What kind of minerals?

[DigEmAll]

Anyone know what these colors indicate? Also if you know anything about nugget hunting, please read my post in the Nugget Hunting forum.

 

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[beeper]

not a geologist, but isn't blue green copper ore?

 

[omnicognic]

It kinda looks like Azurite and malachite but minerals aren't my field. I'm not sure how they relate to nuggets, sorry but here is an example of these two minerals together:

 

[Wetgreenie]

You might be on to something there. I was thinking Peacock ore but it's a bit different.

 

[ClamBob]

I've seen the green many times embedded in quartz. This was while looking for gold (although unsuccessfully) in an area of Maryland known to have several gold mines. I don't know what the minerals are, but when you are looking through quartz it is always nice to see something other than white.

Good Luck and HH,
BobJ

 

[GabbyGEP]

I am in agreement with Omni. These are azurite and malachite. Both are copper minerals and may be associated with other copper minerals or native copper deposits. Hope this helps some.
Good luck and HH.

GabbyGEP(Gaylord)

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Could it be turquoise? Does it not come from the Southwest?

 

[bakergeol]

Well it is always difficult to ID minerals from photos. No one here is incorrect as they are copper minerals. Azurite and malachite are copper carbonates while turquoise is an hydrous copper aluminium phosphate.As turquoise is the official gemstone of Arizona- certainly not far fetched as an ID. Turquoise occurs in green to blue specimens(Actually this would be my guess)

Do a couple of simple tests for hardness and streak to distinguish the two

Azurite and Malachite are soft with a hardness of 3.5-4 with a light blue streak for azurite and lt green streak for malachite(For a streak test streak or rub on porcelain- back of toilet eg.). Harder minerals do not produce a colored streak.

Turquoise is harder 5-6 and it's streak is white(may have spots)

Hardness of common items copper penny 3.5 glass 5.5 steel knife 6.5(For example if it scratches glass it would have a hardness greater than 5.5 so it would be torquoise)

So do some detective work and report back
George

 

[DigEmAll]

Ok, I did the streak test on the back of a piece of tile. It is the azurite and malachite. Now, anyone know how this would relate to the gold mine from which it was pulled? Maybe the copper nugget was from this area after all! I really, really doubt that he was mining copper though. That would mean that he had to smelt it, and then haul it off the side of a mountain and then haul it at least ten miles to town. The price of copper really wouln't have justified the extreme effort. But gold or silver on the other hand! These finds are really right in the middle of a very rich area. Copper mine 10 miles away, gold mine 12 miles away, silver mine 20 miles away in the other dirrection, and these are the commercial mines!

 

[DigEmAll]

Opps... stupid double post.

 

[DigEmAll]

Had a request for the copper nugget picture, so here it is!

Enjoy

 

[AzSports]

Look for more!

Azurite and Malachite can be valuable, particularlly larger specimens that seem to grow in a geode type thing.

I have a very nice piece of Quartz with Gold in it, and with the Azurite and Malachite growing all around it. The Quartz and Gold are just the particular rock in the area when the conditions were right for the crystals to form. I suppose Copper in some form must be around.

I don't believe there to be a geological connection but, digging deep in an area for Gold may just turn up such things coincidently.

 

[DigEmAll]

Yeah, the prospector didn't seem to place a lot of value on the azurite and malachite. He just piled them off to the side. I guess I really need to hike up there and do some shoveling. I gotta hike back up there anyway... left something there. I can safely assure you that it will still be there when I get back! How about a pick of your rock?

 

[AzSports]

Sad story , really. I didn't find it, but this was the size of a football, then broken up to split up for Grandkids.

These were the tossed aside remainders.

 

[AzSports]

tops

 

[AzSports]

Quartz side, large one is a little bigger than a softball.

 

[DigEmAll]

Wow, those are nice... wish I could find one with the big quartz crystals like that.