locations should be easily obtained through family friendship connections.  These places BEG to be MD'd.  I just need to get at them!




-

Gary in PA wrote

Oh No!!!

I told you an outright LIE!!!!

I respectfully disagree amigo, a lie would be when someone deliberately tells a falsehood he knows is false in my opinion; in this case all you did was remember a detail incorrectly, and to your credit, you immediately posted a correction when you found the error.  My respect for you continues to grow!   
Oroblanco

AHHHHH!!!!

Finally figured out the problem -

Here's the photo/scan of the stage house I was talking about above:




-

I have a book from the early 1900's "History of Elk Township" that tells of a silver mine in Elk Township,Tioga County,it tells of indians finding large amounts of silver.Very similar to the Lost Silver Mine stories about the Ice Mine area in Coudersport Pa

Just my opinion but I would do some more research on that lost silver mine Gods Country Girl, you may get enough info to find it!

Good luck and good hunting amigos, I hope you find the treasures that you seek.
Oroblanco

I have heard of a couple areas where the Native Indians used to mine silver from and bring it into some old general stores to trade for goods. One of these places is supposed to be crawling with rattlesnakes. I can point it out from the highway "route 49", but I don't care about crawling into the cave.
Happy Trails

[winters]

Simonds wrote

One of these places is supposed to be crawling with rattlesnakes.

Don't forget about one positive aspect of Pennsylvania winters - all of those snakes will be hibernating, even if you should disturb one it would barely be able to move.   

Roy,
      That is true, I was born and raised around rattlesnakes.
Are you ready to go ? "Country Girl"

crawling in caves i can handle , but snakes no way......lol.

I don't think there is as many snakes as people think.I have hiked and fished all over this area and never come across any rattlesnakes.

once while searching caves around rock run we found a garbage bag with  shoes sticking out.needless to say we were quite freaked out, but it turned out to be a joke.it was old phone books and clothes stuffed in the bag with the shoes stuck out the end.

Gods Country Girl,
I have some information about silver in Watrous area, Marsh Land, Elk Run area. I don't remember where I got it from. May one of your posts.

Yes there is a silver mine in Lancaster county, PA.  There is also gold found not far from this site and nickel and chrome also.

http://www.wgal.com/video/23551684/index.html

http://community.lancasteronline.com/PequeaTwp/?page_id=40

[WELCOME TO TREASURENET jkbell!]

WELCOME TO TREASURENET jkbell! 

Thank you for the links!
Oroblanco

this is from the history of elk run  printed in 1929 .

it mentions a silver  mine
 it also mentions  a mineral springs in Gardeau   ( could it be  the same as the one from the tale of the lost sillver?)

Hi from Potter Poker, there was a gold mine near Coudersport, Pa., it was supposedly a comercial mine at one time (probably about 15 or so years ago, looking on line the source said it was near Sweden Valley, Pa., just off route  6).
   There was also supposed to be silver found near the old Ice Mine in Sweden valley. The story says in the early 1900's a man of Indian descent used to bring in big hunks of raw silver to the local general store to pay for groceries, and when others tried to follow him to discover where the source was they would always loose him in the woods, but the info was he always went toward the mountain where the Ice Mine was discovered. That's the story!

  TRUE 

is it possible that the ice caves ( ice mine)  may also be  natural deposits of silver?? my step brother has an ice cave behind his house( near coudersport), not very large,it been a very long time since i been there, will have to try and get over there and check it out closer.

is it possible that the ice caves ( ice mine)  may also be  natural deposits of silver?? my step brother has an ice cave behind his house( near coudersport), not very large,it been a very long time since i been there, will have to try and get over there and check it out closer.

It is very well possible, usually where there's gold and gems, there's silver too!  Silver is found around quartz, lead, and galena! Silver veins are made by hydrothermal activity, it takes a deep crack too the earth's crust, which is very hot, then there has to be a water source involved too, to fill the void of the crack, this all mixes together with the minerals present, and some how silver comes out, usually found with various other minerals bonded together!

In 1845 an Indian from Wisconsin came hither to explore the mineral lands of which he heard the old men of his tribe speak.  After a search of several weeks he returned disappointed.  Some years before a white man was taken hither blindfolded, and the visor lowered to permit him to see the silver mines.  In 1867 a Frenchman came hither from the west to search for the mysterious silver deposit, but was unsuccessful.  Within a mile of the old Daniel Huddlestone farm, in Tionesta township, on warrant 2827, are the ditches of prehistoric miners, which were first explored by James Evans, of Franklin.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~paforest/history/chapt1.htm

Thanks for the info. Great info.

To any and all who are interested in the topic of silver at the old Pequea silver mine in Lancaster County Pa. I am Christopher L. Haefner. When I was only 13 I worked at the mine when it was preparing to become "Silverford" a new tourist place. I was their first tour guide. The mine had been abandoned by then for 99 years, when silver was being taken. Inadvertently workers broke into the water table down a 100-foot shaft. Back then there was no electricity to run pumps so the mining stopped. We drained the shafts and I went down on a 100-foot bull rope. I rediscovered the thick veins of silver again (argentiferous galena) The owner, a millionaire, went on a 14-year quest to get at the silver by trying to get permission to quarry there. He was not allowed. But he put up a permit which he hoped would scare away adjacent landowners in the hopes he would someday get permission. This, too, failed. He did turn the property into a huge entertainment place by bringing country-music stars there to perform. In all, 700,000 people came. In 2009 I wrote an extensive book detailing this secret effort the millionaire made to get the silver. He died in 1989 and his quest died along with hime - true story. The book is titled,"The Silver! Mine! by Christopher L. Haefner... I have over 3,000 pieces of silver I took from the mine from 1973 to 1976. Anyone can buy a piece from me. Prices range mostly from $4 to $20 each. Just e-mail me at silverfordinc@yahoo.com
 Chris Haefner

The book I wrote and recently released "The Silver! Mine!" by Christopher L. Haefner identifies the off-property area where the new silver was found. It is a case where I knew where it was before I actually could prove it. It took me 30 years to come to it. Anyone who purchases a copy of the book can contact me about coming to the new silver site in southern Pa. but it will have to be at a convenient time for me, though, I am there quite often. My personal e-mail is silverfordinc@yahoo.com.

More silver has been discovered near this site! In 2011, I discovered another nearby silver site just off-property from the main mine. Two exploratory holes have yielded a significant amout of silver ore so far! This silver appears to be richer than what was previously taken from the main mine. A 2013 operation is planned to plunge into the contact-zone formation and get the ore!

We have a  lot of pictures of caves and mines  posted here but what does the silver look like or what should we be looking for . Does anyone have pictures of silver ore Thank You

We have a  lot of pictures of caves and mines  posted here but what does the silver look like or what should we be looking for . Does anyone have pictures of silver ore Thank You

Here is my profile picture - Chris Haefner - I am holding a 50-pound piece of formation rock which has in it about 1-pound of silver ore. This is from the Pequea Silver Mine in Lancaster County Pa.
Chris Haefner

Hay Chris, Thanks for the photo, Good job. So silver ore will look like silver or something that when we see it we should know it could be silver ore.  I was told silver turned black in time so I thought I would be looking for something black.
One question, what kind of stone is that you have in the picture and has silver ore been found in  sand stone .  We have a site were the clay went from a light and dark brown to a light gray  and dark gray with some black streaks in it. DCNR said we could be close to pig iron.  Iron and steel give off a redish brown rust but pig iron turns black. Pig iron can date back to 1500's.  We have a site in sand stone were we have silver readings  down under and we can't pin point it to just one spot its just all over a 12' x 12' area.  So it has to be smaller coins, or chunks of silver ore, or smaller bars of silver. My GPL says its there but to small to pin point it. 

So silver ore will look like silver or something that when we see it we should know it could be silver ore.


No, silver ore can be black or brownish.  Here in our area of South Dakota, most of the silver ore is in black rock.

Beth

Hay Chris, Thanks for the photo, Good job. So silver ore will look like silver or something that when we see it we should know it could be silver ore.  I was told silver turned black in time so I thought I would be looking for something black.
One question, what kind of stone is that you have in the picture and has silver ore been found in  sand stone .  We have a site were the clay went from a light and dark brown to a light gray  and dark gray with some black streaks in it. DCNR said we could be close to pig iron.  Iron and steel give off a redish brown rust but pig iron turns black. Pig iron can date back to 1500's.  We have a site in sand stone were we have silver readings  down under and we can't pin point it to just one spot its just all over a 12' x 12' area.  So it has to be smaller coins, or chunks of silver ore, or smaller bars of silver. My GPL says its there but to small to pin point it. 

In this case - the case of our Pennsylvania silver mine - the silver ore is an argentiferous galena - that's a silver-bearing lead sulfide. Because the silver atoms were associated with lead it allows for a lusterous display; a shiny surface. The trick to telling just how much silver is present in the ore is A) the level of luster... and B) the cubit of galena - the host mineral - gets warped and looks less like a cubit. The formation is vintage dolomite that is crusted over, Then there's quartz which holds the silver ore; there because of hydrothermal leaching - the whole reason for having the presence of silver possible. It is usually at these 'contact zones' that the silver ore is found.

I have the assay reports.  I will have to dig them out to tell you for sure. However, the black you see is silver carbonates.

This is just one of them.

They averaged 4.4 ounces to the ton in some, higher in some others, and lower in some others.

But, it is not just in South Dakota.

Silver ore in lots of places is not silver colored.

Beth

Just a bit here but the stories of LOST silver mines were the question, not the one which is not lost nor ever was, so it would pay to keep an eye open for any of the silver ores not just the argentiferous galena from the KNOWN mine. 

This page:
http://nevada-outback-gems.com/prospect/gold_specimen/Silver_ores.htm

..has several good photos of different silver ores, and most will be black, grey and brown.  Don't confuse the term "mineral" with "ore" for the ore contains the mineral, so a black rock may well have many tiny crystals of silvery colored silver minerals in it and be considered an ore.  Extract from that page, quote

For ores where the most valuable element is silver, the silver is normally contained in minerals colored gray to black in appearance. These minerals range from a metallic sheen to an earthy soot-like appearance. Sooty black minerals are common in many very rich silver ore samples. Most of these sooty black deposits consist of acanthite or various complex silver sulfides.

Another form of silver deposit that is somewhat uncommon is in the form of a blue or bluish clay, as was found at the famous Comstock mine in Nevada.  Keep your eyes open for unusual rock OR even clay! 

A simple test you can do in the field is to crush up a sample of the ore to a powder, then take a clean (shiny) piece of copper and work it around in the powdered rock; often silver will turn the copper white if it is present in a good quantity.  Just gave away a prospectors trade secret there but it might help you find a lost silver mine.

Good luck and good hunting amigos I hope you find one of those lost silver mines!
Oroblanco