Fabrication

Continuing with the burnisher I introduced above, I finished grinding and polishing it this morning.
Note that I made each corner different so I have dreaded choices to make when I start burnishing a bezel around a stone.

Clay Canyon variscite associated minerals, information from Richard W. Thomssen of Dayton, Nevada.

indianvillage.com/fairfieldinfo.htm
www.durangosilver.com/fairfieldinfo.htm

"Species: A brief review of some of the characteristics of each mineral will be given in the approximate order in which they are believed to have formed in the deposit.

Variscite This mineral, a hydrous aluminum phosphate, occurs in dense microcrystalline nodular masses; No crystals have been found at this location. The beautiful green color has been attributed to small quantities of vanadium (0.53%) and chromium (0.069%) substituting for phosphorus (Foster and Schaller, 1966). Significant amounts of scandium, 0.001-0.1%, have been found (Frondel, Ito and Montgomery, 1968). All other phosphates in the deposit are believed to have formed at the expense of variscite through the action of hydrothermal solutions.

Crandallite The first mineral to form from variscite through the addition of calcium, this yellow to light olive green species occurs in a variety of massive and crystal habits. The most abundant forms of this mineral cover the entire spectrum from massive, cherty material through yellowish and pinkish spherulitic cleavages to white, chalky crusts. When crystallized, this mineral varies from feathery clusters of fibrous needles through more substantial, but tiny prismatic crystals to distinct flattened rhombs with an equally developed base. The Clay Canyon material was first called pseudowavellite, however, the name crandallite had priority (Palache, Berman and Frondel, 1957). This mineral in its various modes has been shown to contain significant amounts of vanadium, 0.37%, and chromium 0.67% (Foster and Schaller, 1966); strontium, >1.0% (Foster and Schaller, 1966); and scandium, 0.01-0.80% (Frondel, Ito and Montgomery, 1968). The first two elements certainly are responsible for the color.

Goyazite The existence of this mineral was obscured for many years by its resemblance to and close association with crandallite. Its strontium content was the first clue to its existence in the deposit (Frondel, Ito and Montgomery, 1968; Blount, 1974). Although tiny crystals may be present, they are impossible to distinguish from crandallite without chemical or optical tests.

Wardite The blue green to bluish grey component of the "eyes" or spherules and veining within variscite, this species also occurs in blue green to yellow crystals lining cavities in the more altered nodules (Packard, 1896; Montgomery, 1970a). (photograph and single crystal drawing) The blue green variety owes its color, no doubt, to minor amounts of vanadium and or chromium substituting for phosphorus as in the case of variscite. Solutions altering the variscite now have become enriched in sodium.

Concentric accretion of wardite and millisite.

Millisite White to clear component along with wardite of the spherules and veining noted above. No isolated crystals have been found of this species, which is similar in composition to wardite but containing calcium.

Gordonite This mineral occurs within open cavities generally near altering variscite as clusters of brilliant prismatic crystals. Crystals up to 7 mm have been reported, but they usually are in the millimeter range (Montgomery, 1970b). (photograph and single crystal drawing) Gordonite is usually colorless, but can be faintly yellow or a pleasing shade of pale violet. Here again we possibly are seeing the effects of one of the chromophores, vanadium and (or) chromium. Gordonite is the first species to appear in the deposition sequence containing magnesium and may be forming at the expense of crandallite.

Gordonite and Wardite
(photographs by Lou Perloff)

Montgomeryite The bright blue green bladed crystals of this mineral are the most distinctive of all the well-crystallized phosphates from the Clay Canyon deposit. Crystals are in the millimeter range and typically occur in cavities implanted upon crandallite and near variscite (Larsen, 1940). (photograph and single crystal drawing)


Montgomeryite
(photographs by Lou Perloff)

Overite The rarest of the phosphate minerals, clear pale yellow clusters of tiny orthorhombic crystals of this mineral are most distinctive. (photograph and single crystal drawing) As in the case of montgomeryite, this species occurs in cavities implanted on crandallite and near variscite. These two species, like gordonite contain magnesium and probably formed at the expense of crandallite. (Larsen, 1940)


Overite on Crandallite
(photographs by Lou Perloff)

Englishite Similar to gordonite in its position within cavities close to variscite, this mineral can be readily identified by its grayish to colorless, bladed habit and, where broken, its prominent cleavage. Crystal aggregates range in size up to about 2 mm. (photograph) This is the only phosphate in which potassium is essential along with sodium and the ever-present calcium (Dunn, Rouse and Nelen, 1984, More, 1976)


Englishite on Variscite with Wardite
(photographs by Lou Perloff)

Kolbeckite This rare species was first described from Clay Canyon deposit under the name, sterrettite, as an aluminum phosphate (Larsen and Montgomery, 1940). The identity of "eggonite" from Altenberg Belgium with sterrettite was proposed while both were still considered aluminum phosphates (Bannister, 1941). Then in 1959, it was discovered that both sterrettite and kolbeckite were, in fact scandium phosphates (Mrose and Wappner, 1959). In 1980, the I.M.A. Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names while accepting that all three minerals were identical, rejected the name sterrettite, and were almost equally divided over the name kolbeckite and eggonite. (Hey, Milton and Dwornik, 1982). Kolbeckite currently is accepted as the valid name for this hydrous scandium phosphate (Nickel and Nichols, 1991; Fleischer and Mandarino, 1991). Clear crystals of kolbeckite are generally tiny, measuring < 0.5 mm, although a few giants of 8 mm have been found. They are always on crandallite, which can be well crystallized, and are frequently associated with yellow wardite. (photograph and single crystal drawing)

Kolbeckite with Crandallite
(photographs by Lou Perloff)

Carbonate-fluorapatite Among the last minerals to form, a large variety of hexagonal crystals of this species occur in cavities generally associated with crandallite and, occasionally, with other species (Dunn, 1980). With similar habit crystals occurring in nodule after nodule, a specific difference in composition may be responsible. Perhaps it lies in differences in relative amounts of carbonate and fluorine present. Further investigation is necessary to illuminate this matter. Still enriched in calcium and phosphate, the solutions precipitating carbonate-fluorapatite no longer contain aluminum (photographs)

Carbonate-fluorapatite on Crandallite (left) and on Wardite (right)
(photographs by Lou Perloff)

Additional species Alunite, calcite and quartz together with more or less argillic limestone comprise the matrix for the phosphate nodules. Alunite is cream to white in color and moderately to coarsely crystalline. It is fairly common in the brecciated, unweathered portions of the deposit. Quartz is the dominant component in the dark-colored cherty material that is so prevalent. Limonite pseudomorphs after pyrite occur on crandallite in highly weathered nodules. This is the only evidence of the presence of sulfides having occurred in the Clay Canyon deposit, although there is locally abundant limonite-staining of the altered portions of the deposit, it cannot definitely be attributed to the weathering of pyrite."

Annealing, in metallurgy and materials science, is a heat treatment that alters the physical and sometimes chemical properties of a material to increase its ductility and reduce its hardness, making it more workable. It involves heating a material to above its recrystallization temperature, maintaining a suitable temperature, and then cooling.



In annealing, atoms migrate in the crystal lattice and the number of dislocations decreases, leading to the change in ductility and hardness.

In the cases of copper, steel, silver, and brass, this process is performed by heating the material (generally until glowing) for a while and then slowly letting it cool to room temperature in still air. Copper, silver[1] and brass can be cooled slowly in air, or quickly by quenching in water, unlike ferrous metals, such as steel, which must be cooled slowly to anneal. In this fashion, the metal is softened and prepared for further work—such as shaping, stamping, or forming.