Keenewah County, MI Native copper oddball???

[Beaglejuice13]

These are some of my native copper pieces, notice one piece stands out from all the others. Can anyone tell me why it looks so different, so vivid, and what the white pieces stuck to it are?

 

[DDancer]

From what I can see there is some copper mineralization present but the bulk of your vivid specimen is Fluorite. Tis a bit compacted but the crystals do stand out. The white bits could be quartz or calcite. Hardness and maybe an acid test would help there.

 

[Beaglejuice13]

Thanks! I've collected alot of rocks and minerals but I just recently decided to attempt to identify them. I am going to have to invest in some hardness test tools and it sounds like ill need an acid test kit as well? Any suggestions for a newbie on what basics I should start with?

 

[DDancer]

Hardness test kit or materials with known hardness's and a few field guides will help the most Beagle. Acid testing is useful for differentiation of certian minerals, carbonates mainly, but to my knowledge there are no kits I'm aware of. I, like many others, just have a few acids on hand that can be gotten at the grocery store or home improvement store. Read up on any precautions needed for protective gear before handling acids.

 

[Beaglejuice13]

Thanks DD-Got it. I read something a few years back about using muratic acid to clean agates. I stopped using it after I turned half of them a nasty yellow color I never could fix. I had another type of acid, oxalic I think, that I also purchased at that time. After my failings with the muratic I never even opened the oxalic. Can you recommend a certain book/website that gives reliable instructions on how to properly use acids specifically on rocks/minerals?

 

[stdenis_jd]

Oxalic is great for quartz to remove tannins & iron staining

 

[Beaglejuice13]

That's exactly what I was attempting to do....guess I used the wrong acid then. I'm pretty sure I still have the oxalic. I'll give it a shot. Thx

 

[meMiner]

FYI - The yellow stain can somewhat be avoided by taking the rocks out of the HCL sooner. You can sometimes remove yellow stain with a short dip in more (clean) diluted muriatic or better yet, finish the rock in white table vinegar (takes longer).