Got A Rock you Want Identified? Post it here! gimme a good picture or 3 or 4!

l337scum

Jr. Member
Jun 25, 2014
54
26
Detector(s) used
Minelab X-Terra 705 Gold Pack
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Thank you guys! I took a finishing nail to the golden sections.... and it's not gold. It all flakes off like mica. Bummer! I'm going to take a photo of the deposit it came from. Is it so crumbly because it's decomposing? Should I break this rock up into smaller pieces and take a peeksy at it the inside?

Bummer for sure that it wasn't gold. Light can play tricks like that and mica is very shiny. The good thing about mica is that it is light so it tends to separate easier. One thing that I have always been taught to do is break any rocks up that I pull as float like that to see what a non weathered face looks like. Some minerals are very unstable in normal weather and will break down quickly or begin to break down. This is likely why it is falling apart. Decay of rocks is an active process that is always happening as new sections are exposed to the elements when old sections fall off. I recommend you break that stuff up with a wider chisel like a brick set and see what you can find in there.

Good luck!
 

lolly

Newbie
Jan 30, 2015
2
2
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Found a small rock that has crystals attached to it, it has shiney silver steaks that are in cubes, very heavy for the size, and flakes easily.
 

The Gilded Lens

Sr. Member
Oct 13, 2014
476
815
The Sierra Nevadas
Detector(s) used
Garrett 14" Pan, Garrett 15" Super Sluice Pan, Bazooka 36" Sniper,
Hand Dredge
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Bummer for sure that it wasn't gold. Light can play tricks like that and mica is very shiny. The good thing about mica is that it is light so it tends to separate easier. One thing that I have always been taught to do is break any rocks up that I pull as float like that to see what a non weathered face looks like. Some minerals are very unstable in normal weather and will break down quickly or begin to break down. This is likely why it is falling apart. Decay of rocks is an active process that is always happening as new sections are exposed to the elements when old sections fall off. I recommend you break that stuff up with a wider chisel like a brick set and see what you can find in there.

Good luck!

I apologize in advance for the rock portrait session. I took my rock hammer to the piece and bashed as much of it as I could and got into into four pieces in the end with shrapnel everywhere. (keep in mind I'm a tough girl, but I don't exactly have the biceps of a goddess right now, lol)From what I can see, several different shades of quartz varying from clear, light, and a blue/black tinge, mica, the green mineral (serpentine or the other one suggested) and the brownish/rust colored material. No gold that I can see. I may go down into the yard and bash around some more just because I think it's fun and I'm weird.

The rock in two pieces and then macros of chunks:
_DSC0468.jpg _DSC0472.jpg _DSC0473.jpg _DSC0483.jpg _DSC0482.jpg _DSC0476.jpg _DSC0484.jpg
 

l337scum

Jr. Member
Jun 25, 2014
54
26
Detector(s) used
Minelab X-Terra 705 Gold Pack
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I apologize in advance for the rock portrait session. I took my rock hammer to the piece and bashed as much of it as I could and got into into four pieces in the end with shrapnel everywhere. (keep in mind I'm a tough girl, but I don't exactly have the biceps of a goddess right now, lol)From what I can see, several different shades of quartz varying from clear, light, and a blue/black tinge, mica, the green mineral (serpentine or the other one suggested) and the brownish/rust colored material. No gold that I can see. I may go down into the yard and bash around some more just because I think it's fun and I'm weird.

The rock in two pieces and then macros of chunks:

I think Burntbear was right and the green is epidote seeing it in matrix like that gives it away. Look closely at the fractures in the quartz where it is blue/black and see if you can find anything too. Not sure if you have a 10x loupe or not but that may help. That rock is interesting and you did a good job of breaking it up. :) Thanks for sharing!
 

The Gilded Lens

Sr. Member
Oct 13, 2014
476
815
The Sierra Nevadas
Detector(s) used
Garrett 14" Pan, Garrett 15" Super Sluice Pan, Bazooka 36" Sniper,
Hand Dredge
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Thanks Burntbear and l337scum! I have an 8x21mm loupe, whatever that means. I also have a magnifier filter slapped onto the end of my camera lens for close-ups, but the depth of field is very shallow.

Somehow I missed looking at this piece (chunk from the rock I went whack-a-mole on) last night and noticed something totally different about it. It has this pearly, silver stuff on it! Any ideas?

_DSC0492.jpg _DSC0499.jpg _DSC0500.jpg _DSC0494.jpg
 

Marooned

Newbie
Jan 28, 2015
1
2
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I found this rock when I was about ten years old, and that was more than 35 years ago. I found it on some railroad tracks in the middle of Saint Louis City. I assume IMG_1344.jpg IMG_1345.JPG IMG_1346.JPG IMG_1347.JPG IMG_1348.JPG IMG_1349.JPG it was in the loads of rocks that the railroad company dump on the side of the rails . It's very smooth and has no sharp points. I'd appreciate any help.
 

BurntBear

Bronze Member
Jul 4, 2014
1,450
1,299
N.E. Tennessee
Detector(s) used
Shovels....lots of shovels!
Primary Interest:
Other
Marooned,

I think that be part of the Chalcedony family. Possibly an agate of sorts. Very interesting piece!
 

mamaliz

Newbie
Jul 15, 2014
3
1
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Re: Newbie

I am new at this and would appreciate any help on identifying these....
 

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mamaliz

Newbie
Jul 15, 2014
3
1
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Re: Newbie

Help identifying....
 

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ca.miner

Jr. Member
Dec 10, 2014
23
10
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Most look like some good old leaverites. Leave it right where you fined it. The top few pics look good. Crushpancrushpan. May have some gold locked up inside. Its like that saying every bear has a magpie but not every magpie has a bear. Same with quartz. It's the most abundant rock on earth With granite. All most all minerals are or can be associated with quartz. The rocks to me look like quartz mica schist, quartzite. With some having good mineralization. I'm no pro so maybe a little reassurance would be nice.
 

Feb 8, 2015
1
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Can you help me identify these?

image.jpg image.jpg
My son collects rocks and likes to try to identify them. He found these while hiking today in a stream and was hoping you could help identify them.
Thank you
 

smaclenn

Newbie
Feb 9, 2015
1
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Oval stone, heavy

Hi Folks,

Friend of mine found this stone while doing some digging in a rock quarry in the Souris Agate Pits in Western Manitoba, Canada. Nice weight for its size. I'm sure its nothing, but the darn thing has a passing resemblance to pictures of fossilized eggs we found on the internet. That seems way too rare.

10962077_10153083537562090_1966619286_n.jpg 10965315_10153083537567090_838104478_n.jpg
10966891_10153083537572090_1050123963_n.jpg 10984960_10153083537577090_257454643_n.jpg


It doesn't really have the strong fractured features of a real fossilized egg though. This was the internet picture for reference:
AA063a.jpg

...I would guess its just an Agate from the Agate Pit, eh? :)
 

Last edited:
Feb 10, 2015
1
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hi I am Jade I found this thread and decided to register because I have some rocks that I need to know what they are I thank you for your help with this. I hope I'm addressing the right person for this. I have pictures of them but I don't know how to share. Thank you
 

The Gilded Lens

Sr. Member
Oct 13, 2014
476
815
The Sierra Nevadas
Detector(s) used
Garrett 14" Pan, Garrett 15" Super Sluice Pan, Bazooka 36" Sniper,
Hand Dredge
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Ok, I've been at it again. I found this guy today. It was in a tiny pool. It felt heavy for a rock of it's size with a lot of quartz so I cleaned it up. It weighs 17.26 oz and my magnet isn't attracted to it. Sorry for the photobomb (photos are in my genes and I can't help it).

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Asmbandits

Bronze Member
Mar 4, 2014
1,039
2,290
NorCal
Detector(s) used
Fisher GB2, Bazooka Prospector 36", EZ sluice, Blue Bowl..
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I found these in gold country norther CA, Ive posted the strange nugget before but I still haven't brought anywhere to have looked at. I found this clear crystal like rock in my sluice, thought it was broken glass at first, possibly the bottom corner of an old bottle but its has so much mass it seems to thick to be that. It also has a few hex like flat spots that almost for a perfect square crystal on one side. Dare I say that its possible its a placer diamond? It has some areas that you can see right through it like glass, seems like maybe a very slight yellow hew.. In the right light in at cretin angles it has like a peacock color shine as well. I tried the dot test and for the most part you cant really see the dot through it only at certain angles, but also at certain angles the dot disappears completely.. It weighs 20.45 ct.

The other cube pyrite like specimen Im thinking is just that, but ive never seen a dull stone like pyrite like this one, also don't know much about rocks that why im here lol.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Comparison.jpg Diamond 1.jpg Diamond 2.1.jpg Diamond 3.jpg Diamond 4.jpg Nugget 1.jpg pyrite 1.jpg pyrite 2.jpg
 

The Gilded Lens

Sr. Member
Oct 13, 2014
476
815
The Sierra Nevadas
Detector(s) used
Garrett 14" Pan, Garrett 15" Super Sluice Pan, Bazooka 36" Sniper,
Hand Dredge
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I broke up the previous rock to take a little peeksy inside and here are the results. Definitely quartz based methinks. Not a clue as the the other mineral components. Even if it is leave-er-ite I'd like to know so if I run into it again I'm prepared. The chunks do not respond to a magnet. Some portions appear to be iridescent. It's hard to tell what I'm looking at even with a loupe because there are just so many colors and sheens going on in.

_DSC0575.jpg
 

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