A few rocks i brought home today. Some with red and crystals.

G Freeman

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Don't know what all the red is but crystals inside of the rocks. Any help welcome. Found this rock today and busted it. Big rock. Thanks a lot. Rooster Red Rock 03-26-14 006.JPG Rooster Red Rock 03-26-14 011.JPG Rooster Red Rock 03-26-14 015.JPG Rooster Red Rock 03-26-14 016.JPG Rooster Red Rock 03-26-14 020.JPG Rooster Red Rock 03-26-14 021.JPG Rooster Red Rock 03-26-14 022.JPG Rooster Red Rock 03-26-14 023.JPG Rooster Red Rock 03-26-14 030.JPG

The two small clusters I found yesterday.
 

StoneWhisper

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Excellent. The first image has allot of Smokey Quartz crystal points.. but there are other crystals as well.. amazing cluster or combo find. The red one could be a slightly darkened version of Rose Quartz.. with a hidden pocket.. Clear definitions of crystals in all of the images.
 

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G Freeman

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Thanks StoneWhisper, That huge rock came apart in two pieces when I busted it and still dirty as I just got home with it still on the tailgate of my old truck. Sure like to figure out a way to get the crystals out of the rock without breaking them. Any ideas? Thanks.
 

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StoneWhisper

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Seeing how I use a rock hammer and chisel to do my extractions.. I would do the same for the larger areas. Focus on seams or cracks first. I've found that a well placed hit or a couple of hits.. these cracks will loosen and simply fall away, Remember to wear leather gloves and safety glasses.

When you get closer to the crystals themselves, you will need to use a slab saw (water cooled) and slow cut around the area. Don't try to take it all in one swoop. I still have a couple of large Agate vugs I'm awaiting to brake into smaller sizes that I can handle. May get around to do so this spring.
 

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Eu_citzen

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Quartz crystals. When I found crystals I have never had to use a saw. Chisels and hammers have been enough.
Here's what a good pocket can look like:




We were just prospecting - following a quartz vein. As we were about to take a sample using the chisel it just disappeared! (the crystals formed in a void inside the rock)
And that's how we found the pocket.

We always extracted crystals by using already existing cracks - check your rock for that.
 

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G Freeman

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Hey StoneWhisper, cant find any cracks in this rock. Have a hammer and chisel but both just bounce off of it. When I finally did bust to start with some pieces that fell of were thin and I could break these pieces with my hands. Some of it is hard as quartz but full of crystals in the pockets. Maybe a part is quartz and part is calcite. The shine in the pockets with the crystals is rough and golden looking such shine like I have never seen before like crystalline. Just amazing as in the pictures cant see this as I can. Thanks buddy for your help. Oh I don't have a saw.
 

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StoneWhisper

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Tis the life we suffer when hunting for crystals.. always not having what we need to actually do the job right.. True using that hammer & chisel can be dangerous and as I've said.. I have a friend with a big sledge hammer slowing hitting a vug found last year.. we only got a few hits with small chunks falling away. Not how sure handed and footed you are.. but you could rent a diamond saw a bit noisy but it will get the job done.. we're getting into a grey area.. where extracting crystals needs to be precise.. sort of like digging for Fossils.. Keep at it..
As for the color/shine/sheen I know of a place in Delta, PA which has a mass clear quartz outcropping.. I mean these quartz could be viewed as "herkimer diamonds" because they are so clear, pure and right on the surface.
 

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