Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,653
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Post by Tommy on Jan 16, 2013 1:49:21 GMT -5
Hi all, this is my first post here so first I want to say hello and complement you guys on a great site. I've been casually fascinated by rock hounding for many years but it has elevated to an obsession lately. I mostly like to tumble agate and jasper pebbles from frequent trips to the coast, but a serious crash on my mountain bike last summer and two subsequent surgeries later have left me with a lot more time to obsess on rocks and I'm dabbling in cutting. So anyway - I found these two black looking rocks in the Black Butte/Stony Creek area and I have as of yet found anyone who has a strong opinion about what they are. The black is a solid black with the streaks of red obviously. They are a VERY heavy stone for their size and I think I was able to scratch a steel nail with the smaller one but that confuses me so I might not have done it right. My brother who is a long-time rock hound and expert cabber thinks it might be some type of wood. The larger rock is shown wet to make the red streaks pop. I don't have the capability to cut it due to it's size ... so I put it in my aquarium for now ... the round area shown resembles a limb/knot and if I do cut it I want it to be perfect. Anyway, thanks for your time in reading all of this :-)
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Post by helens on Jan 16, 2013 2:19:21 GMT -5
Looks like a pretty jasper to me, but I'm no rock expert. Just wanted to say welcome to the forum, what a nice opening post:).
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Geoff
spending too much on rocks
Please add 1074 to my post number.
Member since December 2012
Posts: 446
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Post by Geoff on Jan 16, 2013 3:48:24 GMT -5
I'm going to cheat. I can 100% without a doubt say it's chert.
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blackout5783
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 248
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Post by blackout5783 on Jan 16, 2013 10:44:57 GMT -5
Black and heavy along with red makes me think magnetite with red jasper (red from the iron). See if a magnet will stick to the black part.
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,653
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Post by Tommy on Jan 16, 2013 20:14:29 GMT -5
*ding ding* we have a winner :-) thank you blackout5783 it is definitely magnetic. Thanks all for the responses - Helen thanks for the kind words of welcome.
So I wonder what can be done with magnetite other than a pretty aquarium rock?
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blackout5783
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 248
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Post by blackout5783 on Jan 17, 2013 12:53:59 GMT -5
Early on in our rock obsession my wife and I went to Mount Hope nearby. They had a bunch of iron mines way back when that have closed. Magnetite all over the place up there.
Word of warning: if you decide to cut/grind/tumble it, be prepared for a big mess.
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,653
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Post by Tommy on Jan 17, 2013 23:46:14 GMT -5
hahaha thanks blackout I consider myself warned. I never shy away from getting myself in big messes so I'm wondering what are the odds that I can isolate and cut off just the circular section that I described as a 'knot.' Of course like I said I don't have a saw that large so someday maybe.
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