Is this galena?

[BentFunky]

Could this be galena (perhaps with a bit of copper mixed in)?

 

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[russau]

and possibly some silver to boot !

 

[crashbandicoot]

I like that,you got lead to make you some bullets,copper to put a jacket on them,and silver to make some bullets to kill any vampires that might come around,or is it werewolves for silver bullets?Any way you got it covered.Lone Ranger too.

 

[BentFunky]

Hopefully, the vampires and werewolves don't come around before I figure out how to separate the lead, silver, and copper!

 

[BentFunky]

I placed pieces of the original rock in dilute room temp nitric acid to see if I could dissolve metals (if present) and then retrieve any silver later by dropping it out of solution. Left the rocks there for the day.

Some material was definitely removed from rocks, but much of what I assumed was copper and lead remained. See below pics. Not sure that I completely understand why some of the (apparent) lead and copper (and perhaps silver) remains. Possible explanations are: not enough nitric acid, not enough time in acid, remaining metal isn?t silver, lead, or copper. I?m pretty sure that I used enough nitric, a little goes a long way.

 

[Phil]

That looks similar to ore from Olinghouse.

Very nice.

 

[BentFunky]

Thx. I’m really enjoying the process of trying to understand the mineralogy of these rocks. Somewhat addictive.

 

[Clay Diggins]

It looks like Arsenopyrite. You might want to consider things like crystal form, hardness, luster, fracture, sg, and streak before you heat, eat or dissolve minerals. Many minerals are poisonous. Using acid on unknown minerals could be deadly. I don't know of any mineral identification tests that begin with acid exposure.

Try this - smack two of those dark rocks together and take a quick sniff of the contact point. If you get a whiff of garlic you have Arsenopyrite (Arsenic Sulfide) in your hands. If no garlic smell try identifying the minerals with the simple basic tests listed above before you start creating dust, chemical byproducts or toxic fumes. You will live longer so you can have even more time to have fun learning about minerals.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Pay attention to Clay. You can get sick from just eating after HANDLING arsenopyrite without washing your hands. A handfull of trailmix could infect your system with arsenic.
Jim

 

[BentFunky]

Always good advice!

When working with acids or fire, I’m always out doors and work with small samples. I’ve had the same liter of nitric acid for over 3 years and haven’t even used 1/2 of it. Typically, I’ll only roast samples if I suspect that I have an interesting sulfide but am not certain. I don’t use acids unless I’m trying to id metallic minerals, in general.

Most of what I find is fairly pedestrian and can use scratch test, a streak plate, appearance, and (sometimes) specific gravity to get a good enough, ballpark id. I haven’t had much luck with crystal shape or cleavage. Still a work in progress.

The original parent rock looked a lot like pics of galena. Rock was also quite heavy for its size. Hence, my original guess/question. However, I’m doubting that original identification. Probably, still dealing with a sulfide (in part). Roasting gave me some metal foils, soft and malleable. However, can’t be primarily lead since the foils do not readily melt under a propane torch. What I thought was lead could instead be silver. I definitely had some copper metal. I might have a bit of gold, but hard for me to tell the difference with small samples. Being red/green color blind can be annoying at times.