jcervay 41 Posted August 16, 2018 Author Share Posted August 16, 2018 Piece in original post is back, right. Not soft as I would suspect cinnabar to be. Surface scratched with a steel dental pick and quartz, scratches fluorite. (Not very scientific, I know). Other rocks for comparison to what was turning up in that area. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 3,965 Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 (edited) Clay, So you think it is cinnabar? And the environment the rock obviously formed in does not make you doubt that? Either you are just being obtuse or you actually think that is cinnabar. I thought you were doing that "piss higher than you" routine that you always do whenever I make a post. I probably should not have jumped on you so quick. I didn't realize you actually thought that was mercury. I'm sorry. If you think that is cinnabar then so be it. You have a right to your opinion based on your own methodology. It just does not make sense Clay. Have we actually decided we are going to call this cinnabar because a zoomed-in spot on a photo can't prove it is not? Is there methodology to that? I would like to politely ask jcervay to tell us if this rock is extremely heavy for it's size. Also, if those crystals are super soft... 2.5 soft. Please poke at them with a needle. I want to see the dent and the rubble on the needle. They shouldn't splinter at all (notice the fractures in the photos that would almost prove this material is above a 5.0 on the moh's scale). How about a streak? We evidently need to prove this is not cinnabar before we can continue and that can very easily be done. Let's do it! If this is cinnabar I will humble myself before you all. But until someone gives me one single indication this is red crystalline cinnabar then it is not. Come on guys! We are supposed to be IDing minerals here! Lets get past cinnabar and try to ID this red stuff! I honestly don't think it is red quartz and I know it isn't cinnabar but we can figure it out with a little effort! Edited August 16, 2018 by Bedrock Bob 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Saul R W 741 Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 (edited) Well, gee, it doesn't appear to be cinnabar if it scratches fluorite. Thanks for that test, Jcervay. Edited August 16, 2018 by Saul R W Could the striated stuff be fibrous hematite, perchance? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 3,965 Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 (edited) Lead Chromate. Lead chromate is short red crystals, striated faces. It is a WILD guess but it would at least match the geology a bit better. Looks like calcite and fluorite in those new photos. Betcha it was coming up through limestone country rock. Edited August 16, 2018 by Bedrock Bob Because probability does matter 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Morlock 1,643 Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 44 minutes ago, Bedrock Bob said: Lead Chromate. Lead chromate is short red crystals, striated faces. It is a WILD guess but it would at least match the geology a bit better. Looks like calcite and fluorite in those new photos. Betcha it was coming up through limestone country rock. No way.. lead chromate is crocoite.. one of my favorite minerals. Tasmania is a famous locality. Ordered a specimen directly from there and quite a few crystals broke since it's very fragile. They pack the specimens in soap powder to restrict movement but.... https://www.mindat.org/min-1157.html 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 3,965 Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 16 minutes ago, Morlock said: No way.. lead chromate is crocoite.. one of my favorite minerals. Tasmania is a famous locality. Ordered a specimen directly from there and quite a few crystals broke since it's very fragile. They pack the specimens in soap powder to restrict movement but.... https://www.mindat.org/min-1157.html Then it is cinnabar. 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Saul R W 741 Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 8 minutes ago, Bedrock Bob said: Then it is cinnabar. That's exactly what I've been saying all along. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
d_day 332 Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, jcervay said: 1) this was collected in Northeast Pennsylvania 2) it was found among many other pieces of quartz 3) a majority of the crystals i found are iron stained, even coated (including hematite in this statement) 4)I know near nothing about cinnabar. I will have to test this one Edit: sorry, didn't see this had gone on to page two. My comments added nothing new, so, it's gone. Edited August 16, 2018 by d_day Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jcervay 41 Posted August 18, 2018 Author Share Posted August 18, 2018 On 8/16/2018 at 7:34 PM, d_day said: Edit: sorry, didn't see this had gone on to page two. My comments added nothing new, so, it's gone. And my other post disappeared...oh well Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jcervay 41 Posted August 18, 2018 Author Share Posted August 18, 2018 On 8/16/2018 at 4:19 PM, Bedrock Bob said: Then it is cinnabar. I would swear this is NOT cinnabar. There is no softness to it. Nowhere is it pokeable lol. I agree that the structure in the broken area doesn't look like quartz. However, it is not soft. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jcervay 41 Posted August 18, 2018 Author Share Posted August 18, 2018 (edited) And hello page two! I'm all caught up ha! New pics are all quartz, tested them Edited August 18, 2018 by jcervay Add to response 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jcervay 41 Posted August 18, 2018 Author Share Posted August 18, 2018 Getting a reddish brown streak from the matrix, the actual crystal isn't easy to test, but from what I can tell, it's scratching the ceramic Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 3,965 Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Are you using a round ceramic rod or a flat piece? Cuz a round rod is easy to get right where you want it and the streak comes back on the ceramic. A little wet/dry sandpaper does a good job too. Especially with a light colored streak because it is charcoal grey. I would bet it did not actually scratch ceramic. Whether it did or not it sounds like the mineral is pretty hard. That probably narrows the possibilities down quit a bit. Until we figure it our lets call it "pseudocinnabarite". Just so we don't break any hearts around here. 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jcervay 41 Posted August 19, 2018 Author Share Posted August 19, 2018 9 hours ago, Bedrock Bob said: Are you using a round ceramic rod or a flat piece? Cuz a round rod is easy to get right where you want it and the streak comes back on the ceramic. A little wet/dry sandpaper does a good job too. Especially with a light colored streak because it is charcoal grey. I would bet it did not actually scratch ceramic. Whether it did or not it sounds like the mineral is pretty hard. That probably narrows the possibilities down quit a bit. Until we figure it our lets call it "pseudocinnabarite". Just so we don't break any hearts around here. Great idea with the sandpaper. I don't have a rod, just a flat piece, makes it difficult. What i could see was small ceramic debris on the crystal. We definitely don't want any broken hearts lol Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Morlock 1,643 Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 So it was hematite stained quartz? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jcervay 41 Posted August 25, 2018 Author Share Posted August 25, 2018 1 hour ago, Morlock said: So it was hematite stained quartz? I believe it to be, yes Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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