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Post by rockyraccoon on Mar 23, 2004 11:38:39 GMT -5
any clues what these are. they are not wet - the wet look is the silver metal shining. my friends went to georgia mountains last wk during spring break and brought these back. the smaller is a whitish silver and the larger looks like it has some kind of silver metal all over it. i tried to scratch them with a piece of blue quartz and they don't scratch. after i've handled them my hands have silver glitter on them. can they be tumbled? these almost look like they've been coated with polyurethane or something kim
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Post by MichiganRocks on Mar 23, 2004 19:24:32 GMT -5
Well Kim, I guess nobody wants to answer this one. Soooo, I'll give you my best guess. It appears to be a type of Mica mineral, probably Muscovite. If that is what it is, you won't have much luck tumbling it. I have tried a couple and the mica itself doesn't want to give up it's shape, plus it is very loosly attached to the surrounding mineral, thus allowing it to separate. That's why you get it on your hands. It's kind of like trying to tumble a bunch of chocolate chip cookies.
Ron
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Post by rockyraccoon on Mar 24, 2004 0:19:42 GMT -5
ron are you talking about the big one too? i have looked in all my books and online - finally found some pictures under mica schist that are really close to the little one: physics.uwstout.edu/geo/gallery/quartz_mica_schist.jpgwouldn't have found that without your guidance. the muskavite was under the mica catagory in my book but i couldn't get any pictures under muskavite so i typed in mica schist. kim
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Post by MichiganRocks on Mar 24, 2004 5:29:24 GMT -5
Hey Kim. Yea, I think they are. The smaller one looks to be a good specimen of muscovite crystals, and the larger one looks to be just smaller crystals of the same thing. Kind of like the difference between Quartz and Quartzite. Schist comes in a wide variety, and is a metamorphic rock. The dark varieties of Schist contain Biotite and the light varieties contain various amounts of Muscovite. Biotite and Muscovite are igneous rocks composed of large amounts of Mica mineral. These are rocks that are normally associated with mountain building, and thus are easiest found in areas of "mountainous" type of upheaval. Like I said, that's my best guess. It would be much easier to tell if I was holding it in my hand. Pictures only tell part of the story.
Ron
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Post by MichiganRocks on Mar 25, 2004 10:54:45 GMT -5
Hey Kim, I've been doing a little research into your rocks. Muscovite, an igneous rock, will metamorphose into Mica Schist. That is what gives it it's silvery appearance. Also, the Georgia Mountains are composed of metamorphic rock and large areas contain high concentrations of Mica Schist. Mica is mined in the area as well. Everything points to Mica Schist.
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Post by rockyraccoon on Mar 25, 2004 18:02:53 GMT -5
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Post by MichiganRocks on Mar 25, 2004 19:02:33 GMT -5
Hi Kim, I think the problem is more "toughness" than hardness. They are macro-crystaline, so each crystal is very distinct. That always presents a problem with the crystals holding together during a tumble. It takes less energy to break them apart than it does to polish them, and nature always takes the the path of least resistance. I would go ahead and throw a couple of pieces into a tumble. I've tried a couple that started almost the size of a tennis ball, and ended up the size of a boulder marble. And it wasn't polished like you would expect from your other rocks. If you can get one to survive the tumble, it does give a little different looking rock, it just won't be shiny like the rest.
Ron
ps. I grew up way, way out in the country, and we used to call those rocks mica schist (with the second "s" silent) because they weren't good for anything!
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Post by rockyraccoon on Mar 26, 2004 9:55:54 GMT -5
i'll have to force myself to go release them back into the wild since they won't tame in the tumbler ;D.
kim
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Post by creativeminded on Mar 26, 2004 11:10:10 GMT -5
Like geodes those would make a great conversational piece. You can put them in a bowl or display them in some way that would show off their beauty.
Tami
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RiverOtter
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2004
Posts: 339
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Post by RiverOtter on Mar 26, 2004 11:31:34 GMT -5
Since you are going to "release them back into the wild" anyway maybe you can use them for some wire wrap jewelry. See if you can shape them with a dremel tool first. And then maybe you can cover them with laquer or something like that to keep them from flaking, but still keep the shiny look they have. Could make for some interesting pieces.
Otter
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tjmax
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since March 2004
Posts: 79
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Post by tjmax on Mar 26, 2004 16:27:57 GMT -5
Mica is bad all around, you cant use it for jewlery cause it flakes and will always flake.
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thewiz
has rocks in the head
"What good is money if you don't spend it"
Member since January 2004
Posts: 735
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Post by thewiz on Mar 27, 2004 23:46:44 GMT -5
hey rocky are you going to try to coat them with something
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