Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2007 3:47:46 GMT -5
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Post by Bikerrandy on Mar 24, 2007 3:54:32 GMT -5
Good lord, those look huge!!
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SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2009
Posts: 1,900
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Post by SteveHolmes on Mar 24, 2007 6:50:58 GMT -5
Those are big "mommas" Tony. I am a Very Happy owner of a hge polished Jade chunk, and I know the feeling. Have you decided what your gonna do with them yet?
Steve
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Post by texaswoodie on Mar 24, 2007 8:05:20 GMT -5
Wow, very nice! I would save at least one as is.
Curt
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Post by Tweetiepy on Mar 24, 2007 9:28:24 GMT -5
I don't think your saw is big enough for even that piece! Do you have a table big enough to hold those specimens?
jaw droppingly beautiful
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earthdog
Cave Dweller 
Don't eat yellow snow
Member since June 2006
Posts: 2,731
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Post by earthdog on Mar 24, 2007 9:35:30 GMT -5
Those look very cool, how much do they weigh each?
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WarrenA
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2003
Posts: 1,530
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Post by WarrenA on Mar 24, 2007 10:27:53 GMT -5
you will find that the red part of the stone is VERY soft. it will cut even at 8,000 grit
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Post by Cher on Mar 24, 2007 15:22:57 GMT -5
Wow Tony, those are some big mambas! I'm guessing that one on the right must weigh around 17 pounds. Nice looking stuff, too bad it doesn't keep that "wet look" all the time. I hthink all display specimens should be sprayed with something so they look wet, it just brings out the color so well. (ok, don't nobody get the knickers in a knot over that, it's just a thought.)
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2007 17:52:24 GMT -5
Cher/Earth, the one to the left by the saw is 50 pounds. The larger one on the left hand side is around 75 pounds. They are really intensely colorful up close, the photos don't do them justice. The larger one when I get time I am going to polish it with my Mk hand held grinder with diamond pads. I have never done anything other then jade with this machine and not sure how this will work. Kim sent me a link (thanks Kim) about the type of tiger eye: topgems.homestead.com/tiger_eye_pietersite_information.html Its interesting but still not really clear what mine is. |
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Post by Cher on Mar 24, 2007 18:25:07 GMT -5
Wow no kidding, it's that big. Looking at the pics, it looked about the size of one my grandson got me a couple years ago and it was 17 pounds. Guess the pic is deceiving, it's a lot bigger than I thought it was. Are you going to cut it flat for polishing, then have a few pieces left over for cabs or try to polish the uneven side?
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Mar 25, 2007 8:43:55 GMT -5
Sweet!!!! But as they said in JAWS- "I think we're gonna need a bigger tumbler!"
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Post by goldfinger on Apr 19, 2007 13:31:09 GMT -5
Hi: I've been trying to find some old stock Marra Mamba Tiger Eye that was mined 30-40 years ago.. Needless to say- haven't had any luck. I was hoping I could uncover an old stash from someones basement but that didn't work out. The old time material would put this newly mined rough to shame. I really like this material but I simply can't find what I'm looking for. Here's a link to a miner in Australia who is mining Marra Mamba but it doesn't look anything like the old material that was mined many years ago. www.outbackmining.comThe first deposit was found and mined in the 50's. The second deposit was found and mined in the 70's. The one being mined now was found somewhere around 2004. All these deposits were found in the same mountain range. The first two deposits yielded spectacular material. The last deposit doesn't meet the standards of great Marra Mamba rough. I don't now how much it cost to ship all this from Australia but it's not cheap. I can't imagine him sending it back after the shows so I guess he has a storage locker here somewhere with an agent to fill the orders in the USA. As you can see- he also has a lot of other goodies. Steve |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2007 4:33:48 GMT -5
Goldfinger,
Do you have any photos of the old stuff from the 50's? Just curious where my 2 chunks fit in.
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Post by goldfinger on Apr 20, 2007 8:02:31 GMT -5
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ssilverhawk
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2011
Posts: 11
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Post by ssilverhawk on Mar 22, 2011 16:07:13 GMT -5
First, THANKS Steve, I appreciate the kind praise. To ID those rocks for nephrite, they are what I would term Australian tigereye in jasper. The top one third or fourth of the two pieces is heavily jasperized tigereye, the rest is composed of banded and webbed jasper which will polish. The thing is, the tigereye never seems well silicated enough to have sufficient hardness and cohesion within the grain, so you will find it difficult to bring to an acceptable polish similar to the polish that's possible with other, more common, tigereyes. There's just nothing I know of that will help that. It also tends to break when ground into slender shapes. I probably have lots of that same sort of rough somewhere around here if anyone has an interest in working it. Some slabs too. I have attempted to include an example of some of the highest quality M.M. tigereye I've yet seen, not the stuff from Mt. Brockman:  If that fails to show up, there are more photos on this page, if you would care to see them: www.silverhawkscabs.com/43cabs/marramamba3.jpgAnd a M.M. gallery here: www.samsilverhawk.com/gemstone_descriptions/about_marra_mamba.htmlEven still, sometimes the blue areas in true Marra Mamba tigereye will be fibrous. When that's the case, it's best to keep those parts toward the center of a stone rather than at the edges. Bright salmon red is usually reliably solid and easy to polish. Hope that helps. |
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Post by texaswoodie on Mar 22, 2011 16:54:20 GMT -5
So, are you THE Sam Silverhawk? Are you still cabbing?
Downright awesome cabs on your sold page. I have to go look and wish I could do that from time to time.
Curt
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rockwizz
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since May 2007
Posts: 971
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Post by rockwizz on Mar 22, 2011 23:27:49 GMT -5
That last picture shows the quality of this stone...this is some really pretty stuff. Thanks for sharing
Ozzy
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2011 11:12:36 GMT -5
Wow, this is a blast from the past.... So I guess I bought something that wasn't the real deal. Thats a bummer. It was labeled on ebay as the brockman material "marra mamba". From your opinion (and I value it) it wont even take a shine? Double bummer. Thanks the reply even though it took four years!
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Mar 24, 2011 19:13:15 GMT -5
Wow I saw edogs reply and got all excited that he was posting again. Then I saw cher and got tears in my eyes. I guess I should read the post dates a little more carefully.
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bushkraft
having dreams about rocks
Public nuisance Number 1
Member since July 2011
Posts: 65
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Post by bushkraft on Oct 5, 2011 14:21:36 GMT -5
I realize that this is a little belated, but some of the marra mamba coming out of the newer deposit is every bit as good as the older material, as with any gemstone only a small proportion is of the best quality and that is usually retained processed and sold by the mine owner for the maximum dollar. In the case of marra mamba the stuff released for the retail trade is mainly second grade material or 'off cuts' from commercial projects, I know this because I regularly visit the mine owners workshop and help him out from time to time. I took this photo yesterday (October 5th) the slab measures roughly 500mm X 370mm.  Take care |
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