FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Ken]

I had seen these things several time before in a number of other stones but never took a close look at them. I came across one that seemed larger than the rest so I decided to check it out. I'm not sure what to make of this, it look like a host of maybe garnets fragment grouped in a hexagon shape. Anyone know what this is and why?

[James Catmur]

I would go with garnets

[Ricky hartzog]

Where was it found ?

[Ken]

These were found in the California desert. I came across a lot of other stones that had these small gemstones inside so I dug a lot of them out. I think these are garnets too, you can pick up most of these with a magnet.

[Bob Carnein]

Weak magnetism is common in garnets and varies according to composition. It can be produced either by inclusions of minerals such as magnetite (sometimes caused by exsolution) or metal ions (e.g. Fe, Mn, Cr) that are an integral part of the crystalline structure. The first photos you posted appear to have opaque inclusions that might be magnetite.