Donating Shale Concretions

[Apophis]

Howdy all,

 

Any Houston area members interested in trying your prep skills on Mississippian black shale concretions from Fayetteville, AR? I collected too many last year and I’d like to give them away rather than see them collect dust in my garage, or worse, rot outdoors. 

 

These concretions are mostly made up of siderite and contain pyritized marine fossils. I dug these out of the lower unit shale and they’ve had limited exposure to moisture and have been stored indoors for months. If interested I’ll mark the exact spot I collected them. This specific unit and location is known for its goniatites, actinoceroid, and pseudorthocerid Nautaloids. Unfortunately this matrix is beyond my equipment and skill level. 
 

I honestly have no clue what else could be in these and I lack the experience and equipment to properly prep and ID what’s there. I mainly focus on ammonoids and nautaloids. 
 

Here’s an example:

 

 

 

While trimming that half, I found another pyritized ammonoid under it.

 

 

 

If interested, shoot me a PM . I live in NW Houston.