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Author: Subject: Name that rock
diddi
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[*] posted on 19-7-2015 at 06:44


oh yeh I am a bit of a minerals collector :)



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Morgan
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[*] posted on 19-7-2015 at 07:32


Now that you mentioned slag, I was able to find something that kind of looks like my rock, the first photo on this page on the left. Thanks for identifying my other rocks too diddi.
http://meteorites.pdx.edu/meteor_wrong.htm

[Edited on 19-7-2015 by Morgan]
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aga
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[*] posted on 19-7-2015 at 09:45


Quote: Originally posted by diddi  
oh yeh I am a bit of a minerals collector :)

Dunno if you have Time or inclination, but i'm sure there are many here that would appreciate a step-by-step intro to Rock Identification from an experienced person such as yourself, a-la Blogfast25's intro to Quantum Mechanics.

I'd certainly be very interested.




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Magpie
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[*] posted on 19-7-2015 at 12:27


Here's an easy one for you:



rock.jpg - 67kB




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blogfast25
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[*] posted on 19-7-2015 at 12:59


Slate?

A piece of very old uPVC pipe? :D




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[*] posted on 19-7-2015 at 13:46


It's a bit of pyrite/amagamellium/chrotaxinaceous defacate obviously.

Jees ! Slate ! What ever could you be thinking of ?

Edit:

looks like a bit of roofing slate to me as well.

[Edited on 19-7-2015 by aga]




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[*] posted on 19-7-2015 at 13:57


As an absolute beginner, all i can see is a flat-ish black rock thing with some white bits on it's surface.

It's not exactly Flat as there appears to be a triangular section seen by the top left hand bit.

There's the remains of a hand attached to the right hand side.

Where would one start in identifying it ?

The colour ?

[Edited on 19-7-2015 by aga]




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[*] posted on 19-7-2015 at 14:51


Slate it is. It is from a lakeshore beach of slate pieces about that size. Nothing but slate pieces on this beach, all in shades of grey.



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[*] posted on 19-7-2015 at 14:56


Quote: Originally posted by Magpie  
Slate it is. It is from a lakeshore beach of slate pieces about that size. Nothing but slate pieces on this beach, all in shades of grey.


Very valuable in Ole' Blighty but they need to be bigger for that.

But the have nots are starting to use pieces of old uPVC anyway! :D

[Edited on 19-7-2015 by blogfast25]




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Morgan
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[*] posted on 23-7-2015 at 12:18


This is a heavy rock that is very glittery although the camera didn't capture the green glitter. Part of the green has invaded some of the white crystal in one photo but that's hard to see too. I would guess the white crytals are quartz and that some of the rock is an iron oxide? So I don't know if the green is from iron or copper or both or something else if anyone has an idea.


011.JPG - 142kB012.JPG - 136kB014.JPG - 136kB019.JPG - 139kB
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[*] posted on 23-7-2015 at 12:49


Very much Overdone baked Potato.

-OR-

Stab in the dark : Galena.

I recall from a school trip to the Odin Mine in Castleton some local rock samples, and it reminds me of one of those. Mostly they were pushing the 'Blue John' rocks for us to buy.




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[*] posted on 23-7-2015 at 12:49


Green -- my first guess would be copper. My second chromium and my third nickel. Iron won't really figure in it. Ferrous ions oxidise to ferric and so any pastel blue-greens from iron will be lost.

As for what it is, better ask diddi.
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[*] posted on 23-7-2015 at 13:01


Galena as i dimly recall is/was Lead ore for Vikings, hence the 'Odin' thing.



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[*] posted on 23-7-2015 at 14:15


The dark green part is so glittery like goldstone when you move it in light. I had a piece of galena that just looked like lead that was unoxidized or kind of like silicon only heavier.
The other side of this rock has kind of a ferrous sulfate/chalky light green color in places. It's not a very exciting rock I to look at, but it's twinkles.

007.JPG - 147kB021.JPG - 144kB
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[*] posted on 23-7-2015 at 14:41


Even Google isn't helping.

The green can't be Fe2+, and the other bits do look coppery, yet also like rust.

Then there's the white bit ...

Random guess: WWII loaded cannon (brass shell casing = copper & tin) that fell to the sea bed for 60 years, decayed quite a lot then was dredged up ?




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[*] posted on 23-7-2015 at 14:43


chalcopyrite?




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[*] posted on 23-7-2015 at 14:50


Quote: Originally posted by Magpie  
chalcopyrite?

What ?!?!

It was all a groundless accusation and she was proven to be a liar in court, and ordered to return the pressure cooker !

How VERY dare you !




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[*] posted on 23-7-2015 at 15:19


Are you drunk?



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[*] posted on 23-7-2015 at 17:22


It is really helpful to know where the rock came from. Especially when picture keying. Above are examples of obsidian. Doesn't everyone have that one ingrained? Sorry, couldn't help it.



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[*] posted on 23-7-2015 at 18:13


I heated a small section of the dark glittery green part outside with a butane torch and saw some green hues added to the flame and the spot I heated glowed kind of like asbestos or vermiculite might have. The spot seems to have shrank or reverted back to the same color as the rest of the rock, that rust color only a little blacker. Either that or the thin layer of green possilbly expanded and jumped off the surface. Maybe the green material was hydrated, there's a tiny green ridge that's higher all around the heated spot
The crystaline material sure sparkles when looking at it under magnefying headgear and the green glitter seems to have grown only on the outside of the rock, or in the cavities.
I wonder if it could just be slag with some sort of copper compound that grew on it or leached out of it? It doesn't respond to a N52 magnet very much, only when suspended with some thread could I see some faint attraction.

I don't know where my father found this rock but he did a lot of rockhounding in Oregon but took some field trips to adjacent states too.

[Edited on 24-7-2015 by Morgan]
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diddi
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[*] posted on 23-7-2015 at 18:29


@aga
what sort of info would you like to see?

latest green mineral looks to me like botroidal malachite on mixed iron minerals. it is common to get air pockets inside iron minerals onto which the copper mineral crystallises. sometimes called a "vug" like a mini geode but inside a big ore body.




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[*] posted on 23-7-2015 at 19:23


I saw this druzy malachite that kind of looks like my rock which has some sharp facets or faces mingled in with the sandy looking green glitter.
I typed in botryoidal malachite after the suggestion and happened upon the druzy malachite. So maybe it's a druzy botryoidal malachite.

Malachite Dark Green Sparkly Druzy Crystalline Nugget Natural Mineral Specimen
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/168955423493925013/
https://img1.etsystatic.com/068/1/6556142/il_570xN.754470975...

[Edited on 24-7-2015 by Morgan]
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[*] posted on 23-7-2015 at 23:12


Quote: Originally posted by Magpie  
Are you drunk?

Erm, it was possible at the time ...

Rock Collecting sounds fascinating !

Even the words of the language are enchanting :

chalcopyrite ... goldstone ... druzy botryoidal malachite

Quote: Originally posted by diddi  
@aga
what sort of info would you like to see?

Basically, where would one Start in identifying rocks ?

It would be wonderful to be able to pick up a rock and be able to work out it's origin, the processes that made it, what it's composed of and what it would be called.

What started it off (for me) was being told that a rock in the Ngorogoro crater was sedimentary, when it looked rather granite-like to me.

The fact that the crater sits on top of a huge extinct volcano should have been a significant clue.

Not knowing anything about it at all was infuriating.




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[*] posted on 24-7-2015 at 03:08


the term druzy is typically applied to quartz varieties and means thin layer of various sized crystals usually on a host matrix. I cant say I have heard of a druzy malachite, but it does describe the habit I guess, although I would not have used the term. botryoidal habit is "bubbly" so you can see bubble shapes in your sample and on the broken portions there is evidence of banding suggesting that the malachite was deposited in layers, building up the bubble shape.
the sharp facets are crystalline malachite which is very common. it would be difficult to identify the iron minerals without knowing the source. certain mineral tend to occur is particular areas which makes ID easy.




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[*] posted on 24-7-2015 at 07:33


Thanks again for the identification and descriptions diddi. It's interesting to learn about all the properties of minerals. Here's a few examples of malachite from the Smithsonian I ran across when reading today.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/geophys/malachite...
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