FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Godscreation1988]

Hello,

My name is Michael and I am new to the forums. I found this interesting looking mineral in a red lava rock covered planting bed yesterday. In my lifetime I have seen a tremendous number of lava rock pieces but I have never seen one with another mineral attached. I wish to identify the mineral(s) attached to the "red lava rock" piece in the photo I provided. I am not looking to sell this specimen but I am going to begin collecting. Thank you in advance for your assistance. I apologize for the blurry photo.

Michael

[Roy Starkey]

Please upload a photo that is in focus.

[Godscreation1988]

I hope this photo will suffice for identification purposes. Thank you Roy.

[Tobi]

Hi Michael,

the photo is much better than the first one, but we need more information. Where exactly did you find this piece?

Tobi

[Herwig]

Dear Michael,
Based on the info you provided, my best guess is that this mineral is either aragonite or calcite; in other words: a calcium carbonate.

Here are a few tests you can do: https://www.mindat.org/a/tests_on_small_xls
I would certainly recommend doing the scratch test.

Assuming it is indeed a calcium carbonate, you can also do the following:
* take a small grain of the mineral and put it in a small spoon.
* put a few drops of vinegar next to the mineral grain
* take a magnifying glass
* look through the magnifying glass when you push the grain into the vinegar
* look for bubbles
=> IF you see bubbles, then it IS either calcite or aragonite
==> If NO bubbles, then it is something else

Please let us know your observations.
Cheers, Herwig

[James Catmur]

It is best to take the photo by placing it on plain white paper, that way the camera focuses on the mineral not the background

[Godscreation1988]

Good morning everyone. Thank you for you for your replies and suggestions. I am going to do some research and make some observations and reply again. Although a blurry photo I took last night, it demonstrates that the mineral(s) is/are vitreous. I will post more shortly.

[Godscreation1988]

Photo 3...

[Godscreation1988]

Photo 4...

[Godscreation1988]

Photo 5, the "reverse" of the mineral...

[Godscreation1988]

I collected this mineral piece yesterday morning in my grandma's planting bed while I was weeding, Tobi. The bed is coated with this "red lava rock" and I have observed countless "red lava rocks" since I started working in their garden many years ago. Before this, I have never seen anything but moss and calcium (carbonate?) on the mineral pieces, so this one really stands out to me. I do not want to damage the piece to do any chemical testing, but thank you for the suggestion, Herwig.

James, I did my best to obtain a few photos in natural light and although not diffuse natural light (such as that produced when cloudy). These show the true color of the piece better.

[Godscreation1988]

I should add, this mineral piece is very solid and no pieces had broken off in my pocket or in my hand.

Michael

[Bob Carnein]

If you aren't willing to do any testing, it seems you are wasting our time.

[Godscreation1988]

I am not a scientist so I will leave it to the scientific community to do testing after I pass. Until then, I will operate under the assumption it is Adamite deposits on scoria. This is based on a bit of research of scoria with mineral deposits. Very commonly, the combination features Adamite.

I like to share my finds and purchases too without destroying them.

Michael

[Herwig]

Do you want to know what it really is?

There might be an inexpensive way without destroying the specimen.

But if you prefer to hold on to adamite, that's fine, too.
Besides the fact, that it's most likely the wrong ID.