pizzano
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Post by pizzano on Mar 18, 2018 19:54:36 GMT -5
My son and I picked these up a couple of months ago........The Agate from the hills in the Faust area. The Jasper along the R/R tracks near a refinery in south/east Salt Lake........:
Prior to first stage rotary.
The Jasper is not everywhere along the tracks, but from what we have been told, the R/R used get (scrap) material from the local mines in the area and dump the stuff as bedding for the rails and timbers.........some of this stuff may have been dumped there as far back as the 1940's.
I have yet to actually identify the material other than Agate and Jasper. But here's what a few pieces look like post 600 grit......:
I'll be out there this coming weekend........hope to find much more. It should polish-up nicely (and by then) I may have it identified.....lol.
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Post by vegasjames on Mar 18, 2018 21:39:26 GMT -5
Looks like it is making for some nice tumbles.
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pizzano
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Post by pizzano on Mar 18, 2018 22:09:01 GMT -5
Looks like it is making for some nice tumbles. Thanks....we'll see how they polish-up in another 4 days.
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Post by fernwood on Mar 23, 2018 8:51:52 GMT -5
Looking good.
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 23, 2018 9:44:37 GMT -5
Nice rolling... Your agates look like what I call sugar agates... They have a bit of quartz in them..
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pizzano
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Post by pizzano on Apr 1, 2018 9:27:21 GMT -5
Here's the best of the batch polished......:
They were not as hard Agate/Jasper (Mohs) as I thought going into this.........had to re-cycle them through AO 800, AO pre-polish and twice through AO polish for two days each.......vibe........I have more, next time around I'll be better prepared.
Have some idea what they are now.......the lighter stones are a type of Galena Quartz, the embedded material I cannot identify. The brown/red stone is a type of Chalcedony Cave Jasper......It seems to be hard to find where we hound in Utah, but plentiful in Arizona.
Now onto the next batches of Utah.......lol
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nchillbilly
starting to spend too much on rocks
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Post by nchillbilly on Apr 3, 2018 20:43:57 GMT -5
My son and I picked these up a couple of months ago........The Agate from the hills in the Faust area. The Jasper along the R/R tracks near a refinery in south/east Salt Lake........:
Prior to first stage rotary.
The Jasper is not everywhere along the tracks, but from what we have been told, the R/R used get (scrap) material from the local mines in the area and dump the stuff as bedding for the rails and timbers.........some of this stuff may have been dumped there as far back as the 1940's.
I have yet to actually identify the material other than Agate and Jasper. But here's what a few pieces look like post 600 grit......:
I'll be out there this coming weekend........hope to find much more. It should polish-up nicely (and by then) I may have it identified.....lol. Good Evening Joe, Those are looking good. I can't imagine what it's like to be able to take a walk and pick up stuff like that. I do hope you post some pics of them once they're done.
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pizzano
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Post by pizzano on Apr 3, 2018 22:01:54 GMT -5
J.T.........:
The Galena Quartz found in Faust was more than a casual walk in the park......a bit of digging and 1.5 mile trek to and from......The Chalcedony Jasper my son tripped over on one of his job-sites.....lol........we ended up finding two more decent size pieces 30 miles from that site when we were hounding two weeks ago. Evidently "Cave Jasper" is common in other states, but only a few locations in Utah it can be found without serious mining skills and tools....that is the dark brown/red stuff we happened upon.
I started a thread last week (that got hi-jacked.....lol) which shows some of the other material we collected while I was visiting.....:
forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/82628/recent-trip-utah
I'll be busy for awhile chipping, cutting and grinding before they get to tumble........Hoping for some decent show pieces in a month or so.......lol
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nchillbilly
starting to spend too much on rocks
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Post by nchillbilly on Apr 3, 2018 22:57:53 GMT -5
J.T.........:
The Galena Quartz found in Faust was more than a casual walk in the park......a bit of digging and 1.5 mile trek to and from......The Chalcedony Jasper my son tripped over on one of his job-sites.....lol........we ended up finding two more decent size pieces 30 miles from that site when we were hounding two weeks ago. Evidently "Cave Jasper" is common in other states, but only a few locations in Utah it can be found without serious mining skills and tools....that is the dark brown/red stuff we happened upon.
I started a thread last week (that got hi-jacked.....lol) which shows some of the other material we collected while I was visiting.....:
forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/82628/recent-trip-utah
I'll be busy for awhile chipping, cutting and grinding before they get to tumble........Hoping for some decent show pieces in a month or so.......lol I didn't mean to insinuate that you were tripping over it in your yard. LOL. It's probably a three or four hour drive to the mountains for me, and when I get there, hope to find someplace to hound without getting shot. Seems all of the really good spots are either privately owned, or there are sub-divisions built on them. There are a number of pay-to-play gem mines, but not a lot of places to actually dig. There used to be a great deal of stones and gems to be mined, but access is gone.
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nchillbilly
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2018
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Post by nchillbilly on Apr 3, 2018 23:07:54 GMT -5
That chalcedony cave jasper is gorgeous. Just so you know, if you ever find yourself with too much of that stuff lying around in your way, I know a tumbler in NC that'll be happy to buy some, just to help out, of course.
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Post by MsAli on Apr 4, 2018 23:51:58 GMT -5
What are these?
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pizzano
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Post by pizzano on Apr 5, 2018 11:26:55 GMT -5
Ali........to the best of my knowledge and that of a soils tech buddy, we determined that the material is a quartz based Galena....Galena due to the "lead" and hints of silver and sulfide traces found when we broke it down....quartz due to it's cleavage and translucent appearance. We also know that it has sedimentary limestone embedded within and around the surface, but there were other properties imbedded (we think sulfur due to it's smell when cut) we could not identify since my soils guy did not have time to do a complete analysis......I dropped a small chunk off at his lab before my Utah trip.
When acid tested with both diluted muriatic and nitric acids, signs of slight erosion and fumes (very tiny bubbles) were apparent, but nothing off the scale to make a positive ID.
Most "true" Galena is a metallic like dark material......it fractures differently than true quartz and has a Mohs hardness around 3........the stuff we found has a hardness of 6 to 6.5 and fractures just like a quartz. The area we found this material is known for minor silver and magnesium veins, but no none serious deposits worth mining.
Maybe you can nail this material down even better.....I get a "free pass" occasionally from my Geo-tech guys..........but no "free ride" if a serious analysis is needed.....lol
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Post by MsAli on Apr 5, 2018 11:53:58 GMT -5
Ali........to the best of my knowledge and that of a soils tech buddy, we determined that the material is a quartz based Galena....Galena due to the "lead" and hints of silver and sulfide traces found when we broke it down....quartz due to it's cleavage and translucent appearance. We also know that it has sedimentary limestone embedded within and around the surface, but there were other properties imbedded (we think sulfur due to it's smell when cut) we could not identify since my soils guy did not have time to do a complete analysis......I dropped a small chunk off at his lab before my Utah trip.
When acid tested with both diluted muriatic and nitric acids, signs of slight erosion and fumes (very tiny bubbles) were apparent, but nothing off the scale to make a positive ID.
Most "true" Galena is a metallic like dark material......it fractures differently than true quartz and has a Mohs hardness around 3........the stuff we found has a hardness of 6 to 6.5 and fractures just like a quartz. The area we found this material is known for minor silver and magnesium veins, but no none serious deposits worth mining.
Maybe you can nail this material down even better.....I get a "free pass" occasionally from my Geo-tech guys..........but no "free ride" if a serious analysis is needed.....lol Interesting -I've never seen it look like that. The Galena I've seen is very cube shaped and very metallic and brittle. Yours almost appears purple?
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pizzano
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Post by pizzano on Apr 5, 2018 12:36:10 GMT -5
Ali........to the best of my knowledge and that of a soils tech buddy, we determined that the material is a quartz based Galena....Galena due to the "lead" and hints of silver and sulfide traces found when we broke it down....quartz due to it's cleavage and translucent appearance. We also know that it has sedimentary limestone embedded within and around the surface, but there were other properties imbedded (we think sulfur due to it's smell when cut) we could not identify since my soils guy did not have time to do a complete analysis......I dropped a small chunk off at his lab before my Utah trip.
When acid tested with both diluted muriatic and nitric acids, signs of slight erosion and fumes (very tiny bubbles) were apparent, but nothing off the scale to make a positive ID.
Most "true" Galena is a metallic like dark material......it fractures differently than true quartz and has a Mohs hardness around 3........the stuff we found has a hardness of 6 to 6.5 and fractures just like a quartz. The area we found this material is known for minor silver and magnesium veins, but no none serious deposits worth mining.
Maybe you can nail this material down even better.....I get a "free pass" occasionally from my Geo-tech guys..........but no "free ride" if a serious analysis is needed.....lol Interesting -I've never seen it look like that. The Galena I've seen is very cube shaped and very metallic and brittle. Yours almost appears purple?
Ya.......under different types of lighting the purple shows up (even under direct sunlight)......but I have pieces from the same mother stone (cut 1/2" away from the purple) that has no purple and much more tannish to almost green......It's a mystery......lol
Another side note.......the very first pieces of material (the ones shown here) came from a back-hoe dug trench. Kind of like the trenches soils guys dig when analyzing surface fault fractures........they are usually 30" wide, 3' to 3.5' deep and extend about 10 to 20 twenty feet long. Either across (perpendicular) to the fault or traverse (parallel) with the fault line.........We found three of these trenches within a 1/4 mile of each other on our first trip.
We went back to those same locations on my last trip.......two of the trenches where we found the material shown at this link.............
forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/82628/recent-trip-Utah
had been exposed even more with no signs of hounding disturbance.............lots of nice "stuff"........but the trench that had the Galena type material had been picked clean.....I mean like absolutely no signs of anything other than sandstone and limestone.......almost like the material had been surgically dissected and hauled away.......nothing, nada.....nill........wish we had taken more the first visit.......guess it had some value to someone.
I'm still going to evaluate the "Galena" further (in my spare time).....lol........the "rock" experts at the local gem and mineral society had no idea what it was and were very curious about the location we found it at........once I told them Utah, the conversation died......lol
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Post by MsAli on Apr 5, 2018 12:50:40 GMT -5
Interesting -I've never seen it look like that. The Galena I've seen is very cube shaped and very metallic and brittle. Yours almost appears purple?
Ya.......under different types of lighting the purple shows up (even under direct sunlight)......but I have pieces from the same mother stone (cut 1/2" away from the purple) that has no purple and much more tannish to almost green......It's a mystery......lol
Another side note.......the very first pieces of material (the ones shown here) came from a back-hoe dug trench. Kind of like the trenches soils guys dig when analyzing surface fault fractures........they are usually 30" wide, 3' to 3.5' deep and extend about 10 to 20 twenty feet long. Either across (perpendicular) to the fault or traverse (parallel) with the fault line.........We found three of these trenches within a 1/4 mile of each other on our first trip.
We went back to those same locations on my last trip.......two of the trenches where we found the material shown at this link.............
forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/82628/recent-trip-Utah
had been exposed even more with no signs of hounding disturbance.............lots of nice "stuff"........but the trench that had the Galena type material had been picked clean.....I mean like absolutely no signs of anything other than sandstone and limestone.......almost like the material had been surgically dissected and hauled away.......nothing, nada.....nill........wish we had taken more the first visit.......guess it had some value to someone.
I'm still going to evaluate the "Galena" further (in my spare time).....lol........the "rock" experts at the local gem and mineral society had no idea what it was and were very curious about the location we found it at........once I told them Utah, the conversation died......lol
I'm loving it whatever is
Do you have a picture of momma? I would like to see what she looks like.
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pizzano
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Post by pizzano on Apr 5, 2018 13:19:56 GMT -5
Ali.......yes......:
Sliced in Half Cubed
I have three more pieces like the sliced one........they are on my list of "things to cut"........the list keeps growing and available time keeps shrinking.....lol
My other "hobbies" keep taking precedence..........I'm gearing up for a shooting tournament qualification and I'm committed to 2 local car show "gigs" our band is rehearsing for........and my Grandson needs "Papa daycare"......oh....did I mention that I have a part-time consulting job......?........lol
Even at this moment, I'm in front of my lap-top, printing my weekly invoices and scheduling field work assignments for next week.......no rest for this semi-retired Grandpa/Husband/Rock-Hound/Musician/Range Competitor/Engineer/Surveyor........the list goes on & on & on.......guess that's what's keeping this old guy healthy or slowly driving me into dust.....lol
Thanks for your interest Ali.......Appreciate your input...!
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Post by MsAli on Apr 5, 2018 13:32:11 GMT -5
Ali.......yes......:
Sliced in Half Cubed
I have three more pieces like the sliced one........they are on my list of "things to cut"........the list keeps growing and available time keeps shrinking.....lol
My other "hobbies" keep taking precedence..........I'm gearing up for a shooting tournament qualification and I'm committed to 2 local car show "gigs" our band is rehearsing for........and my Grandson needs "Papa daycare"......oh....did I mention that I have a part-time consulting job......?........lol
Even at this moment, I'm in front of my lap-top, printing my weekly invoices and scheduling field work assignments for next week.......no rest for this semi-retired Grandpa/Husband/Rock-Hound/Musician/Range Competitor/Engineer/Surveyor........the list goes on & on & on.......guess that's what's keeping this old guy healthy or slowly driving me into dust.....lol
Thanks for your interest Ali.......Appreciate your input...! Momma is pretty. All of those colors came off that one rock?
Doesn't look like Galena though. Not any I've seen anyways. www.gemsbymail.com/Tumble-Mix-Rough-Galena-in-Quartz-1-LB-p893.html
I am very curious as to what it is though.
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pizzano
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Post by pizzano on Apr 5, 2018 16:29:01 GMT -5
Ali.......how ironic this conversation has become. I just got off the phone with my Geo-Tech guy.....I was informed that there is a project meeting I must attend with some big-wig owners and a few geologist related to an ongoing commercial development project I've been a part of the last year and 1/2........seems they need some input from me related to survey control along a fault line that just cropped up.......lol....like it wasn't identified previously.
Anyway, the meeting is tomorrow morning, and my guy asked me to bring along some more of the material he looked at.....we're going to spend his (and another Geo-Tech's) lunch hour to nail this stuff down........seems the stuff caught their attention and like myself, hate to leave any stone un-turned....lol
Hope to report absolutes soon.
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Post by MsAli on Apr 5, 2018 16:55:01 GMT -5
Ali.......how ironic this conversation has become. I just got off the phone with my Geo-Tech guy.....I was informed that there is a project meeting I must attend with some big-wig owners and a few geologist related to an ongoing commercial development project I've been a part of the last year and 1/2........seems they need some input from me related to survey control along a fault line that just cropped up.......lol....like it wasn't identified previously.
Anyway, the meeting is tomorrow morning, and my guy asked me to bring along some more of the material he looked at.....we're going to spend his (and another Geo-Tech's) lunch hour to nail this stuff down........seems the stuff caught their attention and like myself, hate to leave any stone un-turned....lol
Hope to report absolutes soon.
Serendipity
Excited for you and the findings
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pizzano
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Post by pizzano on Apr 6, 2018 15:31:28 GMT -5
Ali........The saga continues.
I had my meeting, we looked at rocks and I was sent off to the Geology Dept. at Cal State U San Bernardino......my geo-tech guys could not specifically ID the material you and I like........But, we do know it has silver and magnesium properties, some quartzite and deep calcite runners......So much for the Galena aspect first considered due to what we thought was a "lead" property.......miss-diagnosed.
We also know that the trenches the material was found are indeed fault line tracing explorations....Prospecting Pirates we suspect.....I got that right, all of the material had been lifted by some type of action in the past, to expose some very very old volcanic stimulation. The techs confirmed that the fractures in my stones are the result of fault shifts and grinding action.......some almost platonic in formation.
Anyway, this is fun........I have sent two Geo Professors an E-mail with my story and pictures in the hopes one of them will be willing to examine the material with their "very special" tools (Niton XRF analyzer)........My buddy knows one of those Prof's and sent him an E-mail too..........So, we'll see if one of them is curious enough to invite me over.........!
To be continued......!
Thanks to you and a couple of other buddies, the interest in this has all of us motivated and stimulated..........!
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