"Mining" and WHAT are these??

[somethingshiny]

Over the weekend, we took our little boy "mining." He found lots of interesting minerals and perhaps a gem or two. Unfortunately, I don''t know enough about gemstone rough to know what if anything we have. I''m posting some pics for fun, but if you know what we have, PLEASE let me know.

The first is the "mining" process.

 

[somethingshiny]

Sorry, I can''t post more than one pic at a time......I know.....I suck!!

This is his collection..

 

[somethingshiny]

Quartz of assorted colors...Is the purple amethyst??

 

[somethingshiny]

sorry for the lack of pic on that last one!!

 

[somethingshiny]

I have no idea what these are but they''re interesting.

 

[somethingshiny]

There''s gold in them thar hills!! JT thought this pyrite was his "BIG treasure!!"

 

[somethingshiny]

His "diamond"

 

[somethingshiny]

I think this is tourmaline.

 

[somethingshiny]

Obsidian arrowhead. JT''s favorite by far!!

 

[somethingshiny]

This is one that I was wondering about. Is it amethyst??

 

[somethingshiny]

This one is the other I''m wondering about. JT left it behind but because it was sparkly, I snagged it.

The pic is true to color and it''s very clear. Probably a piece of glass..

But, I had to post it in case a PSer tells me I have a treasure!

 

[somethingshiny]

The last one. Some weird but pretty rock. I want to wrap a silver wire around it and make a pendant or something.



I have successfully made my child a treasure hunter!



Thanks for looking!!

 

[T L]

Looks like mostly quartz specimens and maybe some fluorite as well. That last one is an agate for sure, but I forgot the variety name. I saw some of that material polished up at the last gem show I was at. Very fun piece!! When I was a child, I used to collect rocks, and I was always hoping to find the emerald in the host rock like I saw in my gem books (I had gem books as a kid, yes, I know

)

How fun to do with your kids. I would love to do that with mine one of these days. He sure collected a lot of little goodies there!!

Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz to answer one of your question above.

 

[ma re]

Date: 9/8/2009 5:29:30 PM
Author: somethingshiny
I have no idea what these are but they''re interesting.

The one in the middle is definately an agate.

 

[ma re]

Date: 9/8/2009 5:37:34 PM
Author: somethingshiny
I think this is tourmaline.

I don''t - looks like labradorite to me (but I suck at rough ID so...).

 

[ma re]

Date: 9/8/2009 5:42:47 PM
Author: somethingshiny
The last one. Some weird but pretty rock. I want to wrap a silver wire around it and make a pendant or something.

Jasper of some sort.

 

[Meher Thakker]

My opinion for the roughs ..starting from the first pic

pink : rose quartz
white : quartz
blue : aqua/quartz
purple : amethyst
green : agate

second pic
all look like agates

the one you refered tourmaline is a labradorite

the red one does''nt really look like glass somehow..looks more like a harder material..maybe could be a garnet..have to see the flaws to understand it well

the last one is an agate..

Meher

 

[chrono]

A lot of them look like quartz with the exception of 1 obsidian and agate, I think. Looks like everyone had a fun time. I don’t think the one you thought as a tourmaline is one. The structure and colour doesn’t seem right

 

[somethingshiny]

Thanks for the IDs!! Labradorite sounds like a probability when I read about the structure. One of the people there told me he thought it was tourmaline so I went with it.

The red one is DEFINITELY harder than glass but like I said, I don''t know enough to even know WHAT to look for in IDing it.

It really was a lot of fun. Even though we don''t have any REAL treasures, I''d do it again. I can''t believe how much I''m taken with that little agate!

 

[PrecisionGem]

the green stone in the first close up picture is Aventurine.

 

[somethingshiny]

Date: 9/9/2009 12:10:02 PM
Author: PrecisionGem
the green stone in the first close up picture is Aventurine.

How can you tell the difference between green quartz and Aventurine??

 

[mastercutgems]

Hi Somethingshiny;

Aventurine is a member of the quartz family; it is made up of tiny packed crystals usually mica which is rich in chrome called fuchsite reflecting that color which makes it look green. But in all reality it is still part of the quartz family; as quartz can have as many as 40 plus mineral inclusions that can cause it to take on different colors.

I know many question sluice mines as it sometimes can be a little on the scam side; but it is a good way for kids to get an interest in geology and minerals.
It looks like you have a wide variety of minerals, like pink quartz/rose quartz, poppy jasper, agates, amethyst, purple/pink rhodolite or pyrope garnet. etc. Some you would have to clean up and polish a little better to get the right name on it; but when I was President of our gem and mineral club we built a sluice and did it for a dollar each and made sure they got their money''s worth as it was for education and it is surprising how many still love their rocks

I guess many of us on here are just big kids that still love their rocks; they just take on a different look than the ones you pick up off the ground...

It may be a good idea to buy a good mineral book with lots of colored pictures and see which you can identify; fun for the child and the grown-up can learn a few things also...
Keep them interested in those rocks; then they can grow up to be like us

 

[T L]

Date: 9/10/2009 10:17:02 AM
Author: mastercutgems
then they can grow up to be like us

Yes, just don''t introduce your kids to ebay and LOGR''s. Well, at least he''s a boy, so you have that to your advantage. I started out just like your son, and look where it''s gotten me.

LOL!!

Seriously, crystal formation is a fascinating subject, and there''s also a lot of physics and other sciences involved there if you get deeply into it like some people I know.

 

[somethingshiny]

Thanks, Dana, for the info! JT''s only 3.5 but even days later he still can''t get enough of his new rocks. I think a couple books would be great for us!

TL~ lol. Yeah, he''s a boy and probably won''t get QUITE as into the baubles, but he''ll have a lucky wife!!



btw- IF I can identify the red stone as garnet, would it be worth having cut? I have no idea how much that would cost or how to know if the rough is worth it.

 

[Jypsie]

The "weird but pretty rock" looks like lace agate, to me... though I could be completely wrong.

 

[Barrett]

Looks like you guys had fun..love rock hunting..you can dig through your pile and see what you have or what catches your eye and have it cut..almost all will be cab grade but you might find something that is facetable..very cool to get something you found and/or a piece of rough cut into a pretty stone..having the rough stone and being able to hold it and look at it and study it and then having it cut to see the finished product is thrilling..it's adds little more meaning to that particular stone..you get to see it when it was a measly old rock to it's final place as a beiutilful sparlking gem winking at you and saying "thanks for making me beautiful"...LOL

 

[somethingshiny]

amguy~ Thanks. I was hoping to get something made just because it was my little boy''s first "treasure" hunt. I really don''t know where to begin, especially on a tight budget. So for now, they are play things.