oldschoolrocker
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,540
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Post by oldschoolrocker on Feb 11, 2020 4:09:48 GMT -5
So I was fishing a local creek this weekend and stumbled across this big chunk of what I assume is calcite, but would like some help confirming this or not. I was fishing under a RR track bridge and this was among the pile of non local rocks that lined the bank of creek on both sides. Its really soft, not a pro on mohs scale but I'd put it at 2-4 hardness. When cutting it colored the water a bright milky white. And next question I have is - since it's way too soft to tumble can it be polished by hand? Is there any other use for calcite or similar ? Thanks for help!
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Post by rmf on Feb 11, 2020 9:50:43 GMT -5
yep sounds like calcite
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reynedrop
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2020
Posts: 204
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Post by reynedrop on Mar 8, 2020 1:53:35 GMT -5
Not a pro in the least but do have plans for tumbling calcite in the future. I have some calcite pieces that are tumbled (not by me), and a wonderful RTH member messaged me some details about getting a good polish on soft stones when he read about my future goal. The “secret“ apparently is a dry polish with corn cob. MommaGem has some great videos using corn cob to tumble soft stones. I also think she has a start-to-finish video tumbling some calcite. No pressure to tumble any piece of that calcite, though! Just want you to be aware of the resources if you wanted to attempt.
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fuss
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2018
Posts: 250
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Post by fuss on Mar 8, 2020 10:41:56 GMT -5
Nice find, you can apply some vinegar and check for bubbles (fizz), or better yet hydrochloric/muriatic acid to confirm calcite.
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Post by rmf on Mar 10, 2020 21:14:59 GMT -5
if it can be scratched with a copper (pre 1982) penny it is travertine (Rock name). the mineral name is calcite.
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