bushbabykatie Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Hello there i acquired this large unidentified object some time ago from a family member and when people ask what it is i can only reply with rock, which does not do it any justice what so ever, It is heavy 5-7 kgs at a guess, its colour is teal and it is made up of countless 2mm (approx) crystals that are highly reflective and incredibly sharp to touch, Ive attempted countless mineral flow charts to no avail and wondered if any one on here had any clue?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Sorry not to be able to help you, but without a much more detailed close-up picture of the crystals it's virtually impossible to even take a guess at this. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbabykatie Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 Thanks, Attempted to help a little more with 2 more images one of a close up of the surface and the other a fragment that was broken off some time ago. Thank you for all your help guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 BBkate, Have you any idea of it's origins? Not much of a mineral guy, but did you try asking on Mindat.org? Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Hmmmm....this isn't easy. I still can't recognize the crystal form, which is essential for identification. The blue color indicates that copper was possibly involved in the paragenese, but it certainly isn't a metal ore. It may be aragonite or more possibly gypsum. It looks like it's been corroded at any rate and that happens easily with those minerals. It could however also be calcite or any number of other minerals. It sure would help if you knew where it comes from and in which layers it was found. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbabykatie Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 Thanks for the replies It was bought from Thailand but was apparently sold as a volcanic rock from Brazil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbabykatie Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 I have been told it looks to be silicon carbide and upon viewing images on google, the similarities were there!! So doesn't look like the person selling this to my family member was telling the truth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I have been told it looks to be silicon carbide and upon viewing images on google, the similarities were there!! So doesn't look like the person selling this to my family member was telling the truth! Nice detective work! Looks like a match. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I have been told it looks to be silicon carbide and upon viewing images on google, the similarities were there!! So doesn't look like the person selling this to my family member was telling the truth! To be quite honest, I was also wondering if it's synthetically made, but I didn't want to disappoint you at first. By the looks of things this could very well be the case. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jyonts12 Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 As a geologist, I can not determine from the photos what mineral it could be. I would have to agree and say that it is synthetic. Silicon carbide looks like a good choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbabykatie Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 Thank you for all your help uch apprechiated!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgrilusHunter Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 I'm sorry I missed this earlier today, I would have chimed in sooner. You are right that this is absolutely silicon carbide. I've seen this being sold in rock shops here in Indiana twice now as a natural crystal. Both times the shop owner was adamant that it was real. Here is a nice page on these crystals. http://www.theodoregray.com/periodictable/Samples/SiliconCarbide2/index.s12.html "They ... savoured the strange warm glow of being much more ignorant than ordinary people, who were only ignorant of ordinary things." -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbabykatie Posted September 2, 2012 Author Share Posted September 2, 2012 Thank you very much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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