Cant figure what this is..

[cosmic]

Can't figure what this is..

Had this for a couple years.. Still don't know what it is..As you can see the fractured faces shined, veiwed the opposite all you can see is long, dull, serrated type of formation.. Not magnetic..
Thanks,
Ray

 

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[Eu_citzen]

Re: Can't figure what this is..

On the first pic looks like cristal fractures, it's hard to tell from pics. GEt out in the sun light, it gives a better idear of how it looks.

But at the first look I'd say smokey quartz.
http://www.prettyrock.com/php/mineral-specimens-detail.php?q=all&v=all&item=2723&type=mineral-specimens&return=/php/mineral-specimens-all-all.php

Also see how hard it is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_scale_of_mineral_hardness

Then I might be abel to help you more.

 

[cosmic]

Re: Can't figure what this is..

Hardness 4-5.. Don't think it Quartz..

 

[Eu_citzen]

Re: Can't figure what this is..

Nope it's not quartz not hard enough.

A streak would be great to know...It's hard to tell as there are many possibilites.
Link:
http://www.webmineral.com/help/Streak.shtml

 

[cosmic]

Re: Can't figure what this is..

Colorless streak..

 

[Eu_citzen]

Re: Can't figure what this is..

I can't find anything either..
http://www.webmineral.com/cgi-bin/search/search.pl?Realm=All&Match=1&Terms=streak-colorless&maxhits=10&Rank=1

After looking around Dravite would be my best guess.

 

[Functional]

Re: Can't figure what this is..

Hardness 4-5.. Don't think it Quartz..

Based on the information on the following web page, you may be able to better describe the rock, as what I see on my screen could be quite different than what you see with the rock in front of you.
http://www.rocksforkids.com/RFK/identification.html

I'm thinking hematite, or fluororichterite, but I could be wrong, (and likely am). It appears from the pictures that the crystals are parallel and hexagonal in shape, like the "hematite point pendant" in the second picture, (of a single crystal), from the top on this page:
http://www.wehug.com/hematite-gallery.html

The other possibility I mentioned, fluororichterite also seems to have variations that look similar, but its hard to tell from the pictures alone.

These pages have several samples of crystals:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~adg/adg-pssiimages.html
(See the two samples of Potassic-fluororichterite on the above page.)
http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/

A Google image search for fluororichterite on the website:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~adg/
http://images.google.ca/images?q=fl...ndsp=20&svnum=100&hl=en&safe=off&start=0&sa=N

A Google image search for hematite on the website:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~adg/
http://images.google.ca/images?q=he...ndsp=20&svnum=100&hl=en&safe=off&start=0&sa=N


Good luck!

F.

 

[MEinWV]

Re: Can't figure what this is..

The shiny faces have a look similar to calcite or flourite. The color is similar to epidote, zircon, or vesuvianite.

I'd be curious to see a sliced and polished section.

Is this a local find? Is it something that is common in your area? Looks like a water or glacial worn rock, in which case, it could have come from another location. Check glacial drift patterns for your area.

Good luck!

 

[Eu_citzen]

Re: Can't figure what this is..

To hematite:
http://www.webmineral.com/data/Hematite.shtml

It's probably not that, no metallic lustre. it's pearly and dull.

* Adamantine - very gemmy crystals
* Dull - just a non-reflective surface of any kind
* Earthy - the look of dirt or dried mud
* Fibrous - the look of fibers
* Greasy - the look of grease
* Gumdrop - the look a sucked on hard candy
* Metallic - the look of metals
* Pearly - the look of a pearl
* Pitchy - the look of tar
* Resinous - the look of resins such as dried glue or chewing gum
* Silky - the look of silk, similar to fibrous but more compact
* Submetallic - a poor metallic luster, opaque but reflecting little light
* Vitreous - the most common luster, it simply means the look of glass
* Waxy - the look of wax

epidote:
http://www.webmineral.com/data/Epidote.shtml

Nope, thats not it.

zircon:
http://www.webmineral.com/data/Zircon.shtml
I don't think so.

vesuvianite:
http://www.webmineral.com/data/Vesuvianite.shtml
I don't think so..

Nice tries, I cant find it.

 

[Functional]

Re: Can't figure what this is..

I was basing my two suggestions mainly on the crystal shape, color, then what was mentioned as the possible hardness. Its not always easy to see color and shape on a 2 dimensional computer screen, but based on what appeared to be a hexagonal crystal shape, I went with that. There are only so many hexagonal crystals, if indeed that is the correct shape.

If I had the crystal here, I'd try other things, such as chemical testing, breaking off a small piece to see how opaque it is and how it breaks, what effect heat causes, etc. As was mentioned previously, it has obviously been worn, likely by water, but I can't tell if the outside surface has been cleaned and what effect that would have. From one angle it does seem to have more of a shine to it that seemed to me to be metallic but again, that is based on my view from here.

Thats about the extent of my ability to assay from over the internet. If none of those links above clarifies things, maybe its time for a real assay? Here's a link I posted awhile back to an online eBook on assaying:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18751/18751-h/18751-h.htm

Good luck!

F.

 

[Eu_citzen]

Re: Can't figure what this is..

Yeah it's not easy to ID minerals, there are to many.
http://www.mindat.org/min-6952.html
is about fluororichterite, that does acctually look more like it..
seems worn allright and damaged as well.

 

[Functional]

Re: Can't figure what this is..

Didn't find much information on Fluororichterite apart from the links already mentioned, but there is an item on eBay made from it. It is a sphere 2 inches in diameter, with a "But It Now" price of $24.00. (By the other items this seller has, making spheres from minerals may be a hobby.)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Fluororichterit...oryZ3225QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

There were no completed items listed for this material.

F.

 

[irbaddadjoe]

Re: Can't figure what this is..

Folded Schist?