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Don Lum
Joined: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 2868
Location: Arkansas
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Posted: May 12, 2017 10:28 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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Pierre Joubert wrote: | Hi Don. Stunning quartz specimens with cookeite.Well done with acquiring them. |
Thank you, Pierre. I have been enjoying the pictures of your collecting trips.
Hello to Riana.
Regards,
Don
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Don Lum
Joined: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 2868
Location: Arkansas
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Posted: May 14, 2017 16:09 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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Marcasite tubes
Mineral: | Fluorite, Calcite, Marcasite |
Locality: | Annabel Lee Mine, Bethel level, Harris Creek Sub-District, Hardin County, Illinois, USA | |
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Dimensions: | 220mm x 185mm x 47mm |
Description: |
Marcasite tubes on Fluorite with Calcite ex Les Tolonen mined circa 1985-1986 |
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Viewed: |
16636 Time(s) |
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Mineral: | Fluorite, Calcite, Marcasite |
Locality: | Annabel Lee Mine, Bethel level, Harris Creek Sub-District, Hardin County, Illinois, USA | |
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Dimensions: | 220mm x 185mm x 47mm |
Description: |
Marcasite tubes on Fluorite with Calcite ex Les Tolonen mined circa 1985-1986 |
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Viewed: |
16601 Time(s) |
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Mineral: | Fluorite, Calcite, Marcasite |
Locality: | Annabel Lee Mine, Bethel level, Harris Creek Sub-District, Hardin County, Illinois, USA | |
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Dimensions: | 220mm x 185mm x 47mm |
Description: |
Marcasite tubes on Fluorite with Calcite ex Les Tolonen mined circa 1985-1986 |
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Viewed: |
16694 Time(s) |
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Mineral: | Fluorite, Calcite, Marcasite |
Locality: | Annabel Lee Mine, Bethel level, Harris Creek Sub-District, Hardin County, Illinois, USA | |
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Dimensions: | 220mm x 185mm x 47mm |
Description: |
Marcasite tubes on Fluorite with Calcite ex Les Tolonen mined circa 1985-1986 |
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Viewed: |
16634 Time(s) |
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Mineral: | Fluorite, Calcite, Marcasite |
Locality: | Annabel Lee Mine, Bethel level, Harris Creek Sub-District, Hardin County, Illinois, USA | |
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Dimensions: | 220mm x 185mm x 47mm |
Description: |
Marcasite tubes on Fluorite with Calcite ex Les Tolonen mined circa 1985-1986 |
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Viewed: |
16633 Time(s) |
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Mineral: | Fluorite, Calcite, Marcasite |
Locality: | Annabel Lee Mine, Bethel level, Harris Creek Sub-District, Hardin County, Illinois, USA | |
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Dimensions: | 220mm x 185mm x 47mm |
Description: |
Marcasite tubes on Fluorite with Calcite ex Les Tolonen mined circa 1985-1986 |
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Viewed: |
16669 Time(s) |
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alfredo
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Joined: 30 Jan 2008
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Posted: May 15, 2017 07:14 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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As a fan of metallic minerals, I must say Don's Illinois marcasite tubes are spectacular and amazing! Something very similar is occasionally found at the Huanuni tin mine in Bolivia, but usually straight or with only milder curvatures. I wonder why they form like that and, if there is a simple explanation for their formation, why they are so uncommon?
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Jamison Brizendine
Joined: 27 Feb 2014
Posts: 128
Location: Northeast Ohio
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Posted: May 15, 2017 11:00 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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That Annabel Lee Mine specimen is definitely an oddity and a sweet one at that!
I searched my 1988 Rocks and Minerals article on the district and there was this note:
"Marcasite occurs as reniform and stalactitic late-stage overgrowths on calcite and fluorite and as inclusions in fluorite, frequently in the color zones...A notable occurrence of marcasite was found in 1985 in the Annabel Lee Mine as twinned (marcasite) crystals (2 to 5 mm) intergrown with pyrite and coating yellow fluorite cubes (3 to 6 cm)" (Lillie, 1988).
Your specimen probably came from the Bethel Level.
References Cited:
Lillie, R. (1988) Minerals of the Harris Creek Fluorspar District, Hardin County, Illinois. Rocks and Minerals: 63(3): p. 224.
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Don Lum
Joined: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 2868
Location: Arkansas
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Posted: May 15, 2017 13:02 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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Jamison Brizendine wrote: | That Annabel Lee Mine specimen is definitely an oddity and a sweet one at that!
I searched my 1988 Rocks and Minerals article on the district and there was this note:
"Marcasite occurs as reniform and stalactitic late-stage overgrowths on calcite and fluorite and as inclusions in fluorite, frequently in the color zones...A notable occurrence of marcasite was found in 1985 in the Annabel Lee Mine as twinned (marcasite) crystals (2 to 5 mm) intergrown with pyrite and coating yellow fluorite cubes (3 to 6 cm)" (Lillie, 1988).
Your specimen probably came from the Bethel Level.
References Cited:
Lillie, R. (1988) Minerals of the Harris Creek Fluorspar District, Hardin County, Illinois. Rocks and Minerals: 63(3): p. 224. |
Thank you for looking up the article, Jamison. Do you have any idea of the mechanism of the formation of the tubes? I had imagined an organic origin with replacement (mineralization) of the tubes with silica and/or marcasite. I found an article about tube worms in hot vents in the Pacific Ocean being replaced by minerals but I have no idea what happened in this specimen from Illinois. I will post that reference.
Regards,
Don
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Don Lum
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Don Lum
Joined: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 2868
Location: Arkansas
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Posted: May 15, 2017 14:18 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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Other ideas: steady dripping of a saturated or supersaturated solutions like what Jamison mentioned, stalactitic growths. Or like the dripping of a candle. Or mineralization of a fungal rhizome. The reason that I don't think it is a steady drip is because the tubes change directions. As David Filby said in the Time Machine: One cannot choose, but wonder.
Don
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Don Lum
Joined: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 2868
Location: Arkansas
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Posted: May 15, 2017 14:50 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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I just received an email from Jared Freiburg with some information. I know he will not mind my sharing.
Hi Don-
Saw your post on FMF as I do my daily lurking. First off, photos are great! I've thought about this a lot in the past as my MS research locale had the occurrence of marcasite stalactites. They are most common in the Upper Mississippi Valley Pb-Zn District but found all around the fringe of the Illinois Basin. Although, very uncommon for the Illinois Fl District, I would imagine a similar mechanism for precipitation. The short and probably cheap answer is that these formed as a result of the reaction of iron (likely in the host rock sediments) and H2S formed through microbial sulfate reduction or thermochemical sulfate reduction. Either processes are likely associated with the generation of hydrocarbons during the “cooking” of organic rich shale that underlies the fluorspar host rocks. It is no surprise to find these precipitated over the early generation yellow that is often etched and also associated with an event of hydrocarbon (pyrobitumen) generation and migration. All in all more research is needed on the generation of marcasite stalactite (tubes) form. I think S isotopes of marcasite stalactites from different locales may help us better understand the mechanism of precipitation. All the fun papers I could do if I had time. J
Cheers
Survey_Logo
Jared T. Freiburg
Geologist
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
615 East Peabody Dr., Champaign, IL 61820
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Don Lum
Joined: 03 Sep 2012
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Posted: May 15, 2017 18:01 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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Hello Jared,
Thanks for your insight about the Marcasite tubes. It's good to hear from you.
Regards,
Don
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Don Lum
Joined: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 2868
Location: Arkansas
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Posted: May 18, 2017 12:26 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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Strontianite, Calcite
Mineral: | Strontianite, Calcite |
Locality: | Minerva I Mine, Ozark-Mahoning group, Cave-in-Rock Sub-District, Hardin County, Illinois, USA | |
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Dimensions: | 125mm x 100mm x 75mm |
Description: |
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Viewed: |
16152 Time(s) |
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Mineral: | Strontianite, Calcite |
Locality: | Minerva I Mine, Ozark-Mahoning group, Cave-in-Rock Sub-District, Hardin County, Illinois, USA | |
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Dimensions: | 125mm x 100mm x 75mm |
Description: |
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Viewed: |
16163 Time(s) |
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Mineral: | Strontianite, Calcite |
Locality: | Minerva I Mine, Ozark-Mahoning group, Cave-in-Rock Sub-District, Hardin County, Illinois, USA | |
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Dimensions: | 125mm x 100mm x 75mm |
Description: |
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Viewed: |
16195 Time(s) |
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Carles Millan
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Joined: 05 May 2007
Posts: 1474
Location: Catalonia
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Posted: May 18, 2017 13:24 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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Really nice strontianite, Don. I love the pyramidal habit and the flower-like groups. By the way, which are the calcite crystals?
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Don Lum
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Location: Arkansas
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Posted: May 18, 2017 13:54 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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Carles Millan wrote: | Really nice strontianite, Don. I love the pyramidal habit and the flower-like groups. By the way, which are the calcite crystals? |
The Strontianite are the acicular crystals, some in bow-tie arrangement. Are you suggesting that there is no calcite present, Carles?
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alfredo
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Posted: May 18, 2017 14:19 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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The calcites are the larger, whiter crystals, aren't they?
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Don Lum
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Location: Arkansas
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Posted: May 18, 2017 14:24 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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alfredo wrote: | The calcites are the larger, whiter crystals, aren't they? |
Alfredo, you are correct. The larger whiter crystals look like dogtooth calcite.
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Carles Millan
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Posted: May 18, 2017 14:26 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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To be sure a chemical analysis would be needed.
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Michael Shaw
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Posted: May 18, 2017 14:45 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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Carles Millan wrote: | To be sure a chemical analysis would be needed. |
Carles,
I disagree. This is a classic association from the Minerva Mine. A simple drop of HCL will confirm the calcite.
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alfredo
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Posted: May 18, 2017 14:55 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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Doesn't strontianite fizz with acid too?
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Carles Millan
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Posted: May 18, 2017 14:59 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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crosstimber wrote: | Carles Millan wrote: | To be sure a chemical analysis would be needed. | Carles, I disagree. This is a classic association from the Minerva Mine. A simple drop of HCL will confirm the calcite. |
The strontianite also reacts with HCl. It's a carbonate like calcite. And strontium is a metal chemically very close to calcium.
Whether it is a typical combination of Minerva mine is another story. I'm not going to argue about such statement.
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Michael Shaw
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Posted: May 18, 2017 15:00 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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alfredo wrote: | Doesn't strontianite fizz with acid too? |
Yes, Alfredo, strontianite will fizz with acid. But the larger scalenohedral crystals associated with the strontianite are clearly calcite. Minerva Mine strontianites tend to form curved crystal aggregates which are shown nicely in Don's photo.
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Don Lum
Joined: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 2868
Location: Arkansas
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Posted: May 18, 2017 15:59 Post subject: Re: Don Lum Collection |
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Thank you Michael, Alfredo, and Carles. All I can say with certainty is that no hydrochloric acid will touch this specimen as long as it is in my collection. ;-)
Don
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