FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[captaincaveman]

Hi guys, ive just started collecting in the uk and just struck a few problems, hope you can help?

Firstly i purchased a few pieces if bornite, one being purple, the others a mixture of purple, blue and gold, it was sold as peacock ore but confused on the difference between bornite and chalcopyrite?

Secondly i purchaced a tumblestone of tremolite and a raw piece of tigers eye, after reading both contain asbestos are they safe in the forms i have them?

thirdly, can anyone help on a list of unsafe minerals or help explain how safe minerals containing mercury, asbestos and arsenic are, are the active ingredients safe in the mineral forms, things like cinnabar, realgar, adamite etc

Anyother help would be appreciated and hopefully ive used terminology that wont offend

Thanks

Jason

[Les Presmyk]

Both bornite and chalcopyrite are copper iron sulfides with different ratios of copper, iron and sulfur. Bornite has traditionally been known as peacock ore because of the rich colors it displays when first brought out of the ground. Bornite is darker with blues, purples and blacks as the normal colors. Chalcopyrite is generally a golden yellow color with flashes of purples and blues. Unfortunately, over a period of year, the bornite is more susceptable to oxidizing and tarnishing (turning black). What is normally sold as peacock ore is chalcopyrite that has been chemically treated to produce the "peacock" type colors.

Neither Tiger Eye or tremolite are dangerous, unless you swallow the specimen or drop it on your foot. Tremolite does not contain asbestos. Minerals containing uranium, radium or thorium need to be stored properly and after handling a few minerals, such as realgar, orpiment, native arsenic, laurelite and aravaipaite, one should wash your hands before eating a sandwich. Some conatin arsenic or soluable lead minerals but more minerals can be handled without alarm.

[Tracy]

Hi Jason -

To your asbestos question, there are two comments I would make. One is that asbestiform materials only present a health hazard if they are fraayed, such that individual fibers might be inhaled. I don't think you have much to worry about from the stones you have purchased.

The second comment actually applies both your asbestos and general poisons questions. It is that "the dose makes the poison." By this I mean that one would have to be systemically exposed to "enough" of a poison to cause health effects. Furthermore, the chemical form (such as ionic state or organic versus inorganic) of the poisonous elements determines the degree and extent of one's exposure. I don't see there being any serious reason for concern that youy might get a poisonous dose through your minerals, unless perhaps if you lined the entire wall of your house with cinnabar and heated it (to release the mercury). :-) It is pretty much impossible that by handling a mineral specimen containing a poisonous element, which might or might not be released in an absorbale (= hazardous) form, that there would be anything to worry about.

Hope this helps.

- Tracy

[Les Presmyk]

Tracy is definitely the expert in these types of matter so I learned a great deal from her answer.

[Jordi Fabre]

Welcome to FMF Jason!

Recommended Reading:

- "Bornite here?" -> https://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/viewtopic.php?t=1294

- "Sensitive minerals" -> https://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/viewtopic.php?t=361

Jordi

[captaincaveman]

Thankyou for the quick replys, im sorry to be a pain with these basic questions, if i supplied photos would it be possible to identify exactly what the mineral is? i would like a sample of both bornite and chalcopyrite in my collection(which is at about 60 items now, with a small sample of crocoite being my latest proud purchase lol)

Thankyou for the reassurance with the "toxic" elements, i have been avoiding two small but pretty samples of cinnabar and orpiment(unsure as to the matrix they are on), for fear of killing myself

In the Uk there are many local "new age" shops which are a quick source of many crystals and minerals, usually with a basic label and no specifics, yesterday i saw a mineral labelled zeolite but wasnt anymore specific as to which type

Im fascinated by the whole field of minerology but sadly for me its a minefield with names and information, hopefully i wont be too much of a thorn in your sides

Thanks again

Jason

[Les Presmyk]

Zeolite is a mineral family, not a mineral. As a general rule, the New Age shops are not concerned with accurate mineral and locality information but they are interesting to walk through. One never knows when you might actually find a good specimen there.

Locality information is very important so you should find out about shows you can attend and meet knowledgeable collectors and dealers. Nick Carruth is one such dealer and Ian Bruce is another.

Finally, the easiest way to tell if your peacock ore is chalcopyrite or bornite is to take a pair of pliers and snip a corner of one edge of the specimen. If it is a golden yellow (sort of like pyrite underneath) it the mineral is chalcopyrite. If it is the same color as the surface it is bornite.

[captaincaveman]

[Les Presmyk]

When I am travelling I do go through rock shops and the New Age shops just to see what might be there. The internet is a tremendous resource for finding out about minerals, other collectors and dealers, as are local shows and museums.