herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 470
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Post by herb on Mar 17, 2016 10:32:10 GMT -5
You guys did such a good job identifying my marcasite slab, I thought I'd try my luck at getting some more info on a bucket of rough I have. I believe the scribbled ID label that is in the bucket says "Titanium". Google Images shows rough that looks kind of like what I have. The rough is quite heavy for its size, and a magnet is attracted to it, so there is iron in it. If it is titanium ore, does it have any "use" other than as specimens? It doesn't really look like it would an interesting cab, and I am guessing cutting it would be rough on the saw blade and wheels. I have a 5 gallon bucket of it and have to imagine it has some use for the previous owner to have collected that much of it! Here is the label: Here is a chunk of the rough: And here is a closeup:
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2016 11:17:07 GMT -5
FWIW, cobalt is also magnetic. Magnets are fantastic, but we must understand what they tell us.
Ferromanganese, probably.
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herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 470
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Post by herb on Mar 18, 2016 12:15:11 GMT -5
FWIW, cobalt is also magnetic. Magnets are fantastic, but we must understand what they tell us. Ferromanganese, probably. So, despite the label, you don't think it is titanium ore? If it is titanium ore, google suggests it is ilmenite (FeTiO3). The question remains, does it have any use other than as a not particularly interesting looking mineral specimen? I might see if I can find a small chunk in the bucket and see if it looks like anything interesting when polished.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2016 21:54:02 GMT -5
FWIW, cobalt is also magnetic. Magnets are fantastic, but we must understand what they tell us. Ferromanganese, probably. So, despite the label, you don't think it is titanium ore? If it is titanium ore, google suggests it is ilmenite (FeTiO3). The question remains, does it have any use other than as a not particularly interesting looking mineral specimen? I might see if I can find a small chunk in the bucket and see if it looks like anything interesting when polished. I suppose it could be anything. Ilmenite seems plausible. Ilmenite is only "weekly magnetic". Would that match your observation? Can u do a specific gravity? I cant imagine it being rough on blades. Maybe Im wrong.
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herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 470
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Post by herb on Mar 20, 2016 13:19:09 GMT -5
So, despite the label, you don't think it is titanium ore? If it is titanium ore, google suggests it is ilmenite (FeTiO3). The question remains, does it have any use other than as a not particularly interesting looking mineral specimen? I might see if I can find a small chunk in the bucket and see if it looks like anything interesting when polished. I suppose it could be anything. Ilmenite seems plausible. Ilmenite is only "weekly magnetic". Would that match your observation? Can u do a specific gravity? I cant imagine it being rough on blades. Maybe Im wrong. I thought it would be rough on a diamond blade because I thought I had read somewhere that cutting iron is tough on diamond blades. I'll have to do some searching... Interestingly, some pieces are reasonably magnetic (more that weakly, but I wouldn't call it strongly) and others that look the same show no magnetic response! I measured the specific gravity of 2 pieces, one that showed magnetic response and one that didn't. I came up with 4.66 and 4.59 respectively which is fairly close to the range of what mindat says Ilmenite should be. Another piece had an SG of only 3.82 but that had a fair amount of veins that looked like quartz in it, so that would bring the SG down. I also noticed that a few pieces have some brownish red crystal growth on them. If you look at them through a loop and get some light passing through them from behind, they look to be a fairly bright red. Any ideas what those could be? Here is a picture showing the red crystals: Here are some other crystals. These are disseminated in the nooks and crannies rather than being a layer like in the 1st picture. The color is not as clean of a red either. Lastly, here is a picture of a freshly broken surface showing the metallic luster:
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 13:21:54 GMT -5
Many different components points to natural origin. Now the real fun begins.
I can't see crystal habit on my phone. Will revisit on iPad later.
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icatz
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2015
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Post by icatz on Mar 21, 2016 11:50:44 GMT -5
Going out on a limb, but could these red crystals be Cinnabar?
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Post by vegasjames on Mar 21, 2016 15:43:37 GMT -5
The crystals look like vanadinite to me.
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herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 470
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Post by herb on Mar 21, 2016 18:46:18 GMT -5
The crystals are really tiny! Could be either of icatz's or vegasjames' suggestions of cinnabar or vanadinite, I guess. After looking at the crystals thru a loop and then looking at goggle images I couldn't say anything for sure. The crystals in the first picture seem to look closer to cinnabar's red color than the more orangy red color of vanadinite. But in the second picture, the crystals look quite similar to some of the more brownish pink vanadinite pictures!
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herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 470
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Post by herb on Mar 21, 2016 18:52:14 GMT -5
I pressed 'reply' too quickly!
Shotgunner wondered whether cutting the rock would really be hard on a diamond blade because of the iron content. I did some quick searching and the only reference I found was on the gravescompany website:
" Meteorite Blades The ProSlicer Meteorite Blade is the only choice for cutting metallics. CBN (carbon boron nitrate) abrasive is bonded to a special steel core. CBN has been used in the metal working industry for years. Unlike diamond, which suffers badly when cutting metals, our CBN blade can handle iron and stoney meteorites, most metals, and many composites."
Maybe I'll try chopping off a small bit, but I am weary of trashing a blade or wheel just to see if this stuff would cab up to something interesting!
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