FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Jessica Simonoff]

Hi everyone!

A lot of you have probably seen or heard of the hollow galena crystals from Madan, in which only the corners and edges of the crystals are present (there are no faces and no center). An example picture is attached to the post.

In October 2009, a message was posted to the Mindat forums [ https://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,55,157736,page=1 ] asking about whether these pieces were fakes. A lot of people ad been wondering the same for quite a while, but nobody had actually done any scientific experiment to see whether that was the case.

I talked to Ed Rosenzweig from Edwards Minerals about the discussion, and he lent me five specimens of hollow galena that were sold to him as natural so that I could experiment with them to see whether I could draw a conclusion about them being natural. Until then, he stopped selling them so that he wouldn't accidentally sell a fake mineral. An anonymous person on Mindat was able to make two similar specimens using microabrasion, and that person sent the pieces to me so that I could compare them to Ed's pieces.

I performed multiple tests at home to try and determine whether the pieces were fake, but I couldn't reach a definite conclusion that way. Lance Kearns at James Madison University invited me to use the SEM in his lab. Because of a time limit, I selected three pieces to look at: two from Ed, and one that was a definite fake donated anonymously. We looked at the man-made first so that it would show us what, if anything, to look for in the other specimen. One of the first things we noticed was that the surface of the galena had many spherical indentations - probably a result of the microabrasion. (A picture is attached to this post.) We also saw a glass sphere that was partially embedded in the surface of the galena, which was left-over abrasive material! (Picture attached.)

The other two pieces I examined also had the indentations and left-over abrasives. However, the last one had crystals of aluminum silicate that were used as the abrasive rather than glass (picture attached).

The conclusion I can draw from this is that the two specimens I examined are definitely fakes. I will not make an assumption about the ones I didn't test, because two is not a large enough sample size for me to feel comfortable saying that none are natural. However, I think it is safe to say that some, if not most, of these hollow galena specimens are faked. In my opinion, they are still beautiful pieces of mineral art - just not natural ones.

If you would like to read about my experiment with the hollow galenas in greater detail than this, you can read my Mindat article: https://www.mindat.org/article.php/977/Exploration+of+the+Hollowed+Galenas?del=1231 . The experiment is also published in the December 2010 issue of Mineral News.

Jessica

[Jordi Fabre]

Great job Jessica. Congratulations!

Jordi

[Jessica Simonoff]

thanks!!

Jessica

[GneissWare]

Hi Jessica,
I had just finished reading your article in Mineral News, and was impressed with the way the study was performed and the way the study was reported. If I recall correctly from your previous posts, you are still a teenager? You have a fine mind, and your article displays a degree of understanding rarely seen in people without a degree! Great piece of research.

Bob

[Jessica Simonoff]

thanks so much! Yes, I'm 12 (not technically a teenager yet :-) )
Jessica

[Peter Megaw]

This is great work Jessica! How these could form naturally was always a bigger problem for me than how they could be formed with micro-abrasion...nice to have those suspicions confirmed. But I AM glad that no-one made one with galena from Naica, or I probably would have been burned too!

But there's a bigger message here that is worth getting across. This work reflects what SHOULD happen in these questionable cases...but seldom does...cooperation between a dealer (who stood to lose his investment in these specimens) and a scientific researcher with access to the tools to do the study right. The dealer rightly took his stock off the market pending results and left the researcher free to publish the facts...financially painful as they are for the dealer.

Despite not having an exhaustive group of specimens to examine, and the researcher expressing due caution on that basis, the fact that these fakes can be readily made and that supposedly natural pieces can be readily shown to be fakes strongly suggests that ALL these pieces be relegated to the dustbins of fakery...unless someone can come up not only with compelling evidence for absence of the traces of fakery...but a plausible explanation for how these would occur naturally. Now the collector community can relabel their specimens accordingly...and/or return them to whoever they bought them from. The response of specific dealers to this issue should tell us a lot about who to do business with!

Above this however, was the integrity to question the material and the courage to publish the results in the face of possible repercussions from fellow dealers and collectors who stand to lose their investment in similar specimens. Comparable studies of much higher priced materials...in particular certain silver specimens...have apparently stopped short of screaming "fake" more because of these fears (including litigation) than lack of compelling scientific evidence of human involvement. The dealer here clearly had his doubts (as did many others) but does not appear to have attempted to steer the results in favor of them being certified as natural...not clear the same can be said for other dubious materials.

It is refreshing to see genuine scientific curiosity and interest win out for a change...especially in these days of strong-arming by politicians, lawyers and fellow "scientists" with an overweening stake in having results support their pre-conceptions...or desires.

[mmauthner]

Well done, Jessica!

Mark

[alfredo]

The fakers should have used HF to ged rid of the last traces of glass beads, and then HNO3 to etch the impact pits off the galena. (Aren't we all lucky I'm not in the mineral fakery business? :))

[Jordi Fabre]

I believe your life as a seller of fakeries would be very short Alfredo ;-)

Have you ever tried submerge Galena crystals in HF or HNO3? I beleive that after this treatment them could be hardly sold...;-)

[James Catmur]

Brilliant - we finally have view based on proper analysis. I was never certain that they were real but was fascinated by them as I love crystal forms and structures

James

[Matt_Zukowski]

Jessica never fails to impress.

[Jessica Simonoff]

Thank you so much everyone!!!
Peter - some mineral collecting friends did warn me that some people could get mad at me, but I thought that the science was more important. :) I am kind of wondering what will happen at Tucson but I'm not that worried about it!
Jordi - what would happen to the galena in HF or HNO3??
Jessica

[rweaver]

Jessica

What you did at your age was a great job of finding out the truth about sometihing you thought was wrong. I started collecting minerals when my parents joined San Diego Mineral and Gem back in 1968 (I was 14 at the time). Those friendships I have made over the years where based on trust and honesty in dealing with people. I learned from some of the best collectors and dealers of that day. Keep up the good work and enjoy what you are doing not only for yourself but for the future of this hobbie I love.

Bob

[alfredo]

Dilute HF would not hurt galena at all. It will attack quartz (very slowly) and dissolve micro glass particles (very quickly), so a short dip accomplishes the purpose splendidly. HNO3 will quickly attack galena easily, which is of course the purpose - to etch the crystals. An ugly white film of anglesite might develop, which can be removed with certain organic salts. As the advertizing goes in the USA: "Better life through chemistry" ;))

One friend told me I shouldn't say these sorts of things because it will encourage more fakery, But I do not believe that... everyone who enjoyed chemistry lab class in secondary school already knows these things - they aren't exactly "secrets". I think the fakers will be more quickly discouraged from their activities the faster we publish how they do their nefarious work. Let's expose their "secrets". So a hearty "bravo" to Jessica for taking on this task so successfully, and a respectful bow to the perceptive Rock Currier, who recognized right away how they had been made when the first one came out.

[chris]

Hi Jessica,

Great job indeed ! congratulations, and thanks to sharing with us.

Christophe

PS : Merry Christams