ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Sept 8, 2016 22:20:29 GMT -5
Anyway Herb, now that your thread has degenerated into things entirely off subject, I would suggest once again that what you are in possession of is most likely Algodonite. The S.G. is perfect. The hardness is correct. The looks are a dead ringer. The green rind color is in line with copper based ores. All three of the candidates I suggested will weather and tarnish to a bronze color on cut surfaces. If those are little inclusions of copper and quartz, all three of what I suggested have those.
Locations it is found: In Chile, from the Algodones silver mine, near Coquimbo [TL], and the Cerro de
las Seguas, Rancagua, O’Higgins Province. At Corocoro, Bolivia. In the Kokito II mine, Neuqu´en
Province, Argentina. In the USA, in Michigan, from Keweenaw Co., at the Mohawk, Pewabic,
Seneca, Ahmeek, and Champion mines, and at Painesdale, Houghton Co., also from Baraga Co.;
in Colorado, from the Cashin mine, Montrose Co. At L˚angban, V¨armland, Sweden. In France,
from the Roua copper mines, about 50 km north of Nice, Alpes-Maritimes. At Tsumeb, Namibia.
In the Talmessi mine, 35 km west of Anarak, Iran
Streak test should show roughly the same color as the rock.
Hope this info helped out a little.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2016 22:48:25 GMT -5
Streak test for beginners may be done on the underside of their toilet tank. ** Please do so when you sig-other is not nearby.... Don't ask me how I know. ETA **Lid Thanks Tommy
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Sept 9, 2016 11:06:48 GMT -5
Streak test for beginners may be done on the underside of their toilet tank. The streak test can also be done on the underside of the toilet tank lid if you're done with the whole laying on bathroom floors thing...
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 9, 2016 11:32:04 GMT -5
Just throwing this out there.... I have some nickeline, or, nickelite, as it is sometimes called. It cabs beautifully- with precautions, of course. It has a pretty rose gold sheen to it. Here is a piece I finished with it, in rose gold wire. I like it a lot. I got it in trade with some cobaltite, silver in cobaltite and nickeline from a member in Cobalt.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Sept 9, 2016 15:13:04 GMT -5
Just throwing this out there.... I have some nickeline, or, nickelite, as it is sometimes called. It cabs beautifully- with precautions, of course. It has a pretty rose gold sheen to it. Here is a piece I finished with it, in rose gold wire. I like it a lot. I got it in trade with some cobaltite, silver in cobaltite and nickeline from a member in Cobalt. That is beautiful. Working these types of arsenic bearing rocks can be hazardous to the lapidary's health and most of the copper arsenic jewelry that I know of made from algodonite, mohawkite, etc. is treated with a sealant before being sold, which makes sense in these days of lawsuits. When grinding and polishing these materials it is always a good idea to wear respirator and gloves because arsenic is well known for dermal absorption.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2016 17:37:33 GMT -5
ziggyYou make a strong case for algodonite. Do not consider this a challenge. How do we definitively prove that is the case? I have some on the way and offer to volunteer a sample for the team. I can perform diagnostics or offer you a sample to play with. No charge. I'm loving the diagnosis..... And the detective work is a sort of adventure.
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herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
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Post by herb on Sept 9, 2016 18:17:38 GMT -5
My question for you is what are the things I have circled in red? They look like native copper crystals or massive inclusions. The things in black circles? They look like quartz inclusions. The thing in yellow reminds me of things I've seen sticking out of copper ore. Is that thing a crystal too? Using a loop, the things in the red circles appear to be areas that have been scuffed and have taken on the metallic look like that on the cut face. Despite my cleaning the sample with water and a toothbrush before taking the picture, the things in the black circles turned out to be some kind of beige-white chalky substance (clay, perhaps) that came off with a little picking and is only on the surface! The thing in the yellow circle is a product of how the light fell on the surface. The light area is a small area of the clay that is in the black circles that is just behind a little bump in the surface, making it look like something is jutting out more from the surface than it really is! I did a streak test (not on a toilet!) it is a medium-dark grayish color, basically the grayish color of the rock surface. Without further testing, I guess Algodonite is a pretty good possibility. I wonder if there are any college geology professors in the area who like solving mysteries?!
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Sept 9, 2016 21:51:01 GMT -5
I did a streak test (not on a toilet!) it is a medium-dark grayish color, basically the grayish color of the rock surface. Without further testing, I guess Algodonite is a pretty good possibility. I wonder if there are any college geology professors in the area who like solving mysteries?! I think it's no coincidence that the specific gravity is exactly the same not to mention the other correlating factors involved. Location of find is always a good way to narrow these things down. Did you personally find it somewhere or know where it was found? I haven't seen any mention of that so far. How did you come into possession of the rock? Is there someone who gave it to you that you can ask where it came from?
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Sept 9, 2016 22:02:49 GMT -5
ziggy You make a strong case for algodonite. Do not consider this a challenge. How do we definitively prove that is the case? I have some on the way and offer to volunteer a sample for the team. I can perform diagnostics or offer you a sample to play with. No charge. I'm loving the diagnosis..... And the detective work is a sort of adventure. That is honestly what I think it is but if I'm wrong that's ok. After the copper arsenic choices I too would make Nicolite my next choice, since there's not a whole lot else to compare it to. One problem though is that nickle arsenic and copper arsenic based minerals and mixtures are often found together. One good thing is when found together it is usually with one or the other being the more predominant of the two in most known locations. Or, maybe it came from a location where only one of the minerals are present which would pretty much make things almost certain. Maybe if we can find out where it came from and which is found in greater concentrations at that location we can help further put it to rest. The exact match on the stat(specific gravity and mohs hardness) and looks and streak thing is what makes me think it is the Algodonite. That is usually a fairly safe bet since that is the majority of the normal everyday rock identification process.
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herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 469
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Post by herb on Sept 10, 2016 8:35:02 GMT -5
I did a streak test (not on a toilet!) it is a medium-dark grayish color, basically the grayish color of the rock surface. Without further testing, I guess Algodonite is a pretty good possibility. I wonder if there are any college geology professors in the area who like solving mysteries?! I think it's no coincidence that the specific gravity is exactly the same not to mention the other correlating factors involved. Location of find is always a good way to narrow these things down. Did you personally find it somewhere or know where it was found? I haven't seen any mention of that so far. How did you come into possession of the rock? Is there someone who gave it to you that you can ask where it came from? Unfortunately, I do not know where it came from. It was just a rock that was in a large group of rock that I bought at an estate sale.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Sept 10, 2016 20:00:36 GMT -5
I think it's no coincidence that the specific gravity is exactly the same not to mention the other correlating factors involved. Location of find is always a good way to narrow these things down. Did you personally find it somewhere or know where it was found? I haven't seen any mention of that so far. How did you come into possession of the rock? Is there someone who gave it to you that you can ask where it came from? Unfortunately, I do not know where it came from. It was just a rock that was in a large group of rock that I bought at an estate sale. Well then at least between the bunch of us we narrowed it way down for you
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