Samwise Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Hey guys, I'm a total amateur and could use some help on this specimen. I found this whilst gardening and have never seen anything like it in my local area (we are sitting on chalk) and would love to know what it is. Sorry for the poor photos, if needed I can try take better ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weaver hillbille Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Maybe a vein of marble( which is metamorphosed chalk/limestone) or aragonite or calcite( crystaline forms of limestone). See if vinegar makes it fizz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samwise Posted May 4, 2016 Author Share Posted May 4, 2016 6 minutes ago, weaver hillbille said: Maybe a vein of marble( which is metamorphosed chalk/limestone) or aragonite or calcite( crystaline forms of limestone). See if vinegar makes it fizz. Great! Thanks for the advice. Vinegar seems to have no impact on it, the white crystals are quite large and it doesn't seem to scratch easily. Is the red, some sort of mineral that is in the rock? (whatever rock it is) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weaver hillbille Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Maybe you have a little silica then( quartz)- most abundant element in the EArth's crust, as carbonate minerals would react. A search for 'red minerals' will keep you busy. What part of the world/country/ state/county/city did you find? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeoJack Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Will it scratch glass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weaver hillbille Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 (edited) Just to tease you a bit, when red/purple colors and quartz are found together, chances of catching gold fever are higher( compared to just finding plain quartz). Edited May 4, 2016 by weaver hillbille Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samwise Posted May 4, 2016 Author Share Posted May 4, 2016 23 minutes ago, GeoJack said: Will it scratch glass? yep both the red vein and the white crystal scratch glass without a problem. 1 minute ago, weaver hillbille said: Just to tease you a bit, when red/purple colors and quartz are found together, chances of catching gold fever are high. GEEZ better get digging up those carrots! :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samwise Posted May 4, 2016 Author Share Posted May 4, 2016 45 minutes ago, weaver hillbille said: Maybe you have a little silica then( quartz)- most abundant element in the EArth's crust, as carbonate minerals would react. A search for 'red minerals' will keep you busy. What part of the world/country/ state/county/city did you find? oops missed this, I'm South East of London, UK. My town is split one side clay and one side chalk. Mostly I just find chalk and flint so was quite happy to dig up something else! (Even if it is the most abundant rock ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisski Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 (edited) I'm no expert and definitely an amateur, but when I see that rock, it looks to be some form of man crushed rock because of the jagged edges. If it was native, I would guess it would be rounded and weathered. Again because its the exact opposite type of rock you normally find in your area, I would think that's another reason its brought in. When I see the black on the rock with the red and brown stains, I think iron. For fun, could be worth crushing and panning to see if any gold turns up. I've done that to a few quartz rocks and have gotten a couple of specks; however, was not worth my elbows being sore weeks over. A couple of years ago out here in the desert hundreds of miles form the ocean, I found a couple of seashells. At first I thought they were a weathered shell that had been fossilized, but now I suspect that it was one of the Indians that dropped it. There were Indian trade routes through out the area that moved the shells hundreds of miles from the sea to trade for things. Another thing I'm supposed to find from the Indian trade routes is Obsidian. That is not native to where I'm at. Maybe if you peeked over your fence, you'd see your neighbor has a bunch of these rocks surrounding the bushes. Edited May 4, 2016 by chrisski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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