Help identifying these rocks and minerals please!

sthaney

Tenderfoot
Apr 1, 2017
5
2
Plano, Texas
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have a vague idea for some of these but for the most part I'm stumped, I bought a small collection recently and have been looking through my collection from when I was really young and these are the last ones I have to identify. Please let me know if I need to take more pictures or provide more information for any of these, thank you!
IMG_6704.jpg
These two (above and below) were both found in central Texas, specifically Whitney. both ~6.5-7 hardness
IMG_6708.jpg


IMG_6702.jpg
I believe this is amazonite but it looks quite a bit different from other pieces I have. ~6 hardness

IMG_6698.jpg
Seems to be harder than 7, I can't scratch with quartz though the darker layer on the bottom seems to be weaker/softer.

IMG_6700.jpg
Same thing, harder than 7 it seems

IMG_6692.jpg
I've been having trouble doing the scratch test with this one but it feels very dense and noticeably heavier than other rocks the same size.

IMG_6690.jpg
This one can be scratched by glass but not a penny so 3.5-5.5

IMG_6685.jpg
My best guess is calcite since they can be scratched with with a penny but I haven't seen any that looks like this.

IMG_6687.jpg
This one is 3.5-5.5 but really stumped me, definitely has crystals but they all seem to be different shapes. Was also found in Whitney, Texas.

IMG_6695.jpg
I'm fairly sure this is epidote but I've seen similar rocks being called olivine or serpentine.
 

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stdenis_jd

Hero Member
May 7, 2015
513
576
West Lower Peninsula, MI
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I'll hit a few of em:

1 & 2) - possibly a limb cast, otherwise chalcedony replacement
3) blue apatite
4) some kind of picture jasper
5) chalcedony/carnelian
6) looks like rhodonite but I don't think it is. Nothing comes to mind on this one.
7) orange calcite or marble (looks like it could be metamorphosed which would make it marble)
8) calcite (test with acid)
9) the most interesting one. Looks like a psuedomorph, goethite after (? pyrite, marcasite, hematite, magnetite?)
10) quartz with feldspar alteration to epidote, some k-feldspar & quartz remaining
 

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fuss

Hero Member
Jul 27, 2018
563
820
Wisconsin
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If it were mine I would probably break off a piece of #9 to see whats going on. Nice finds, #3 has great color.
 

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DDancer

Bronze Member
Mar 25, 2014
2,339
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Traveling US to work
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For #6 I'm of the opinion of a quartz/garnet mix.
 

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sthaney

Tenderfoot
Apr 1, 2017
5
2
Plano, Texas
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thank you so much for your help, number 9 was especially strange to me but I think it is a pseudomorph after comparing several images. It's probably either goethite or limonite but what's really throwing me off is that the crystals are mostly in plus shapes, something I've never seen before.
 

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stdenis_jd

Hero Member
May 7, 2015
513
576
West Lower Peninsula, MI
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Thank you so much for your help, number 9 was especially strange to me but I think it is a pseudomorph after comparing several images. It's probably either goethite or limonite but what's really throwing me off is that the crystals are mostly in plus shapes, something I've never seen before.

what I'm seeing there is cubic structure and possibly pyritohedron (sort of an unorthodox dodecahedron). Could also be hexagonal from what I see in the pic but I doubt it. I'm also not exactly great at examining crystal structures so I could be wrong
 

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