Natual Glass found in texas sand quarry

[zoienluv]

Make a long story short My son works at a sand quarry they produce frac sand used for natural gas wells... Anywho he found quite a big sheet of natural glass in their pit here is a few pieces of it .

 

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[creskol]

Now That's Neat! ... Something you don't see too often ... Thanks for sharing!

 

[Peyton Manning]

that the kind produced by lightning?

 

[surf]

Hey Zoie,

Very cool finds. More photos with a ruler, please, if you could.

I'm with jeff-gordon on wanting to know what caused this. Please make a not-so-long story, longer. Are those crystals? How often do they run into this?

​

 

[zoienluv]

Hey Zoie,

Very cool finds. More photos with a ruler, please, if you could.

I'm with jeff-gordon on wanting to know what caused this. Please make a not-so-long story, longer. Are those crystals? How often do they run into this?

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=846083"/>

My son works at a sand quarry here in Texas an they mine the sand which is used for frac sand used on oil an natural gas wells. So they as they were diggin in the pit my son happen to see a sheet of what looked like glass it was almost 2 foot wide an about 1 foot long the thickness is only like an 8th of an inch. Not sure what caused it it was buried in the sand the pit is about 40 foot deep if not more . But when he picked it up it shattered leavin us with just pieces. I've looked all over the Internet tryin to find more on it but can't I do know this the sand that they mine contains a mineral called silica. This sand can't be used as children's play sand for that reason I will see what else I can find .

 

[zoienluv]

Now That's Neat! ... Something you don't see too often ... Thanks for sharing!

Thanks an no it's actually the first time I've ever seen any still tryin to find more info on it but can't seem to locate much

 

[zoienluv]

that the kind produced by lightning?

Not sure it was buried over 40 foot deep in a sand pit that is bein mined for the sand

 

[DanKnug]

It appears to be gypsum. Try to scratch it with your fingernail - if you can, that's probably what it is. Another possibility is calcite. If it can't be scratched with a fingernail, try a penny. If the penny scratches it, then it could be calcite.

 

[zoienluv]

It appears to be gypsum. Try to scratch it with your fingernail - if you can, that's probably what it is. Another possibility is calcite. If it can't be scratched with a fingernail, try a penny. If the penny scratches it, then it could be calcite.

Yes u can scratch it with ur fingernail (gave me goose bumps its like that fingernail down chalk board thing) an Thank u I appreciate u helpin me now I at least know what to look for on the Internet to find more info

 

[gleaner1]

Looks like serelite

 

[zoienluv]

Well thanks all for the help in pointin me in the right direction of where i needed to look.... But i had the answer all along an i even mentioned it in my post.... It is Silica which has formed into crystals.
"Silicon dioxide, also known as silica (from the Latin silex), is a chemical compound that is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula SiO2. It has been known since ancient times. Silica is most commonly found in nature as sand or quartz, as well as in the cell walls of diatoms (frustule).[2]Silica is manufactured in several forms including fused quartz, crystal, fumed silica (or pyrogenic silica), colloidal silica, silica gel, and aerogel. When silicon dioxide SiO2 is cooled rapidly enough, it does not crystallize but solidifies as a glass. The glass transition temperature of pure SiO2 is about 1475 K.[28] Like most of the crystalline polymorphs the local atomic structure in pure silica glass is regular tetrahedra of oxygen atoms around silicon atoms. Inhaling finely divided crystalline silica dust in very small quantities (OSHA allows 0.1 mg/m3) over time can lead to silicosis, bronchitis, or cancer, as the dust becomes lodged in the lungs and continuously irritates them, reducing lung capacities.[36] (In the body crystalline silica particles do not dissolve over clinically relevant periods of time.) Silica crystals can activate the NLRP3 inflammasome inside macrophages and dendritic cells and thereby result in processing of pro-Interleukin 1 beta into its mature form. Chronic exposure to silica may thereby account for some of its health hazards, as interleukin-1 is a highly pro-inflammatory cytokine in the immune system.[37][38][39] This effect can create an occupational hazard for people working with sandblasting equipment, products that contain powdered crystalline silica and so on. Children, asthmatics of any age, allergy sufferers, and the elderly (all of whom have reduced lung capacity) can be affected in much less time. Amorphous silica, such as fumed silica is not associated with development of silicosis, but may cause irreversible lung damage in some cases.[40] Laws restricting silica exposure with respect to the silicosis hazard specify that they are concerned only with silica that is both crystalline and dust-forming. Hydraulic Fracturing: The drilling technique for natural gas also known as fracing use "frac sand". The rounded silica sand is used as a "proppant" a material that holds the cracks open that is caused by the hydraulic fracturing process. "
Which is what the sand quarry that these crystals were found at does they mine the sand for fracing.

 

[huntsman53]

Yes, what you have is a form of silicate but your's is actually called Moonstone! This is clearly evident from pics #8 and #9 of the last pictures you posted. I was somewhat tetering on a Whitish Topaz until I saw those two pics. I believe that due to the translucent qualities of good specimens, they were used by the Vikings and other ancient Mariners to determine the position of the Sun and sometimes the Moon on overcast days for navigating. I have many specimens of Moonstone but they are fairly small but good for making cabochons.


Frank

 

[Sawyer]

I once read an article about a man who placed steel rods in the sand on a beach or in the desert(cannot remember which)when storms were approaching. If he got lucky a bolt of lightning would strike on of the rods and he would then recover some beautiful glass-like pieces of random shape and size art created from the intense heat. If I can find it I will upload and share with anyone interested.

 

[JimmeyC]

I once read an article about a man who placed steel rods in the sand on a beach or in the desert(cannot remember which)when storms were approaching. If he got lucky a bolt of lightning would strike on of the rods and he would then recover some beautiful glass-like pieces of random shape and size art created from the intense heat. If I can find it I will upload and share with anyone interested.

I believe it was in the movie Sweet Home Alabama.

 

[zoienluv]

yes it was sweet home alabama lol i watched it like 2 days da~ja~vu

 

[mamabear]

Those are nice pieces. I have found quartz crystals at Ron Coleman mines that grew in flat sheets. Even though they are less popular to collect, it is one of my favorites because they are so unusual. Those are nice pieces
We found "glass" at the site of a lightning strike in our yard. It melted the soil, (mostly sand) & made a piece about 12" x14" when it hit it was quite an explosion.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Thats Really Cool!...Is that in West Texas? I went down to Sanderson Texas a few months ago, and found a cave that was Covered in some sort of "soft quartz" looking stuff..Sorry for my ignorance, i dont know my rocks very well. But those look like some good pieces. YOu should post this in the "ROCKS" section

 

[Plumbata]

The pieces are most likely Gypsum, or possibly Calcite, as DanKnug suggested. Considering how you can scratch it with your fingernail, it is almost certainly Gypsum. It occurs in several forms with different names, but the clear/translucent masses like the ones your son discovered, or clear slender needle-like crystals of hydrated calcium sulfate (Gypsum), are often referred to as "Selenite". If you scrape an example and collect a bit of powder to mix with vinegar, not much should happen if it is Gypsum, though if it is Calcite it will react and visibly bubble.

Crystalline gypsum can form in many sedimentary environments in a "geologically" short period of time. I've collected rosettes in Miocene deposits of compressed sand and clay, with fossilized shark teeth coming from the same area. Since the material you have came from a sand mine (sedimentary deposit) it is highly unlikely that it is quartz or another silicate mineral, as it would be very unlikely that a layer of quartz/glass/fused silica could form between undisturbed layers of "loose" sand, as far as I understand. If one is not too familiar with minerals though, it would certainly make sense that a similar-looking rock is made of the same stuff as the sand above and below.

The core fact here is that a fingernail can scratch the mineral, implying that it has a Moh's hardness of less than 3/10. The hardness of a fingernail is around 2.5-3/10, Gypsum is 2/10, Calcite is 3/10, Iron is around 5/10 I think, and Quartz/SiO2 has a Moh's hardness of 7/10, which clearly rules it out.

Anyway, those are nice specimens, it is great that your son thought they were interesting and saved them!

 

[zoienluv]

Thats Really Cool!...Is that in West Texas? I went down to Sanderson Texas a few months ago, and found a cave that was Covered in some sort of "soft quartz" looking stuff..Sorry for my ignorance, i dont know my rocks very well. But those look like some good pieces. YOu should post this in the "ROCKS" section

Thanks i think its cool also. It was found in Granbury Texas about 40 mins southwest of Fort Worth.

 

[zoienluv]

The pieces are most likely Gypsum, or possibly Calcite, as DanKnug suggested. Considering how you can scratch it with your fingernail, it is almost certainly Gypsum. It occurs in several forms with different names, but the clear/translucent masses like the ones your son discovered, or clear slender needle-like crystals of hydrated calcium sulfate (Gypsum), are often referred to as "Selenite". If you scrape an example and collect a bit of powder to mix with vinegar, not much should happen if it is Gypsum, though if it is Calcite it will react and visibly bubble.

Crystalline gypsum can form in many sedimentary environments in a "geologically" short period of time. I've collected rosettes in Miocene deposits of compressed sand and clay, with fossilized shark teeth coming from the same area. Since the material you have came from a sand mine (sedimentary deposit) it is highly unlikely that it is quartz or another silicate mineral, as it would be very unlikely that a layer of quartz/glass/fused silica could form between undisturbed layers of "loose" sand, as far as I understand. If one is not too familiar with minerals though, it would certainly make sense that a similar-looking rock is made of the same stuff as the sand above and below.

The core fact here is that a fingernail can scratch the mineral, implying that it has a Moh's hardness of less than 3/10. The hardness of a fingernail is around 2.5-3/10, Gypsum is 2/10, Calcite is 3/10, Iron is around 5/10 I think, and Quartz/SiO2 has a Moh's hardness of 7/10, which clearly rules it out.

Anyway, those are nice specimens, it is great that your son thought they were interesting and saved them!

Thanks I looked up all three items gypsum an calcite an silica the way I understood gypsum has a flexible intensity.. But I'm no rock expert. I as well thought it was gypsum until I read all three articles. They have a geologist that comes once a month to the plant so my son is goin to have them check it an see what it is... Don't take me wrong I'm not sayin ur not right because every thing u said makes sense an has similarities the same. So as soon as I can find out what it is I will post it.. An I greatly appreciate the comments it made me explore things I had no clue about an I've learned a lot of new things. Happy Huntin