Many Arizona metal detector prospectors having found gold nuggets in schist bedrock believe the majority of the gold found in the schist bedrock was formed without a quartz matrix.This applies mostly to small would be veins.These detectorists find small gold nuggets with no quartz attached and so believe there was no original quartz matrix.I think in a small percentage of cases the gold could be formed via the hot gases and fluids in the schistwithoutquartz matrixbut that in the majority of cases the quartz has eroded,dissolved by manganese or other natural elements.What is the real story?Is there an easy reading non technical description of this geology?
Check the hardness. Scratch them against a tile of glass, Diamond is harder than Quartz so it should have a greater scratch. Diamonds are 10 on the Mohs' scale of hardness and quartz are 7. Also try check the specific gravity. I'm not sure but I think Diamond has a greater specific gravity then quartz..
Natural diamonds that are being recovered from a mining operation do, at first appearance, look like bits of glass or broken quartz. There are a number of distinguishing features, however. 1) Characteristic shapes - many diamonds occur as octahedra (either broken or complete) or as macles (three sided thin prisms). 2) Diamonds are attracted to grease / oils and are repelled by water as is typical of organic rather than inorganic materials. For quartz it is the opposite. 3) Immerse the stone in water - diamonds will continue to show brilliant lustre because of its high refractive index. Quartz will become less easy to see because its refractive index is so similar to water.
What Do Diamonds Look Like
