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Post by gr on Nov 21, 2010 21:51:38 GMT -5
The first rock- 2pics What I have figured out- Mohs between 3.5 & 4 ( penny does but doesn't scratch it. Produces fine powder if I bare down with the penny. Little bit of a scratch. My pocketknife carves it. 600 belt takes it down quickly and not a bad shine then. Just damp felt with ceriun started to shine better with light pressure, and then it started to melt. Went back to 600, 600 shine back, back to just damp felt, nice shine back. Very dense, consistant structure, non fiberous. Disregard the black lines, those are my cut diagnosis lines. 2nd pic- hard material and heavy. Black and green are same hardness, prob 7.2 or above. quratz won't scratch it. I was given an educated guess of maybe serpentine. Thanks for your help... Gary I should have taken a pic before I cut it. Learn as you go I guess.
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 21, 2010 22:25:22 GMT -5
First looks like "Verde Antique", a marble from Stoddard Wells, CA. I've seen the second but can't remember. Something like fossil swamp material?
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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 Nov 21, 2010 22:44:18 GMT -5
Verde antique or some sort of travertine onyx sound good for the first one. Second looks jaspery to me.....Mel
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Post by jakesrocks on Nov 21, 2010 22:46:42 GMT -5
Serpentine only has a hardness of 3 - 5. Quartz will scratch it. I was going to say antigorite, a type of serpentine from the Gila Bend area for the second one. I have a slab of antigorite that's 1/4" X 3" x 4", and it weighs about thice what an equal size agate slab would. Pretty material, and takes a great shine. Don
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Post by gr on Nov 21, 2010 23:32:17 GMT -5
Don, Antigorite, do you know if it's metamorfic in nature? Very fine crystaline structure. Cant see any crystals unaided. Do you know if it was (is) mined around Gila Bend? Would like to have some more of it if it's still available. Thanks Don
Gary
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Post by jakesrocks on Nov 21, 2010 23:46:37 GMT -5
As with most serpentine type minerals, it's mostly asbestos. The needles are so small and tightly packed that it's nearly impossible to see them without strong magnification. Antigorite is found on one of the Indian reservations, and it's getting hard to get any. The Indians use it for tourist carvings. I haven't been to the area in many years, but I've heard that it can sometimes be found in the washes outside of the reservation. I googled it a while back, and found several places that had limited quantities of it.
Don
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Post by gr on Nov 22, 2010 13:19:31 GMT -5
So, I have been informed that pic 3 is a metamorfic rock called hornfel. And I'm goin with Verde Antique after I was so generously pointed in the right direction.
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Post by tandl on Nov 22, 2010 16:40:28 GMT -5
How`s this , for similar , and how far apart are we .
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Post by NatureNut on Nov 22, 2010 17:54:06 GMT -5
I've hounded cut and cabbed alot of PA Antigorite. It has a waxy resinous texture that comes to a polish nicely and can be slightly translucent. At least the PA stuff did. Just my input. Jo
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Post by jakesrocks on Nov 22, 2010 18:24:09 GMT -5
The Arizona antigorite is just as good Jo. I've cut a bunch, but only have one specimen slab left. If the sun is out tomorrow, I'll get a pic to post here. Don
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Post by gr on Nov 23, 2010 0:29:47 GMT -5
Please do Don! I would like to see your speciman slab.
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