Biominerals (Picture/Memory Very High)

[MarcoSr]

I’ve been interested in biogenic influences on minerals for a while.  I have a large collection of stromatolites/oncolites/microbial mats etc. where algae influenced the minerals.  I also have hot spring and cave minerals that were also influenced by biogenic processes.  However, a new book, shown below has opened up a whole new class of Biominerals mostly influenced by nano bacteria.  A lot of the theories in this book are at the forefront of science and are not yet mainstream or even accepted in some cases.  However, I thought it was definitely worth a few posts here on TFF.

 

 

Marco Campos-Venuti 2022 Biominerals microbial life in Agates and other Minerals (526 pages):

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll start with some biogenic influence examples in agate.  The below figure is from the book.  Note although the figure talks about agate, a lot of the examples are really in jasper and not agate.  Campos-Venuti goes into detail about the processes that lead to these geometries but I don’t want to get too wonky for this post.

 

 

 

 

Below are a few specimens from my collection which demonstrate each of the five geometries of bacteria colonies from the figure.  My friend who told me about this book warned me that if I bought the book, I would most likely be buying a lot more, different specimens.  He was definitely right.

 

1. Laminated (truthfully I find this the hardest of the geometries to really distinguish in a piece)

 

I have a number of pieces of Lavic Siding Jasper.  Pictures of one are shown below (Note I still have to sand and polish this piece.)  You can see a brecciated laminated structure. :

 

Lavic Siding Jasper slab, Mojave Desert, California (186 grams 5.75x4x.25 inches)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Dendritic (Dendrites are really easy to see in minerals, although not all dendrites are from biogenic influences)

 

I have lots of dendritic examples in minerals.  A lot of dendrites are not biogenically influenced but the result of crystallization.  So to be sure, I’m using a specific type of material that is from an area that Campos-Venuti specially uses as an example in his book.

 

Sonora Dendritic Jasper slab, Mexico (136 grams 4.125x3x.31 inches).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Lumpy or reniform

 

Campos-Venuti hasn’t really identified many examples of this geometry.  I have two different pieces of King Cobra Jasper from India shown below.

 

King Cobra Jasper Slab India (180 grams 7x3.25 inches 7mm thick):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

King Cobra Orbicular Jasper Slab, India (208 grams 4.5x4.75 inches x5.7mm):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Flame

 

There are a lot of really nice examples of biogenic flame influences.  Below are two difference pieces from Mexico.

 

Flame Agate end cut, Mexico (335 grams 4X2X2 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flame Agate Slab, Chihuahua, Mexico (668 grams 5.75x2.25x2.625 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Plume

 

There are a lot of really nice examples of biogenic plume influences.  Below are two different small pieces from Oregon.

 

NorthRidge Plume Agate Slab, Owyhee Mountains, near Homedale, Eastern Oregon (27 grams 2.25x1.5x.125 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NorthRidge Plume Agate Slab, Owyhee Mountains, near Homedale, Eastern Oregon (22 grams 2.25x1.45x.125 inches)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope this post may have increased both an understanding of biominerals, biogenically influenced minerals, and an interest in them.

 

Marco Sr.

[grandpa]

Very interesting post.  You have some beautiful specimens of each of the types of biominerals.  I too have examples of each type in my collection.  Would you think California poppy jasper is an example of the lumpy or reniform type?

[MarcoSr]

4 hours ago, grandpa said:

Very interesting post.  You have some beautiful specimens of each of the types of biominerals.  I too have examples of each type in my collection.  Would you think California poppy jasper is an example of the lumpy or reniform type?

 

I've wondered about orbicular poppy jasper like Morgan Hill poppy jasper from California for a long time.  I believe the most common held belief is that poppy jasper is formed by metasomatic volcanic activity with hot fluids carrying dissolved silica and iron migrating through porous volcanic rock filling in the holes with iron minerals and silica.  In the section on interstitial microbialites (in porous rocks) in the above book, Campos-Venuti states that "iron is very abundant in waters and is one of the main metabolic means for bacterial faunas."  However in this section he mainly discuses the biogenic influences seen in the picture jaspers like Biggs Jasper, Deschutes Jasper, Apache Canyon Jasper, Cripple Creek Jasper, Chicken Track Jasper, Sahara Jasper, and in the Owyhee Mountain Jaspers like Owyhee Jasper, Rocky Butte Jasper, Wildhorse Jasper, and Painted Desert Jasper.  He also claims biogenic influences in the formation of Moqui Marbles.  In the subsection "Reniform structures' of the section "Microbialites in Agates" he discuses Cobra Jasper from India, Cloud Agate from Australia, agate from Sough Khorasan, Iran and Laguna Agate from Mexico with reniform colonies.    The reniform structures are a type of nodular colony produced by the bioprecipitation of some minerals such as turquoise and magnesite.  According to the text, these reniform colonies tend to accumulate at the bottom of a cavity, a planktonic type fauna, similar to oncolites.  So poppy jasper doesn't seem to fit for a reniform structure.  However, that doesn't mean that it doesn't have a different biogenic influence.

 

Marco Sr. 

[grandpa]

So, talking about the Owyhee jaspers got me to thinking about Blue Mountain and Bruneau jaspers.  Does he mention them?

[MarcoSr]

8 hours ago, grandpa said:

So, talking about the Owyhee jaspers got me to thinking about Blue Mountain and Bruneau jaspers.  Does he mention them?

 

Two different processes create the picture jaspers and the orbed jaspers.  The picture jaspers have biogenic influences.  See the figure below from the book.  In the picture jaspers, the wells lines are thinner and fainter and are formed by a completely abiotic process.  In the picture jaspers, the heavier thicker lines are biogenic in origin.

 

 

 

 

For orbed jaspers like Bruneau Jasper (which Campos-Venuti specifically mentions) the orbs are formed in a completely abiotic process.  See the below figure from the book. Note: the scan of the book figure made the tan appear yellow.

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[Mediospirifer]

Fascinating!

 

I think I need to visit a bookstore....  

 

[MarcoSr]

14 hours ago, Mediospirifer said:

Fascinating!

 

I think I need to visit a bookstore....  

 

 

The book is definitely interesting with tons of great pictures of mineral specimens.  Other authors have written bits and pieces on these biogenic influence theories for different minerals.  However, Campos-Venuti advances these theories, adds new ones and puts them all together in one book.  Remember, however, not all these theories are in mainstream science and some are not yet accepted.  However, they have major implications for planet exploration (like Mars) for recognition of past life.  The book is 526 pages and in my opinion well worth the book cost.  However, the books ship from Spain with shipping cost very high.

 

Marco Sr.

[MarcoSr]

Picture jaspers (also sandstone) from my collection which show biogenic influences,  Posting the below figure from the Campos-Venuti book again as a reference.

 

 

 

Cripple Creek Picture Jasper, Owyhee, Oregon (191 grams 6.125×3.5x.19 to .25 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kanab Goldenstone Slab, sandstone, Cretaceous 120 to 180 MYA, Kanab, Utah (1079 grams 11x7.75x.375 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

African Queen Picture Jasper, Namibia, Africa (166 grams 5.5x3.5x.25 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[MarcoSr]

Some concretions have odd shapes thanks to the coalescence of different nodules and are called by the trade name fairy stones.  Two fairy stones from my collection which show biogenic influences,  The below figure is from the Campos-Venuti book as a reference.

 

 

 

 

Canadian Fairy Stone, few thousand to 2.5 MYA, Harricana River, Quebec, Canada (323 grams 5.5x3.625x.375 inches)  Note you can see a filamentous pattern in this stone which Campos-Venuti hypothesizes are traces of microbial filaments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fairy Stone, Menalite, flint transforming into sandstone, Morocco (147 grams 3.5x3x1.25 inches) with closeup pictures of the coalescing nodules:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[grandpa]

Good stuff!

[MarcoSr]

A really interesting biomineral is Rolling Hill Dolomite from Mexico.  The below figure from the Campos-Venuti book shows 3 phases of biogenic activity in Rolling Hill Dolomite.  Also below is a slab from my collection which shows two of the three phases (phase 2 and phase 3).

 

 

 

 

Rolling Hill Wave Dolomite, Mexico (362 grams 7.5 inches x 6 inches x .1875 inch thick):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[MarcoSr]

Another really interesting biomineral is Silver Lace Onyx from Calico, California.  The dendrites in this biomineral are caused by biogenic activity and not by chemical abiotic  processes. The below figure is from the Campos-Venuti book.  Also below is a slab of Silver Lace Onyx from my collection.

 

 

 

 

Silver Lace Onyx slab, Calico, California (207 grams  5x4x.25 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[grandpa]

Does the book say anything about the popular Montana dendritic agates?

 

I'm really enjoying this thread as my collection contains most of these examples as well.

[MarcoSr]

Below is another biomineral from my collection which is the result of two different bacterial colonies which developed during two different time periods.

 

 

Moqui Marbles have an inside biogenic sandstone nodule cemented with micritic calcite (formed within the Jurassic sandstones of the Navajo Formation) and an outside covered with biogenic goethite.  Campos-Venuti states that bacterial activity is required to produce carbonate nodules and references a chapter in his book and the works of Weber et al. 2012 and the subsequent works by the Loope group.  The fine banding of the goethite and small dendrites with size conformity are evidence of bacterial origin of the goethite.  (The statements in the previous discussion and the below figure are from the Campos-Venuti book).  Note there are many scientist authors who follow an abiotic model for the formation of these Moqui Marbles proposed by Yoshida et al. (2018), so this is a controversial theory by Campos-Venuti.

 

 

 

 

 

Moqui Marbles, pair, Utah (53 grams 1.375 inches diameter and 65 grams 1.75 inches diameter):

 

 

 

 

Moqui Mable 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moqui Marble 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[grandpa]

Don't have any Moqui's in my collection.  Do they have any internal patterning as picture on right in Fig. 5.21 would imply.

[MarcoSr]

23 minutes ago, grandpa said:

Does the book say anything about the popular Montana dendritic agates?

 

I'm really enjoying this thread as my collection contains most of these examples as well.

 

The book discuses dendrites in numerous sections.  I'm still trying to understand dendrites.  I need to reread a lot of the book to fully understand what Campos-Venuti is proposing for dendrites.  Dendrites appear in lots of different minerals i.e. opal, quartz, agate etc.  I'm still trying to distinguish biotic from mixed from abiotic dendrites.  Below are just two figures on dendrites from the Campos-Venuti book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[MarcoSr]

37 minutes ago, grandpa said:

Don't have any Moqui's in my collection.  Do they have any internal patterning as picture on right in Fig. 5.21 would imply.

 

I don't have any that are cut that I could take pictures of.  However, the below figure from the Campos-Venuti book, shows one cut with a pattern (The colored horizontal lines are from the scan and are not part of a pattern). 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[MarcoSr]

Below are a few other biominerals from my collection mentioned in the Campos-Venuti book.  As I add biominerals to my collection, I'll update this thread.  Please note that a lot of the discussion of these biominerals is almost verbatim from the Campos-Venuti book.

 

 

Pyrite suns are flattened because they developed in a sediment that was already rigid and could only develop in horizontal bedding planes.  The bacteria colony did not develop from a central point like with the fairy stones shown in an above reply, but developed from a flat millimeter thick pyrite horizontal disk and grew with vertical fibers and increased in thickness.

 

 

Pyrite Sun, Pennsylvanian Period 300 MYA, underground coal mines near Sparta, Randolph County, Illinois (312 grams 4.75x4.5x.28 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bauxite is important for the extraction of aluminum.  Bauxite has a pisolitic structure (from millimeters to centimeters) with no two pisolites alike.  Biofilms  are evident on all quartz grains studied from different bauxite deposits (Slukin et al. (2019).  The biofilms accelerate the dissolution of quartz and promote gibbsite precipitation.

 

 

Bauxite slab, east of Darling Ranges, outside of Perth, Australia (366 grams 4.5x4x.5 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tufa is a carbonate.  At Mono Lake (currently hypersaline and alkaline) in Nevada, carbonate tufa towers, because of lowering water levels, now emerge from the lake bottom.  Most authors assume the carbonate towers (tufa) were formed by abiotic precipitation.  However Campos-Venuti hypothesizes that the precipitation of the carbonate occurred during the ice age when the lake was colder and probably subglacial.  There are bacterial faunas that still live on the tower surfaces but it is uncertain whether they are descendants of the colonies that Campos-Venuti believes were responsible for the precipitation of the carbonate.  It is the irregular geometry of the towers and their resemblance to Ikka towers that leads Campos-Venuti to consider them as a true microbialite.

 

Tufa, Calcium Carbonate, Nevada (457 grams 4.5x3x2 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[doushantuo]

Marco,Sr you deserve fullsome praise for your photos,they are really excellent.

 

[doushantuo]

further praise: as you may have guessed, I read a lot of peer-reviewed petrological and mineralogical literature,and I can't REALLY remember seeing this illustrative quality*.

Furthermore,the large size greatly adds to the appeal.

This I would call "excruciatingly detailed documentation".

 

*having said that,photographs of handscale specimens is becoming increasingly rare in said literature

 

 

 

 

[MarcoSr]

2 hours ago, doushantuo said:

further praise: as you may have guessed, I read a lot of peer-reviewed petrological and mineralogical literature,and I can't REALLY remember seeing this illustrative quality*.

Furthermore,the large size greatly adds to the appeal.

This I would call "excruciatingly detailed documentation".

 

*having said that,photographs of handscale specimens is becoming increasingly rare in said literature

 

I definitely believe that a really good picture is worth a thousand words.  I have problems visualizing what paper authors describe in words.  I have even more problems when I'm reading a google translation of a paper written in a language other than English.  I can understand a good picture (unfortunately the pictures in a lot of the papers that I read are really poor quality) no matter what language the paper is written in.

 

Marco Sr. 

[doushantuo]

Totally with you on that.

As a matter of fact,if an article DOESN'T have adequate illustration,chances are I will not post it.

Pixels exceed verbiage

 

[MarcoSr]

I have lots of specimens with dendrites (opal, quartz, agate, sandstone etc.) which I'm still trying to determine if they are biotic, abiotic or abiotic contaminated.  Dendrites are discussed in multiple sections of the Campos-Venuti book.  Below are two pieces with biotic dendrites, an agate and a sandstone piece.  Truthfully, the pieces I have are not as cut and dry as the figures in the Campos-Venuti book would suggest.  

 

 

 

Dendritic Agate Slab, Afghanistan (24 grams 2x1.5x.188 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chinese picture stone aka painting stone, felsic sandstone, Sichuan Province, China (147 grams 3.5x3.25x.25 to .31 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[MarcoSr]

Below are a few other unusual biominerals from my collection mentioned by Campos-Venuti.

 

The below figure from the Campos-Venuti book shows how biogenically influenced fire agates are formed  (note the iron film is a microbial film):

 

 

 

 

 

A fire agate from my collection.

 

Burning Ember Fire Agate on white chalcedony, Negrita Mine, Calvillo, Aguascalientes, Mexico 277 grams 2.9 x2.5x2.3 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two other biogenically influenced minerals from my collection, a snakeskin agate and a chalcedony flower.

 

Snakeskin Agate, near Rome, Oregon 81 grams 1.75x1.5x1.5 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chalcedony Agate Flower, Druzy Crystal Cluster, Brazil, 17 grams 2x1.6x.25 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[grandpa]

Really enjoying this post!