Jackpot Today

[RRGhostWreckKeepperOfGems]

Sooo me and my brother decide to take a hike today at a certain place. After a greasy rain, at the bottom of the hill on trail, we found these scattered among the "normal" rocks some poking out of the did still. I'm no expert but I was wise enough to know we had something awesome ! Gems ! First thought was garnets, now maybe diopside (purple as well) blue garnet / grey in emeralds ? Not sure either way the are awesome and one VERY new peace I call the rapture nest , the craters look like egg shapes and it's a solid multi dark greens . Several pieces , large pieces . Thoughts and analysis welcomed!!! Most of all Enjoy ! I wasn't for sure what we had until came home and I put the small green and purple on the flash light and turned it .....the result , this picture ! My hair stood up ! Enjoy

 

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[DDancer]

Does not look to be any garnet in the batch. Looks that you have found some obsidian possibly rainbow variety in the flashlight pics. At least the last two pics suggest it. Not sure about the others.

 

[gunntekk1]

could be that green and blue slag from an industrial furnace

 

[RRGhostWreckKeepperOfGems]

hey Guys thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I had been up all night studying these things and reading, since mineral and gems are not my expertise.

GUNN I can see where you may think slag do to the glass like shine. They are Not, these are Rocks! Have many large host rocks as well. My father has a 30lbs of blue bubble slag. I know glass , for I know more about bottles then I do rocks.

THERE WERE FOUND AT A BASE OF A MT WITH AN OLD HOT SPRING A MINE!(think they missed something)

They purple and Amethyst! Which after further examination and research.....Leads me to believe, what I have here as far as the crystal gem like ones, the green is
Prasiolite (green amethyst)
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prasiolite[/URL]



LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE MOST OF THE SAMPLES.

The flashlight I used to show the colors for pics, because the sun had gone down, and to show of the glow of their color! 100% Rocks!
The fact I have about 4 purple amethyst along with the green colored ones leads me to think the green ones are Prasiolite. Though the green color does not form natural in nature, most people heat treat amethyst to produce these colors.......The fact they came from the area of a Hot Spring could explain, and also mean the were natural alterd(not man heated)

only crazy part is......Prasiolte(improperly referred to as green amethyst) has only been found in 3-4 areas, Canada being the closest! These were found in the States

Ethereal Prasiolite $$


and If you do a search of the pictures! the green color and glow and lime color of this gem is about dead on with the ones I have here, I will try to get better pics, they need cleaned up better.

 

[RRGhostWreckKeepperOfGems]

Does not look to be any garnet in the batch. Looks that you have found some obsidian possibly rainbow variety in the flashlight pics. At least the last two pics suggest it. Not sure about the others.

the one in the bottom two pics may be serpentine

 

[DDancer]

You read as kinda excited. But I gotta point out that the material your showing does not exhibit any crystalline growth or fracturing for worn quartz.
Industrial slag was another thought I had but declined to comment on due to the overall nature of the pieces. Most slags just don't look like the pieces shown.
The bubbles in the rocks and the materials shown in the vugs suggest volcanic origin. As to the purple~ there may be a possibility of amethyst however rainbow obsidians can demonstrate similar colors however purple is uncommon in my view. Serpentine was suggested but the luster of the stones and the sharpness of the vugs does not set well with such a soft stone. I considered some form of chrysoprase or chalcedony but the bubbles are wrong for that as well.

Interesting stuff. To bad I cant pick it up and play with it

 

[RRGhostWreckKeepperOfGems]

Yes I do get excited , but no worries , I do that just over any find valuable or not , so don't be afraid to leave a comment bursting the value bubble if it applies lol!

I hope this pictures help! Day light does help.

The top left corner has a crystalline shape that should help out, I call it the licorice piece , it's shape and threaded up the rock case like twizzler (candy). And very green.

The dark pieces to the far right are the Amethyst like ones with one large dark one . It's hard to get the exact color with the light reflecting of them. Also they have only had a rinse not wash.


Also I type fast when on my phone and apologize for not always proof reading a leaving a messy message .

 

[RRGhostWreckKeepperOfGems]

Dancer and Gunn I thank you for your input its been helpful.


Though not sure how to put this that it doesn't sound negative, and I do not mean it that way. I was hoping to get several opinions, a joint collect effort, which is what this forum is , a collective of people who share the same love and knowledge of what this is about. I have uploaded many new pictures, these rocks are beyond awesome, and IF you could get your hands on them you would see that. So How is it, I see other posts , with one "dual" stone so to speak , get lit up with comments, and here I have some very interesting stuff, all the rocks I show are not the same, and yet only 2 people out of however many that relate to this field can speak up?

Are DD and Gunn the only ones that know anything here? Or is it just the 3 of us having Coffee

I'm not use to this particular forum on this site , maybe it just has a smaller circle of active members. Either way , this is not a psychic forum. We actually have to communicate to share and trade our knowledge.

Should point out, if its because thee lot of you think DD has it right on with the Obsidian guess then let me know you agree with him, I know sometimes when a proper answer is given others that agree tend to just see it as "solved" and never bother to say "I agree". Unless you say it we don't know it.

I know they are not the only 2 that know their S*** , I want to hear from you guys , that's why We are here!

 

[BurntBear]

There are numerous members here with a vast knowledge in different areas. Some with geology, some with mineralogy, some strictly gemology and so on. It can be very difficult to identify minerals by photos. Most people in this field need a specimen in their hands to analyze. It's texture needs to be felt, it's weight needs to be felt, etc. It needs to be studied under magnification as well. Minerals are a complex field. I learned quickly that you need measurements, weights, really good photos, area of collection and so forth to have a more positive identification.

I can't speculate as to what you have that hasn't already been mentioned. You're probably not going to get a better identification than what DDancer has offered. He knows his stuff! -Luke

 

[BurntBear]

I believe some of what you have is a type of "natural" glass which is formed from the silica in sand and is a result of lightning strikes or meteor impacts. Here is a piece I found in Tennessee. It's purple. -Luke

 

[RRGhostWreckKeepperOfGems]

I believe some of what you have is a type of "natural" glass which is formed from the silica in sand and is a result of lightning strikes or meteor impacts. Here is a piece I found in Tennessee. It's purple. -Luke

View attachment 1065135

Thank you BurntBear!!

I understand what you said and appreciate you writing back!

Seems you hit the nail on the head. I was just looking into meteorites and impact glass! That piece you have there is about Identical to the ones I have! I'm going to have someone take look at them here soon! Wish there was a way to move this post to the meteorite section or tag it.

Seems to be some sort of tektite ! which if so is awesome, specially the green pieces I have, very Strongly resemble green tektite. IF this is in fact from a impact site that would be awesome, and I would assume if proven increase their value next to natural glass/volcanic / obsidian. People like the idea of things from other worlds lol ! I'm strongly leaning towards this being the answer, many reasons and would explain why it was only found in a very small area but tightly scattered.

 

[RRGhostWreckKeepperOfGems]

Check out this link!
Moldavites - Moldavite Tektites For Sale - The Meteorite Exchange, Inc.
there is no doubt in my mind this is what a few of the pieces are! On the page in this link , the first square one next to the out of stock example its identical in ever way I can translate to the small Green one I have, which was used in the first pics with the flashlight, and it is about the same size!

either way just a neat comparison that may help draw a conclusion .

 

[BurntBear]

You got it, Tektite. Very neat stuff and kind of unusual. It was the first thing that popped into my mind. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have a clue if I didn't have some specimens myself that I had researched. You can make a post over in the Meteorite section. Don't worry about double-posting or cross-posting. The mods here are easy going and if they feel something is misplaced, they will correct it for you. We're all here to help one another and I wouldn't know half of what I do if it wasn't for good-hearted members here. -Luke

 

[RRGhostWreckKeepperOfGems]

awesome . Thank You Bear you "rock" no punt intended haha

Sweet sounds good. Yes a lot of what I learned was just from reading on here before I ever signed up to participate.

Still have a lot to figure out, and I'm not 100% on this but feels good, thought haven't a clue about the purple or the bluish grey ones yet, unless tektite can be other colors too, but I'm sure I have more then one type of mineral or rock here so like I said I'm going to get it looked at this week hopefully and should provide good answers .

 

[StoneWhisper]

The air bubbles is a dead give away.. (on those with the air pockets or bubbles) is nothing more than furnace slag.. Left overs from a kelm. These are common place on one's travels.. but don't be discouraged.

 

[Eu_citzen]

My first thought was also slag. Possibly it stands in relation to the mine.
I have seen similar slag several times.

 

[huntsman53]

I agree that the rocks you found, may be related to the mine and/or the Hot Spring! Maybe if you take some pics of where they were found and post them on here, they may show something to lead to the determination of what they truly are. If they are smelting slag, then you may have found an old Silver or Gold Mine or a Mine with some other smeltable metal material.


Frank

 

[Tigger]

I would guess slag or obsidian too, but am an amateur. The amount of material would discourage the tektite theory, in my opinion.
If you want to be really sure, take your samples to either your local rock/gem club, rock shop, or closest Geology Dept. - what university are you closest to? They will have the local knowledge of what's possible in your areaand be able to heft them, turn them over, look with a magnifying glass (bring one), etc.

 

[DDancer]

When I posted I was not aware you found the material near a mine. Unfortunately that kicks things significantly towards the slag department but does not discount the possibility of an obsidian. Tektites are ruled out by the quantity, the shapes and bubbles, the size and colors present in the stones. Tektites are pretty rare to find and rarer to find in quantity outside of known strew fields. Typical tektites do not show large flow patterns as indicated by some of the pieces pictured and bubbles like those shown are not present in the size and quantity. Tektites tend to be rounded and smooth due to aerodynamic smoothing as they cooled while falling thru the air. The size and colors for tektites are typically small and color tends to be homogenous thru the stone.

Obsidians can look like whats pictured. Slags as well. However obsidians are more likely to be found near areas that have some volcanic activity but can be found in odd areas as well.

I don't necessarily have expertise on what I comment on. I'm no guru for rocks and minerals~ just a hobbiest with a bit of experience that likes to chip in now and again... maybe to often *shrugs*. Its pretty difficult to identify stuff with just pictures but I enjoy the challenge and if it helps others all the better but I am wrong on occasion. I also don't comment in, on or about all the threads here I read them but I don't do the VPnavy "Thanks for Sharing" thing as its often more educational to me to just read what others think and feel.
A thought based on the comments earlier on this post about participation in the rocks threads. DD

 

[rodoconnor]

DD You are very informed.Your posts always seem to hit the nail on the head. Thanks for your input buddy