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minerals

  • Thread starter Nepfreak
  • Start date

Nepfreak

Nepenthesian
Anybody else into rocks and minerals? Here are a few of mine.
Vanadinite:
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Galena and sphalerite:
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Pyrite cubes on limestone, just came in today!
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twinned crystals
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As you know, I used to be an insanely addicted mineral enthusiast. I still have all of them...somewhere. I have a feeling the interest will be shortly rekindled.

You probably already know this, but be careful with your sister/dogs, because galena and vanadinite both contain lead. You wouldn't want to lick them, and we all know how tempting it is to lick beuatiful rocks. :)
 
Beautiful. I'm not a "rock hound" by any means, but geology is a very fascinating science. Since it is PAKs birthday, I think you should send her some of those specimens as a gift! :-O

xvart.
 
Oh yeah! Reminds me of my uncle's rock collection when I was a kid. He had a house full of plants and terrariums and one room with shelves and shelves of rock specimens. As a kid my favorite was the natural salt log that was shaped like Garfield the Cat's arm & hand. I always had to lick it whenever I was visiting and he would show me the collection. :)
 
Those are nice. Do you go to the big rock & mineral show at the Big E in August?
 
Oh yeah, I went to it w/ Nepenthusiast for 2 years, missed it this year. Lots of great minerals for sale & display. At the very end I remember we found one guy who was selling everything for a dollar, but I had already spent all my money! Isn't the connecticut river valley rock & mineral show in March this year? I used to live in one of the West Hartford suburbs so I'm familiar with the area. I'll try not to lick my galena, Nepenthusiast. I wonder though, is it still poisonous when bonded with some other element? Galena if I remember correctly is lead oxide or lead sulfide.
 
It's still toxic in those forms and Pb doesn't roam around in its pure form. People suffering from lead exposure have generally been exposed to one of the compounds. The organic forms are the worst.

Rock & mineral shows are scattered through the year, but none hold a candle to that one in August. I'm amazed at the things with $50,000 price tags. It's like a museum where every exhibit has a price.
 
Hey Nepfreak! Nice Rocks you have there - very shiny. :) I myself have a few hundred pounds of pretty minerals and fossils in my closet. If you ever feel like discussing it, I'll be glad to talk rocks with you and even get some pics.

Jimmy
 
In our old neighborhood there was this guy who collected all kinds of cool rocks and minerals. My brother would always go over to his house and beg him for rocks. He kept on asking the guy where he could find diamonds, probably thinking he could get rich. I think my brother had a little bit of that vanadinite. It was cool looking. That pyrite and twinned crystals are awesome!
 
  • #10
DID SOMEONE SAY MINERALS??!!!! :-D

Where did all these rockhounds come from? YAY!

Those are NICE specimens! Nice photos too. Photographing minerals ain't no picnic.

Is the pyrite from Navajun?

I have a number of vanadanite specimens. It's a nice mineral. I also like wulfenite, particularly when it's combined with mimetite.

Jimmy...how can you have your rocks in a closet? Get 'em out and look at 'em! :D

This past weekend was my rock club's annual Rock Swap. It's one of the best club swaps in the mid Atlantic. Since it's always on or around my birthday I give myself permission to spend some money. hehe I've been pretty good not buying any rocks for a long time so I kinda let myself go... I had a guy make me a deal I couldn't turn down.

I got a large plate of De'an Chinese fluorite, a plate of green Chinese fluorite and a gigantic plate of dogtooth calcite which even my non-rock-loving friends had to admit was cool. That thing turned out to be so heavy I could barely get it into the house. I got a piece of Connecticut fluorite, nice cube of Ohio rootbeer flourite, some nice Rogerly fluorites, a red beryl, large hunk o' Colorado amazonite crystals, a fluorite book, an Anabel Lee fluorite with calcite, an English fluorite from a location I didn't have. Ummm...did I mention I love fluorite? :D

It is a good thing that is the last local rock event for this year. Since I've been sick, I've entertained myself with my new acquisitions.

If anyone has any fluorite they'd like to sell...I know a where they'd get a good home. :rolleyes:

Recently I discovered an area in a park that I'm exploring that looks like pegmatite material in the creek and other spots...mica, feldspar and smokey quartz. I found an awesome feldspar crystal. Unfortunately between injuries and being sick, I didn't get to finish exploring the creekbed before rain began to fill it. Interestingly, I've seen four big holes dug at the park...and I have a feeling they were dug by someone who's noticed what I noticed. I hope to get there this weekend to poke around some more.

I'll try to get some pics of my new acquistions and post 'em.
 
  • #11
Yeah, taking pics of minerals was WAY harder than I thought it would be. yes, the pyrite is from Mina Victoria, Navajun La roja, Spain. IIRC there are some huge pyrite flats there. Do you know any sites that show pictures of crystals and minerals in situ? I actually have 3 specimens of wulfenite coming in the mail, 2 are yellow cubes with mimetite, the other is red hexagonal plates. I'll post pics once they come in. I'm glad you got yourself some good specimens on your Bday! Fluorite's cool, I love when it forms perfect stairstepped purple cubes, and of course the fluorescent kinds are awesome. Calcite is another great mineral, so many beautiful specimens out there. I also really like barite and how it forms those hexagonal plates that crisscross eachother and just grow chaotically all over the matrix. I've been poking around the internet and this hobby is SO much more widespread than CPs. I've yet to find a forum that's anywhere near as good as this one though. It's a big world.
 
  • #12
I have MANY crappy mineral photos to prove how hard it is to photograph minerals. lol

About 6 months ago I finally acquired a microscope. Micro specimens are interesting as well. You'd be blown away to see some specimens under the scope. I'll never be a big micro collector but it is pretty cool. I like the radioactives.

I have a whole flat of windowpane wulfenite. Beautiful stuff but I discovered very hard to ship. I bought it to sell but not sure now if I can since it's so fragile.

Fluorite is fantastic...such a variety of shapes, colors and locations. AND it's often fluorescent and sometimes phosphorescent. Then there is chlorophane which phosphoresces when heated.

Calcite is cool too...my favorite form being the dogtooth calcite.

I also like wire silver...quartz...well...not much I don't like which is the problem. lol

Are you familiar with http://www.mindat.org? Now there's a world to play in. :D You can look up different minerals, locations, mines, etc....tons of great photos. There is also a discussion forum there.

One of our club members just got back from living in Spain for a year and a half. He collected fluorite from Asturias and pyrites from Navajun and lots of other stuff. He's back in the U.S. now and brought back 20 boxes of specimens! I'm envious!


hehe...nerdy rock talk. I love it. :rookwoot:
 
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  • #14
Hey, PAK!

First off, Happy B-day!

Do you have any samples of willemite and calcite from Franklin, NJ? It has the most brilliant fluorescence under shortwave UV light! I also have some fluorite samples from Bingham, NM. I can't find any of the deep blue, nice, cubic crystals, just some colorless samples...I'll have to look around to see if I still have the blue ones. I'll try to find them and see what I can do for you. After all, it is your birthday!
 
  • #15
Shaddap JC. lol

Jimmy...thank you!

I have a fair amount of the calcite/willemite/franklinite from NJ. I have longwave UV but I'm longing for a shortwave. I have a nice fluorescent display but I can't check for shortwave fluorescence.

University of Richmond has a mineral museum and they have an entire room full of fluorescents...and the light cycles from incandescent to longwave to shortwave. It's absolutely amazing! A whole room of bright greens and yellows and orange and red and blue...

I do have several specimens of Bingham blue including a fantastic piece of waterclear blue and zoned cubes. While I'll never turn down a piece of fluorite, you don't have to send me your fluorite. I'd hate to take something from anyone if I already have it. BTW...if you find yours, you might want to check it. Some pieces of the blue have daylight fluorescence similar to Rogerly fluorite only the color-change is to purple.

Now...if anyone has a piece of pink octohedral Swiss fluorite.... *sigh*...my Holy Grail...
 
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  • #16
my favorite is the gem quality Aluminium Oxide, however ive only been able to collect it in gravel deposits and have yet to get one in matrix cause all the mines in the state are privately owned:

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also have alot of petrified wood, garnets from the Ruby mountains and Montana moss agates.......cut precious and semi precious stones aswell......not much in the way of specimens as of right now......
 
  • #17
Those are awesome. :) I love mine. What a beautiful range of colors.
 
  • #19
ive still got to get some from the Yogo mine.....those are pretty uniformly cornflower blue......those pictured above(the bottom pic is what i sent you) are from the Phillipsburg mine and can be about any color but red.......also need to get some from the Spokane Bar deposit by Helena
 
  • #20
I think I PMed you not too long ago about our club member who went to one of the sapphire dig spots on his annual rockhounding trip to Mount Antero. He didn't get to dig but he posted some photos of the area.

He was saying how people send those off to be cut in China and then sell them here for big bucks.
 
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