krissykitty
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 25
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Post by krissykitty on Jun 14, 2021 22:13:43 GMT -5
Hello again, everyone! As usual, I have more questions lol. I was out gathering rocks the other day and I stumbled across this. (pictures below!)
I found it at my usual spot, which is at a creek that comes pretty much directly off of the Mississippi river, in southeast Tennessee. This spot has been mentioned by a local rockhound club to have petrified wood, so honestly when I found it I thought it could be that (honestly at this point I hadn't found any petrified wood and was still confused about what it looked like - I know now that this is not petrified wood, haha. It was also quite dirty and I didn't look at it for terribly long when I grabbed it.) This spot also has quite a bit of slag, I believe.
After getting it home and looking at it better, I was able to get a better look at the texture. I also noticed that it was definitely metallic. I'd really like to know what exactly is this? I've done some research online, and I'm concerned that it could be some form of asbestos or lead. I was very careful while cleaning and handling it after I realized it was not what I originally thought - gloves, mask, goggles just in case! I also currently have it sealed in a bag haha. I would love to hear your thoughts! I am not opposed to holding onto this if it is something interesting and something that can be stored/displayed safely. However, if need be, I will dispose of it. In photos #5 and #6 you may see some small white strands - those aren't from the specimen itself, its from a napkin that I was using to try to dry it after washing lol! Originally I thought it was a blue-ish gray, but after cleaning it I am unsure if it is blue-ish or just gray. Photo #10 does show the color a bit. It is VERY shiny under light, and I do believe it is decently heavy, though I'm unsure if its any heavier than other specimens of its size. I can try to do a hardness test with a piece of quartz if needed. Here's the Imgur album of photos, with some videos included as well. Please right click and "open image in new tab" for larger images.
And here's some images in case you don't want to click through (more in the Imgur album though!)
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Post by rmf on Jun 15, 2021 8:15:05 GMT -5
It looks metamorphic to me since it does not have as many bubbles in it as I would expect for furnace slag. My guess is that it is transported to the site since you are located is sedimentary rocks younger than the Cretaceous. May be actinolite (greenish), Augite or Hornblende. Is it magnetic?
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krissykitty
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 25
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Post by krissykitty on Jun 15, 2021 12:43:06 GMT -5
It looks metamorphic to me since it does not have as many bubbles in it as I would expect for furnace slag. My guess is that it is transported to the site since you are located is sedimentary rocks younger than the Cretaceous. May be actinolite (greenish), Augite or Hornblende. Is it magnetic? rmf Hey, thanks so much for another reply I definitely do think it may be metamorphic or formed in something metamorphic, as the bottom really gives me that impression. The bottom originally made me think of slag as well, but I've never seen slag with these almost crystal-like formations (or any rock around here for that matter). It definitely may have been transported, especially since I haven't seen anything like it down here yet (although I haven't been searching for too long). I do remember while researching that Google claimed one possibility (I think stibnite) was found in Arkansas, which seems possible. As for the look of it, from pictures and info online it is definitely closest to actinolite over augite or hornblende, due to the crystal structure I think. I was also considering stibnite, crocadolite, or aegerine. I'd definite describe the crystal-like bits as splintery and/or bladed. It'd be nice if it was something thats typically more safe like kyanite, as the crystal-like bits remind me of that as well, but at this point I'm unsure. I knew I forgot something lol. All I have are regular fridge magnets sadly, nothing terribly strong, but I don't believe that it is magnetic. I'm thinking for this in particular it may be useful to do a streak test, since it seems as though that may be a differentiating factor of the possibilities. I'm about to head out today so I can't check currently if theres been other posts about this, but is there a good place to pick up black and white streak plates or some other way to test the streak that you happen to know of? Thanks so much again
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Post by rmf on Jun 20, 2021 13:13:23 GMT -5
Typically a streak plate is unglazed porcelain. Try home depot or something similar and use the back of a porcelain tile. Or if you have a mortar and pestle crush to powder. The streak is only the color of the powdered rock
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krissykitty
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 25
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Post by krissykitty on Jul 4, 2021 0:34:54 GMT -5
rmf I took forever to reply to this, so sorry about that. Unfortunately I haven't been able to pick up a porcelain tile or anything yet, but I did have the bottom of a bowl that I was able to use. Perhaps not the best test, but I suppose its something. It seems as though the streak is a dark grey, around the same color of the rock, I believe. I also did grab a small 60x-120x microscope to play around with. It actually has been pretty fun and interesting, and I've included some photos of this rock at x60 zoom in case that helps identification. Photos were a bit hard to take but if needed I can do some more of other areas. I wasn't able to take any of the bottom flat side where the holes are. I did also happen to find out about zinkenite while researching, and it looks extremely similar and has extremely similar properties (at least from what I understand), but I'm just unsure if this rock is the same hardness or not. It doesn't seem as soft as 3-3.5 like zinkenite. I tested it by scratching it with quartz, and I don't believe it scratched, but honestly its quite hard to test on this piece. However, I do think zinkenite may be the closest I've found currently, although I'm also unsure if it can be found around here. Anyways, here's some photos, I've also included more in the Imgur album linked in the first post.
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