Tourmaline in highbanker

[AtomRat]

Just wondering if anyone knows what's in relation with Tourmaline or if anyone else finds it in their heavies.

Similar in appearance to spinel. I find a lot of it

 

[Jukebox]

I pulled out loads of black tourmaline up north in Glen Innes - didn't keep it though

 

[silver]

I don't know anything about it,... but found a few different sites.
Has pyro electric properties too(wow)
http://geology.com/gemstones/states/maine.shtml
http://www.galleries.com/Tourmaline_Group
http://www.mindat.org/min-4003.html
http://www.minerals.net/mineral/tourmaline.aspx
http://crystal-cure.com/article-tourmaline.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourmaline
always nice to have a variety of views and information.

 

[Kingsolomon]

If you can get a bigger piece it cuts quite nice

 

[shivan]

What the biggest bit you have found AR?
Any chance of a close up of one if big enough?

 

[AtomRat]

Ill breifly explain why I'm asking. Tourmaline sticks out as the big rock in my heavies in a few creeks here. One of the creek has what looks like 'grease traps' which look like the ones used for diamonds. I want to know what they were getting with the grease trays. Where they are dumped is a big deep hole in the creek. I don't know if this has to do with the trays.

Yep sure shivan. I'm pretty sure its tourmaline though it fools me. Mabey you blokes can help..but my camera.. ( new lens coming soon ) ill see what I can do.

Cheers Jukebox - that's very interesting to me. There's still many unanswered questions I have for my area and trying to figure out exactly what was being mined here apart from the gold.

Silver - tourmaline has a static kind of electrical property and usually ends up attracking all of your house dust so you have to wash them a bit. A melbourne uni team recently invented a tourmaline phone charge case which works by the static buildup as the phone moves about in your pocket as you walk!!

Thanks kingsolomon - havnt seen it cut yet. I'm really starting to think what I'm about to post isn't tourmaline now.

 

[AtomRat]

I've also got tourmaline sharp long crystals in white quarts but can't find them. I also have another which is a bit rare and unknown black fibre growing out from the centre of clear quartz..another day...

 

[AtomRat]

 

[AtomRat]

It has a *slight* tigerseye feature to it which glitters. But acts just like tigerseye but only on certain very thin hairline 'strands' which run longways with the shape.

It seems to have a waxy looking crust but isn't waxy to touch and feels more like a soft quartz crystal rather than like a slippery piece of carnelion.

It has small 'dimples' which I see on quartz masses or blobs more like it is the word where it seems many square / rectangle crystals once lay or something dissolved away as the silica stayed. Along side these larger dimples are small pits over the rock.

The bigger rocks seem to fracture easily and most have cracks through them, just holding in place. The top and bottom edges are rather wobbly and messy compared to its straight sides. On certain angles the facets sparkle clearly

I thought I was conchoidal fracture but coukd be a one direction plane of cleavage. I'm not positive on this though still learning cleavage.

A while ago I filed the bottom a little to see what it looked like inside. It looks porous inside but this mightve just been from the file and will need to put one onto the lap to see what it really looks like.

Don't have a s.g yet

You can see all the bigger ones on certain angles all seem to have a barrel shape like corundum in a way

 

[Heatho]

The big bit certainly looks like Tourmaline to me with the striations. Smaller bits look like Spinel but are probably water worn Tourmaline if they are from the same spot. Few nice pieces there AR.

 

[shivan]

Cheers AR, looks like there are some decent size bits around. Are any of them translucent or all opaque?
Saw some really nice tourmaline at a gem show a few weeks ago. It was dark but translucent and looked great cut.

 

[Heatho]

Cheers AR, looks like there are some decent size bits around. Are any of them translucent or all opaque?
Saw some really nice tourmaline at a gem show a few weeks ago. It was dark but translucent and looked great cut.

Barney bought some Tourmaline a few months back and it's some really beautiful looking stuff, he has cut quite a few pieces and it looks amazing faceted. Mosty Green, Pink and Peachy sort of colours.

 

[AtomRat]

No signs whatsoever of the nice tourmaline your talking about but i know what you mean. I put a torch under it and some glow browny orange but very small

The majority of the small stuff looks like spinel, but after finding the bigger bits I'd say they are tourmaline. This location is miles from the place I'm trying to dig sapphire - which had no signs of spinel even. This place is all mumbled n jumbled..

I'd love that green and pink tourmaline but I'd have no clue if we have it here..even in aus?

 

[silver]

Y'know,... to me it looks like petrified wood on the outside(only black),... just the way it is worn maybe,.... just reminds me a bit of some of the water worn petrified wood I've seen over time.