all cleaned up!

[yakker]

check out my old post on the quartz I found falling down a hill near a river.... So now, after a number of false starts, I have this:





One question (now): what's up with the iron-infiltrated crystal? Is that s desired thing or not?

Happy Hunting!!!!!

 

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[Tigger]

I don't know what's up with that, but think it looks cool. What method worked best for you?

 

[Pennypacker]

Nice specimen.

That milky white quartz can have gold in it. Iron is one of the indicator minerals.

A prospector would look for this kind of quartz. (In my limited opinion)

 

[EricTheCat]

Those cleaned up real nice! What intrigues me is that the amethyst found at Thunder Bay is said to be due to iron (much of the darkest crystals in a group will show hints of red or be all out red like that one crystal), yet your quartz is infused with iron yet no hint of purple? My gut says the amethyst I mentioned would have been near radioactive minerals in addition to the iron where perhaps your crystals were not. It is also interesting in itself that just that one crystal shows it. It had to be the odd one. So many factors in geology seems like anything is possible. Well done and thanks for sharing.

 

[Red James Cash]

check out my old post on the quartz I found falling down a hill near a river.... So now, after a number of false starts, I have this:

Get up that hill,theres a pocket up there.

 

[yakker]

Hi all-
Yep, that red one is a head-scratcher. It's like a cloud of red in there and not all solid. Who knows...
Muriatic acid was a big fat waste of time and (luckily not too much) money. Oxalic acid, as recommended by Rasputin, was the thing. But I did have to soak them for ever and scrub and pick to get as much of the clay out as I could. Many of the crystals are busted up from tumbling down the hill. Some are internally shattered due to whatever happened in their life as a growing mass of crystals, I suppose. I'm no geologist, but can imagine that river below doing some incredible damage, land moving, rocks/boulders crashing around, trees uprooted and careening down-river during any number of floods over many, many years.
Although I'm aware that quartz and gold go hand in hand, I'm not really looking for it and don't have the equipment or inclination to seek it out- especially if it's a matter of crushing. That said, if I find a nice nugget or gold-streaked quartz specimen, I wouldn't leave it behind Several times I've thought I was seeing just that- on a chunk of quartz. Ended up being red Virginia dirt... or rusty quartz.
Unfortunately, 'up that hill' is beyond my permission. That's okay though. I found out something really interesting while finding these. A little philosophical musing you might say.
I'm amazed and grateful (and blown away) having found these 'rocks'. I've gained a huge amount of respect for those who do this (or dentistry!) for a living. I got some great exercise, I learned a bunch of things I never knew (or even considered) and got to play with dangerous chemicals! Who could ask for more?!

Cheers all, and thanks for reading

 

[Las Vegas Bob]

Nice finds thanks for sharing.

 

[Rasputin]

Hey, those cleaned up nicely. Beautiful. That little odd man out is strange though.

 

[yakker]

The azalea snuck in (with the bee) by mistake, but he's always welcome!

 

[bansheeraptor]

Nice piece

 

[Red James Cash]

Unfortunately, 'up that hill' is beyond my permission. That's okay though. I found out something really interesting while finding these. A little philosophical musing you might say.

Thats a shame,thats where the good stuff could be.I'm not talking about gold.Crystals form in pockets.

 

[yakker]

Thats a shame,thats where the good stuff could be.I'm not talking about gold.Crystals form in pockets.

Yes they do, and I wish I could, but I can't. What I can do is change location, because the entire area is full of them- of this I'm sure. I first found crystals in the river sand-bar, and that was up-river, so clearly I got some work to do! I'll be in my kayak as soon as I can. I got a plan

 

[DDancer]

Your finds cleaned up really well Yakker, good on ya
Your pulling some nice clusters for sure and that mixed crystal is a big plus. Quartz is funny in that its one of the few minerals that will support other minerals and their crystals inside its structure. More than likely the red bloom inside that crystal is of an iron nature and formed about the same time as the crystal. Due to the quartz clarity the bloom is the impurity that has clouded other crystals in the cluster and it sucked the impurity into its formation leaving the quartz to form transparently around it.

Your may want to get a bigger boat Good luck with your plan.

 

[yakker]

Your finds cleaned up really well Yakker, good on ya
Your pulling some nice clusters for sure and that mixed crystal is a big plus. Quartz is funny in that its one of the few minerals that will support other minerals and their crystals inside its structure. More than likely the red bloom inside that crystal is of an iron nature and formed about the same time as the crystal. Due to the quartz clarity the bloom is the impurity that has clouded other crystals in the cluster and it sucked the impurity into its formation leaving the quartz to form transparently around it.

Your may want to get a bigger boat Good luck with your plan.

Thank you for that info concerning the odd little red guy and therefore the cloudy nature of the cluster(s).

Around these parts they're called 'bateaux'... Should be interesting on the rapids

We even have festivals revolving around them!