While not all the visible gold rises to the level of what is considered nugget size,, plenty do.. As far as telling the difference between gold and Pyrite, I have seen enough of both to tell them apart. Colour can be a giveaway, as Pyrite can look more bronze than gold, but the shape is the most reliable way to tell without hitting it with a hammer,, Pyrite shatters and gold flattens.
When I was working at Telfer many years ago as a serviceman, one night a Dozer operator called up for a Geo to come down to a ramp he was ripping... as a diligent serviceman I thought it a great opportunity to service the machine while he was talking to the Geo... By the time I got there the Geo was already there, the operator while ripping up an old ramp that was suppose to be in waste material, spotted something glistening in his work lights. He had come across a quartz seam with lots of visible gold in it that had been missed. I asked the Geo at the time how he knew it was real gold,, he said just spit on it, if it is still shiny it is gold,,, not sure if I buy that one though... doesn't seem to work for me.. I still have the small piece he gave me that night, somewhere, it has no monetary value I would think, but a great keepsake.. Three years in gold mines and five years in coal mines, so I have picked up a few things along the way... Nuggets or flakes? still gold...
