|
Post by Lady B on Aug 10, 2007 12:10:41 GMT -5
My husband and I did the Tourist thingee in Franklin, NC this past May. We bought several buckets of "salted" dirt to screen at the various mines we visited. Someone must have told us what these stones were, but for the life of us, Bob and I can't remember! I also cannot find info about them in any of my Rock and Mineral books. Since they came from "salted" buckets, they could literally be from anywhere in the world. They have a distinctly orange color and I can see definite crystal formations throughout the stones. Any one know what we have here? Do we tumble them; slab and cab them; get them faceted; or just put them on the shelf as "keepsake" specimens? Appreciate all help. Lady B
|
|
|
Post by sbreed on Aug 10, 2007 12:33:37 GMT -5
Looks like orange calcite to me but I am no expert! LOL
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Aug 10, 2007 13:04:21 GMT -5
Yeah, I'd have to have an idea of hardness first. I'm not real great with crystals but if it scratches easily with a nail, I'd guess something in the calcite group too or maybe even a feldspar. I've seen that color in both those materials...Mel
|
|
|
Post by Lady B on Aug 10, 2007 13:28:31 GMT -5
Ooops, I knew I forgot something in the first post. I tried scratching it with a knife blade--no scratch. So I ruled out calcite myself. Should have posted that above. Lady B
|
|
|
Post by texaswoodie on Aug 10, 2007 14:44:43 GMT -5
Them is orangeites. With all them orange groves in FL, I'd a figgered you'd a know'd that.
Put a toothpick in acid, drop a tiny drop on one, rinse in running water for 10-15 minutes. If it fizzed when acid touches it, it's calcite. If not, we're back to orangeite.
Curt
|
|
|
Post by texaswoodie on Aug 10, 2007 14:59:59 GMT -5
|
|
blarneystone
spending too much on rocks
Rocks in my head
Member since March 2010
Posts: 307
|
Post by blarneystone on Aug 10, 2007 15:08:22 GMT -5
I never would have guessed Alabaster... I always think white.
|
|
|
Post by Lady B on Aug 10, 2007 15:29:35 GMT -5
Curt, the color is "right" but does alabaster have rectangular crystals embedded in it? All my references suggest that alabaster (often misnamed from its true gypsum source) has a hardness of 2 and these stones are definitely harder than a 2. Even if I look at the marbles and onyxes, I can't find that crystal formation.
I googled further on translucent orange alabaster and almost all the cf. is for carvable stone.
Argh! This is one of the frustrating things about internetting...there's no way to just reach into the monitor and take a good look at a specimen.
Appreciate the references, though.
Lady B
|
|
|
Post by akansan on Aug 10, 2007 16:24:30 GMT -5
What's the possibility that it's dyed?
Although, feldspar would be a MOHs 7, right? Can you scratch it with a quartz point?
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Aug 10, 2007 17:57:46 GMT -5
Feldspar would me mohs 6-6 1/2 which may or may not scratch with a knife or quartz. Quartz can be about 6 1/2 and knife steel varies 5-maybe 6. Not too many hard orange materials I can think of with crystals. You've got me stumped. Hmmm does anyone know if beryl comes in orange. I know it comes in pink and gold..mel
|
|
|
Post by cpdad on Aug 10, 2007 19:47:44 GMT -5
that is orange calcite...i have some of it from a salted mine from north carolina also....some places will scratch...others will not...weird huh....kev. not my pic. click
|
|
|
Post by Lady B on Aug 11, 2007 7:52:54 GMT -5
Kev: I don't think it's calcite. I have several different specimens of calcite and this is not like any of them. And Bob and I probably would have remembered if the mine owners had said "That's calcite" because it was about the only rock we could identify before we went up to NC.
It doesn't look like the "not my pic" stone either.
Akansan: Not to be dumber about rocks than I am, but...what is a quartz point? Is it rock crystal or is it a tool with quartz on the end?
Curt: Bob and I don't keep 'acid' in our house anymore! On a serious note, do you mean something like muriatic acid? I don't have any yet.
Mel: I've been checking resources on orange beryl. Our stones do look a lot like some of our emerald and aquamarine specimens, so it just might be one of the color variations of beryl.
Thanks to all for your help and suggestions. Once I get a "definitive" ID, I'll post the info.
Lady B
|
|
|
Post by texaswoodie on Aug 11, 2007 9:43:17 GMT -5
Kate Get Bob to go to the car and stick a clean toothpick in one of the battery cells. Just a minute amount is all you need. Just get the toothpick damp. Be sure to rinse for 10-15 minutes afterward.
Curt
|
|
|
Post by flintfish on Aug 11, 2007 11:42:08 GMT -5
OK folks - I've been ferreting in my rock boxes and uncovered this forgotten beauty! Mines got some crystaline strucure rather like grain in wood, no clear hexagons, but definately orange, hard, crystaline. Oh - the colour is a little less intense than this - it's a lovely bright afternoon here for once - but the rock is slightly paler in person. Check out the Orange Aventurine Quartz! I'm not sure if it's what 'ya got - but I've got a Kg here waiting for a gap in the tumblers. Hope this helps! Harry.
|
|
|
Post by akansan on Aug 11, 2007 11:52:17 GMT -5
To me a quartz point is a definite piece of quartz...with a pointy edge. They do have tools that approximate this, but I've always just used an actual piece of rock.
|
|
|
Post by Tonyterner on Aug 11, 2007 15:06:40 GMT -5
How about orange flourite?
|
|
|
Post by Lady B on Aug 11, 2007 22:51:32 GMT -5
Flourite only has a hardness of 4. This resists scratching well above Mohs 4. I have flourite specimens and I can shape them with diamond files pretty easily. Not so with the orange pretties.
I am looking for a nice piece of quartz that I can use to do a higher level scratch test with on one of the specimens.
Bob says all of our battery cells--car, minivan, and riding lawn mower, are sealed so I guess I am going to have to find some muriatic acid.
Lady B
|
|
|
Post by flintfish on Aug 12, 2007 13:04:18 GMT -5
Hummm.... would vinegar do? it might not fizz, but it should "pit it a bit" if you drop a shard in... Just wonderin.... (That poem was free Beabea! ) Harry
|
|