chromenut
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2009
Posts: 1,971
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Post by chromenut on Aug 13, 2010 23:05:42 GMT -5
I've been able to identify most of these but have a couple at the bottom I need help with. They are all real beauties and I can't wait to get my shop setup so I can start cutting and polishing! 1. Blue Kyanite 2. Chrysocolla - very gemmy with beautiful streaks of red tenerite 3. Chrysocolla - gorgeous blues and greens in this one 4. Mahogany Obsidian 5. Snake Valley Picture Stone - was a little careless with this foot wide slab, let it fall over on my desk and snapped the end off it. Really beautiful colors. 6. Unknown - it's not an obsidian, no shine to it at all, it's got the texture, taste and feel of a jasper (yes, someone taught me to lick stones) 7. Unknown - I believe it's red and yellow jasper but wanted to confirm. It's probably the brightest colored slab I've got. So help me out if you know what these last two are!
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Post by tkrueger3 on Aug 13, 2010 23:18:27 GMT -5
That last one looks like mookaite from Australia, I think. Don't know about the other one, though.
Tom
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Aug 13, 2010 23:29:57 GMT -5
I'd agree on the mook ID, but have no clue on the other. Nice slabs regardless.
Nate
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Post by drocknut on Aug 14, 2010 0:13:29 GMT -5
Well if it tastes like jasper and feels like jasper it might be jasper...lol. Hey didn't anyone ever tell you it's not good to lick rocks, you never know where they've been...lol. Sorry don't know what it is but I do agree with the last one looking like mookaite.
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
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Post by elementary on Aug 14, 2010 1:53:44 GMT -5
Wild Crazy Shot on 2nd to last one - Apache Picture Jasper??? AKA Apache Picture Rhyolite?
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Mudshark
fully equipped rock polisher
Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. Will Rogers
Member since December 2008
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Post by Mudshark on Aug 14, 2010 6:39:05 GMT -5
#6 might be Death Valley paint stone,#7 looks like Mookaite.
Mike
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Post by NatureNut on Aug 14, 2010 9:18:22 GMT -5
Robin, is it possible the first one could be blue quartz? How big is it?
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,456
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 14, 2010 14:57:48 GMT -5
I'd agree with Mike on number 6&7. He nailed those dead on....Mel
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chromenut
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2009
Posts: 1,971
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Post by chromenut on Aug 14, 2010 15:46:37 GMT -5
I love you folks, always so darned helpful, just fun to come here, especially when I have a question! Thank you so much for your input, it was great and answered my questions. Now, back atcha, no I don't lick rocks that haven't been scrubbed, bad habit but it helps identify them faster sometimes. As to the first picture, I went to the 'big book of stones' on the web and got comparison photos, it's definitely not blue quartz, and looks just like the sample kyanite photo, even has an iron stain like those in the picture. You can see it better when it's dry, like below... As to number six, looks like Mike was right. When I compared my stone to sample photos of Apache Picture versus DV Paint, I could find no Apache that had the red surrounding the black as it does on my stone, and almost every photo of the DV it was laid out like mine. The DV however, overall looks like a sharper separation between colors where mine looks more like Apache when it comes to that. Some pretty close inspection under a 30x loupe, it comes out as a definite for DV!! Great call Mike! Looks like you were all correct on that last one, thank you very much!! Thanks for helping out with those identifications, I truly appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
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chromenut
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2009
Posts: 1,971
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Post by chromenut on Aug 14, 2010 15:48:54 GMT -5
Oh and while I'm at it, any words of advice in working these stones? I've never touched any of these before and want to make sure my cabbing goes well.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 14, 2010 21:49:18 GMT -5
I've not worked the kyanite but have worked the DV paint rock and the mook. Mook works easily like almost any jasper but watch for fractures along some of the lines. The Paint rock is a slightly silicified sediment ( argillite) which for me is a booger to polish. Shapes well but can be very porous, soft or pitted in some areas and I've yet to get much more than a satin finish. I've tried optical cerium, AO, TO and zam with no luck......Mel
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Post by jakesrocks on Aug 14, 2010 22:22:58 GMT -5
I agree with Mel on the paint stone. You'll find that the light tan areas are softer than the other colors, and will undercut if you're not careful. I have one sitting in the front room that needs to be re-cut to a smaller size because of undercutting. Don't expect a high polish on that material. There are a few places where paint stone were found, but Death Valley was the best. You can no longer collect there, so if that's where your piece came from, it's a rare find. (I have half a bucket of small pieces hidden away) Don
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rons
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2010
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Post by rons on Aug 16, 2010 13:22:06 GMT -5
on your kyanite, if that is what it is, I've collected a ton of it in the SE USA...usually forms in layers, some being more crystalline than others....will cut like a 4 moh one way and 7-8 the other..will chip..however if you get thru all that it will shine up nice and make a great stone for jewelery...
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,456
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 16, 2010 16:55:43 GMT -5
Looking at it more, I suspect the blue one could be massive dumortierite in quartz which has a less crystalline look to it than kyanite and is without cleavage planes...Mel
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chromenut
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2009
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Post by chromenut on Aug 17, 2010 14:56:19 GMT -5
only thing is I don't see any of the 'needles' that you see in dumortierite. It's hard to tell as it's a smaller piece of end cut, but it has a crystalline structure to it. Can't wait to get it polished up.
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