Twapster
Peter
Paydirt said:
Heaps of Chrysoprase up near Nundle
⭐ Gemstone & Mineral Show n Tell
- Thread starter Colin&Lee
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Heaps of Chrysoprase up near Nundle
Colin&Lee
Colin&Lee
Chrysoprase in Nundle? Thought it was only found in Qld and WA would love to see what sort of quality it is.
Cheers
Col
Cheers
Col
Twapster
Peter
No idea, im assuming prase is the same as Chrysoprase.....we went deep in the hills of Nundle, down a set of some scary non travelled roads and came across a mine. Was told is was a prase mine.
www.mindat.org is a website for those interested in minerals. It's a great resource to look up what you found, or what you're going to be looking for on your next trip.
Their page on Prase explains why there is confusion about Prase http://www.mindat.org/min-6703.html
Chrysoprase is found at Hanging Rock near Nundle: http://www.mindat.org/min-952.html and so is Prase, but that may actually be Chrysoprase.
Chrysoprase is a Chalcedony, Prase should be referring to a Quartz (which is a rock, not a mineral), but anything that has a light, leek green colour is now often referred to as Prase.
It seems that the distinction now is in the colour, not the material. Both are found at Nundle.
Their page on Prase explains why there is confusion about Prase http://www.mindat.org/min-6703.html
Chrysoprase is found at Hanging Rock near Nundle: http://www.mindat.org/min-952.html and so is Prase, but that may actually be Chrysoprase.
Chrysoprase is a Chalcedony, Prase should be referring to a Quartz (which is a rock, not a mineral), but anything that has a light, leek green colour is now often referred to as Prase.
It seems that the distinction now is in the colour, not the material. Both are found at Nundle.
Twapster
Peter
Tks for the info Piep, definitely the area had kind of greenish rocks but its not my forte.
Not to be pedantic...... but quartz is most definitely a mineral. Its quartzite they refer to in the mindat page 
Which is a metamorphosed quartz sandstone.
Which is a metamorphosed quartz sandstone.
Colin&Lee
Colin&Lee
Nundle is now on the to do list
Twapster
Peter
Any pics Nugget? I recall Liz mentioning it as well, now that ive got the stone bug as well im annoyed I didn't inspect the green rocks a little closer, not to mention I paid no attention to anything but gold previously in my highbanker. We moved a lot of dirt and "pink stones" probably got chucked for sure!
In the tablelands in central west NSW I have been detecting old river gravels that are eroding out from under basalt flows (deep leads). In one deep lead high on a ridge I found some zircons and sapphires that are in the gravel. I find them in the odd place where the gravels are exposed. Most of it is covered in tussock grass and there is no water close by.
They are relatively big compared to many of the zircons and sapphires in the more well known spots in the area and some of the bigger ones go 40 ct but are fractured. There are some good quality ones but they are small and usually around 4-8 ct. Anyway in the image below the big dark one in the top centre is a sapphire. It is 30ct and has some light getting through it however I have never take photographs of gems and the image is not great.
I hope to research on heat treating the stones and work out if any of the bigger ones can be improved and if the blood red ones can be lightened up because they don't let enough light through. I got two champagne ones cut that my wife has in a ring and pendant that I will post them soon when I get some decent images of them. Unfortunately I found an expensive person to cut them. The clear zircons and smaller red ones from the area are often free from obvious flaws. I have a cup full of them that I have got from the spot and will sort through them soon and consider sending off to the overseas cutters that I found out about on this forum.
Cheers Reddirtdigger
They are relatively big compared to many of the zircons and sapphires in the more well known spots in the area and some of the bigger ones go 40 ct but are fractured. There are some good quality ones but they are small and usually around 4-8 ct. Anyway in the image below the big dark one in the top centre is a sapphire. It is 30ct and has some light getting through it however I have never take photographs of gems and the image is not great.
I hope to research on heat treating the stones and work out if any of the bigger ones can be improved and if the blood red ones can be lightened up because they don't let enough light through. I got two champagne ones cut that my wife has in a ring and pendant that I will post them soon when I get some decent images of them. Unfortunately I found an expensive person to cut them. The clear zircons and smaller red ones from the area are often free from obvious flaws. I have a cup full of them that I have got from the spot and will sort through them soon and consider sending off to the overseas cutters that I found out about on this forum.
Cheers Reddirtdigger
Twapster
Peter
Excellent finds RD, would love to find a spot like that.
Yes, you are right (to be pedantic ;-) )shivan said:Not to be pedantic...... but quartz is most definitely a mineral. Its quartzite they refer to in the mindat page
Nice photo RDD, looks like you have a pretty good spot. Those Zircons are quite a nice size, pity the big Sapph isn't clear. Did you spec these or sieve for them? Some deep leads with gems can hold huge amounts of them, good luck and hope you get plenty more.
The red Zircons I think are the most sought after. Nothing wrong with 4-8ct quality Sapphs either.......... 8)
The red Zircons I think are the most sought after. Nothing wrong with 4-8ct quality Sapphs either.......... 8)
Heatho said:
Hi Heatho, I am specking the zircons on bare ground although most ground is covered in grass. One day a fire will go through it and I will be there for a week. The spot is strange and there are only are few little slopes where most of the river gravel has eroded away and concentrated the zircons. Where the river gravels are thick you would spend ages looking just to find one.
Greg & Nat, in regard to the clear ones, once you get your eye in on the particular lustre they have and the type of surface pitting they get when weathered they stand out even though there is water worn quartz everywhere.
cheers RDD
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Yep, it's all about training your eye to recognise the features that are particular to certain things that indicate that a pebble is a gemstone. Even though I really should be wearing weak glasses (and probably will be before long) the time spent as a kid going over mullock heaps and picking out little sapphires, zircons and spinels conditioned my eyes. A mate and I were going through a heap of wash the other week - I picked them out one after another (mostly small but a couple of good ones) while my mate struggled to spot them in front of his face, even though his is qualified as a geologist.
Sapphires and zircons have a lustre that is pretty unmistakable - especially when the stones are wet - while black spinel will show a highly reflective surface if it is chipped but the smooth surfaces also have a kind of matt-black "texture" to them which makes them stand out.
A fire then some rain and they will hopefully appear everywhere for you. Best of luck with the spot.
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