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Post by texaswoodie on Aug 4, 2009 18:12:03 GMT -5
Solid black is so hard to photograph. Maybe one of you can recognize this anyway. My guess is black tourmaline, but that is just a guess. Thanks! Curt
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Post by tkrueger3 on Aug 4, 2009 20:28:16 GMT -5
Gosh, I don't know much about rocks yet, but that sure looks like what I used to burn in the fireplace when I lived in Colorado! ;D
Tom
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Post by texaswoodie on Aug 4, 2009 20:40:18 GMT -5
Naw Tom, it's just the pic. It's actually a bunch of crystals. Curt
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desertdweller
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since August 2006
Posts: 1,803
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Post by desertdweller on Aug 4, 2009 20:56:50 GMT -5
Looks like hornblende or actinolite to me.
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desertdweller
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since August 2006
Posts: 1,803
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Post by desertdweller on Aug 4, 2009 21:04:30 GMT -5
Does it have a metallic luster? I don't think it is actinolite, maybe hornblende or like you said, massive schorl.
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Post by tkrueger3 on Aug 4, 2009 22:50:01 GMT -5
Yep, what you have is different than what I remembered from 25 years ago in Colorado in the winter. Here's the coal I remember: Definitely different from yours. Interesting specimen. Will you try to cut/slab/cab it, or leave it as a display specimen?
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Jason
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2009
Posts: 216
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Post by Jason on Aug 4, 2009 23:16:04 GMT -5
hey Tex..try and get some close ups if you can...also try to get some light reflection off some of the "crystal" faces/striations/shape/etc.
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Aug 5, 2009 14:47:51 GMT -5
Streak and hardness would help, too.
Chuck
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Post by texaswoodie on Aug 5, 2009 15:32:46 GMT -5
No streak Hardness of 7 or better Maybe this will help, if not I can load up some more. The white stuff is not white, it's shiny. Curt
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Aug 5, 2009 20:39:04 GMT -5
It looks like it's too hard to be hornblende. I was with you on the tourmaline based on the color, hardness, and colorless streak. It looks like these: But then I started leaning toward black epidote because it seems to form in more massive crystals (but tourmaline is harder and epidote typically has at least some green): Both clearly have striations, so that doesn't help much. The Excel spreadsheet here was helpful: geology.com/minerals/mineral-identification.shtmlI'm not sure I helped much, but at least you're down to 2 possibilities. In the end, I think you're right with tourmaline. Chuck
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Post by texaswoodie on Aug 6, 2009 6:50:43 GMT -5
Thanks Chuck. I'm still leaning toward tourmaline also. We'll see if Amguy wants weigh in his opinion.
Curt
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Post by johnjsgems on Aug 6, 2009 8:02:21 GMT -5
It looks like massive black tourmaline. I have a bucket of it I got in a trade.
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