❓Your Mineral Identification Questions answered here

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LoneWolf said:
If you have a read through goldierocks excellent thread titled ' Series on identifying Minerals' it may be of some help.... An SG test will be one of the best tests you can do besides a 'scratch' test which you have already done (scratches Glass) .... Both of these methods will determine in most cases what it is...

LW....
Thanks. It is easy to find quartz, which is harder than glass, so scratch quartz and it gives even better hardness identification for things like spinel
 
1564639867_resized_20190731_205622_4433.jpg


Hey, not sure if I am doing this correctly but could anyone help me identify this? Thanks in advance
 
Wow, that looks beautiful. No idea what it is sorry, but the colors and pattern are cool
 
Attractive - perhaps black chert (depends how hard it is) with a vein running through it of at least two minerals, the latest being quartz?
 
Thanks Ray,
Picked it up at the local thrift shop for $10, it's the size of my phone so I like grabbing that every now and then to get away from technology :)

Thanks Goldie Rocks!! :)
 
Even good quality, in-focus and well-lighted photos, with some macros, are inadequate for featureless material like this (answer "a brown rock"). I suggest for beginners that as well as taking time for good photography, they go to ' Series on identifying Minerals' and try and identify a few other properties.

The only thing that I can see in the photos is that of its sub-conchoidal fracture, which would be consistent with chert of a different colour.

It is hard enough when one is holding it in your hand :)
 
put a small torch behind the stone and move it around it, there may be some translucency showing on the edges. I pick up rocks that appeal to me and take em home to study. Consequently I have a lot of junk. I like shiny rocks a lot and have fun dressing and polishing them

ray :lol: :brokenh: :lol: :brokenh: :100:
 
Gilly47 said:
I like shiny rocks a lot and have fun dressing and polishing them

ray :lol: :brokenh: :lol: :brokenh: :100:

And What do you Dress them in Ray?.... :lol: :lol: :lol: :playful:

and yes, that's Chert, I have heaps of the same.... :D

LW.... :koala:
 
If I'm not mistaken you've got an old Aboriginal adze there Jlootz.

They'd cement it into the end of the handle of their woomera, or a length of root with resin from the grass tree (Xantorrhoae), and use it to hollow out coolamons, or shape their boomerangs.

Anything we'd use a chisel for - they'd use their adze.
 
Heavy? Could be a Galena type ore... Galena is VERY Heavy...

Your Example has more than 1 Mineral in it... Pyrite will give you your Gold look.... or could even contain Gold...
If you look here, and scroll down, you will see over 25 Minerals are found in the area... A lot fall into the Silver/Galena/Siderite families...

https://www.mindat.org/loc-195101.html

LW....
 
It will not be silver or tin, and I doubt it is galena, but the photo is not detailed enough and colours do not reproduce well (a number of minerals - nothing looks very golden to me). You need to photograph them individually (and from diferent directions) and determine colour, hardness and streak separately.
 
LoneWolf said:
Heavy? Could be a Galena type ore... Galena is VERY Heavy...

Your Example has more than 1 Mineral in it... Pyrite will give you your Gold look.... or could even contain Gold...
If you look here, and scroll down, you will see over 25 Minerals are found in the area... A lot fall into the Silver/Galena/Siderite families...

https://www.mindat.org/loc-195101.html

LW....

Many thanks LW. Tried to upload other samples. But photos to large But looking at the website. Very helpful. Pyrite. most likely It came from a old mine at Stawell , which leads to more questions. When a mine hits the water table deep the gold is still in a solution with in the pyrite. Hope thats correct
 

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