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Post by Mel on Aug 29, 2023 19:25:15 GMT -5
Couple weeks ago I saw a slab of some gorgeous material at an auction; it was a really deep teal/aqua color with some gold veins running through it. One of the folks at the auction told me it was called "nickelite" and that it came from Oregon. However, while hunting for it on Google, I found that that isn't the actual "official" name of it. The (apparently) true name starts with an L but of course I can't remember it.
The estate was from an old school rockhound who gathered the majority of his material in the 1950s to the 1980s and primarily along the west coast of the USA, but he also did some traveling internationally. I seem to recall it being something like "laprasite" or "laramite" but my google attempts have been fruitless.
Does anyone else know?
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Aug 29, 2023 19:33:59 GMT -5
Mel, The only thing I can find is Langistite. Wiki
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,215
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Post by realrockhound on Aug 29, 2023 19:38:56 GMT -5
Nickel laterite
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Post by Mel on Aug 30, 2023 17:56:37 GMT -5
Mel, The only thing I can find is Langistite. WikiAnd once I read that description it doesn’t sound anything like what I saw. Methinks the guy at the auction was misremembering the name, argh. It was so beautiful!!
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Post by vegasjames on Aug 30, 2023 18:09:45 GMT -5
Are you sure it was not bronze Mojave turquoise, which is a reconstituted turquoise?
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Post by Mel on Aug 30, 2023 18:15:01 GMT -5
Are you sure it was not bronze Mojave turquoise, which is a reconstituted turquoise? Nope; I'm pretty confident that if it was turquoise it would've been in with the rest of it (a LOT of interest in the turquoise there). I found a rock called "mariposite" that looked similar but not quite. I initially thought it might be gem silica based on the color. The stuff at the auction was a really deep teal color, just a shade darker teal than an aquamarine Crayola crayon. I'm assuming the the gold veins in it were pyrite. I gave the guy who identified it for me my phone number, so maybe he'll reach out and I can ask him if he remembers. But honestly, I think it's a long shot. We saw a LOT of rock that day; there ust've been 30-40 5 gallon pails of just petrified wood, and probably 100 boxes of slabs. Wish I'd been able to identify more of it!
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Post by Rockoonz on Aug 30, 2023 22:21:07 GMT -5
Nickelite is a name I've seen used for a variant of Mariposite marble from CA, so you may have your answer there. sphereguy Matt showed me the difference but I don't remember what it was. The Mariposite quarry must be huge, a friend in Vancouver had a fireplace in his home that was floor to ceiling, about 8 feet wide, and entirely faced with it. He searched me for rock picks at the door, JK...
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Post by Mel on Aug 31, 2023 12:08:39 GMT -5
The more I look the more I think that’s it and the gold veins were maybe just a lucky find.
Of course now I’m back at work with not enough free time to justify buying another batch of material…. though that hasn’t stopped me yet….
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