Blue crack filling softer rock found in south Nevada

[bward916]

Some of this scratches with a fingernail but some is much harder. Is this turquoise or veriscite?

 

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[xaos]

it is neither....

malachite hardness 3.5

you would have to be Wolverine to scratch turquoise with your fingernail!

 

[bronco]

Solved?? I think but cool specimins either way fun day!!

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Looks like variscite to me. I found some that's identical in an area of northern Nevada that's known for it. But the stuff you found that can be scratched easily, is not variscite. Variscite's pretty hard.
Jim

 

[bward916]

I bought a Moh's hardness test kit ... this stuff is about 2.5 hardness. You say it's malachite, but why can I not find anything similar that resembles malachite? Any other ideas? Could it be a mixture of something?

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

I bought a Moh's hardness test kit ... this stuff is about 2.5 hardness. You say it's malachite, but why can I not find anything similar that resembles malachite? Any other ideas? Could it be a mixture of something?

Welcome to the Tnet forums bward.
You might also want to consider posting your question here... Rocks/Gems

These good folks might be able to offer some suggestions as well.
Dave

 

[blauer]

Rocks/Gems

We have a Rock Gem forum here.