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Post by holajonathan on Jan 15, 2021 18:35:56 GMT -5
Found in glacial gravel in Michigan. Soft rock -- I would guess Mohs 4.5-5. So soft that I got it fairly well polished in about 15 minutes with diamond hand laps. Clear part is soft too and does not appear to be quartz. I have at least one more of the same rock with just the bluish-green part and no translucent material, so it occurs that way in nature as well. What say you rock ID experts?  |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 16, 2021 12:37:39 GMT -5
Here is the similar piece with no translucent material. It, too, is a softer rock. Definitely not granite or quartz. Much softer. I am polishing it in the Lot-O with 220 SiC which is working fine  |
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 16, 2021 12:59:55 GMT -5
No clue on the ID, but in that first picture, this material looks amazing! Gorgeous rock right there!  |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 16, 2021 13:35:55 GMT -5
No clue on the ID, but in that first picture, this material looks amazing! Gorgeous rock right there! Thanks, Jason. I like it too, but I don't think I've ever polished anything this soft. I don't have any soft material to polish with it in the vibe, so maybe I'll try to buff it to a shine using AO polish and a buffing wheel. It sort of looked like just another green rock until I started to tumble it, which now has me paranoid (in a good way) that I've got more of this sitting in the piles of rocks that I've scrounged out of the dirt removed from my pond. Every green rock is now suspect. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 16, 2021 13:45:32 GMT -5
No clue on the ID, but in that first picture, this material looks amazing! Gorgeous rock right there! Thanks, Jason. I like it too, but I don't think I've ever polished anything this soft. I don't have any soft material to polish with it in the vibe, so maybe I'll try to buff it to a shine using AO polish and a buffing wheel. It sort of looked like just another green rock until I started to tumble it, which now has me paranoid (in a good way) that I've got more of this sitting in the piles of rocks that I've scrounged out of the dirt removed from my pond. Every green rock is now suspect. I've polished stones with my dremel with diamond paste on the buffing pad. I think it worked out pretty good. You might try making a paste out of the AO polish with a little water added to it...I've done that as well. As far as the green rocks:  |
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Post by greig on Jan 16, 2021 13:56:11 GMT -5
My guess is Prehnite, associated with calcite (white) and epidote (green). They sure polished well.
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 16, 2021 14:13:50 GMT -5
My guess is Prehnite, associated with calcite (white) and epidote (green). They sure polished well. Thanks for the tip. I was thinking maybe prehnite also, and calcite would explain the softness. I don't think I've even seen a confirmed piece of prehnite in person. The rock is softer than the epidote I find around here, which I would put in the same category as feldspar / quartz as far as hardness. I forgot to mention, the rock in the first picture has some small metallic inclusions as well that look sort of like copper or pyrite. They are not magnetic. |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 16, 2021 14:17:58 GMT -5
As far as the green rocks: I know. Hence my paranoid. |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 16, 2021 14:35:32 GMT -5
Could it be chrysocolla? I've never heard of that rock, but I found some photos that look similar, and supposedly it is somewhat common in the U.P.
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rockstock
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2019
Posts: 472
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Post by rockstock on Jan 16, 2021 15:33:47 GMT -5
Good chance, copper related rock, is low hardness rating and ranges across the blue and green color spectrum.
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chandler
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2020
Posts: 105
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Post by chandler on Jan 20, 2021 16:03:23 GMT -5
Breathtaking! Beautiful stone!
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 22, 2021 13:23:31 GMT -5
Breathtaking! Beautiful stone! Thanks! I found more of it digging through my landscaping rocks. I plan to get them all polished up and post a group photo. Until know I have been interested mostly in hard rocks since they tend to tumble better. But this super soft (and super pretty) rock has made me realize that soft rocks are not all bad. |
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chandler
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2020
Posts: 105
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Post by chandler on Jan 22, 2021 18:01:46 GMT -5
I can't wait to see the group photo! What a fantastic find.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 22, 2021 19:01:49 GMT -5
Could it be chrysocolla? I've never heard of that rock, but I found some photos that look similar, and supposedly it is somewhat common in the U.P. I don't think it's chrysocolla. I've never seen any that looks like that. Here's a link with Michigan chrysocolla pics.
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 22, 2021 22:56:01 GMT -5
Could it be chrysocolla? I've never heard of that rock, but I found some photos that look similar, and supposedly it is somewhat common in the U.P. I don't think it's chrysocolla. I've never seen any that looks like that. Here's a link with Michigan chrysocolla pics.
Point taken. It remains a mystery for now. But if I can find enough like it or similar, and get them grouped together, it will help ID. It may take a few weeks or months, but when I get that done, I will post to this same thread to bump it back up. |
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