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JessHaley
Joined: 16 Nov 2019
Posts: 2
Location: CO


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Posted: Nov 16, 2019 03:53 Post subject: Unsure of mineral or stone, found in northeastern Colorado |
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Need assistance identifying please. Thank you!!
Mineral: | Unknown |
Locality: | Colorado, USA |  |
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Dimensions: | 24.50 mm |
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Mineral: | Unknown |
Dimensions: | 24 mm |
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716 Time(s) |

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Bob Harman
Joined: 06 Nov 2015
Posts: 608
Location: Indiana



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Posted: Nov 16, 2019 05:52 Post subject: Re: Unsure of mineral or stone , found in northeastern Coloradi |
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Looks like Baryte. If so, these are found in a number of Colorado localities including Weld and Park Counties. Bob
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Sante Celiberti
Joined: 04 Oct 2019
Posts: 43
Location: Tuscany



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Posted: Nov 16, 2019 07:33 Post subject: Re: Unsure of mineral or stone , found in northeastern Coloradi |
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Or maybe Anhydrite. We have many in Tuscany with very similar shape and color.
Did you try the hardness?
Best regards.
Sante
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Bob Harman
Joined: 06 Nov 2015
Posts: 608
Location: Indiana



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Posted: Nov 16, 2019 08:08 Post subject: Re: Unsure of mineral or stone , found in northeastern Coloradi |
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Mr Celiberti, I seriously doubt that the example is anhydrite.
While baryte is common from multiple Colorado localities, anhydrite is less common and usually associated with rhodochrosite, all having a much different appearance. Also not found in Northeastern Colorado, but in the Ouray area in the SW part of the state.
I do not post on Tuscany minerals; you should get to really know Colorado minerals before posting on them. In general, posting on mineral identification should be only when real knowledge of the mineral/location is known. Just posting an incorrect id based on the photo per se only confuses the issue for the poster. Bob
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Bob Carnein
Joined: 22 Aug 2013
Posts: 157
Location: Florissant, CO



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Posted: Nov 16, 2019 08:56 Post subject: Re: Unsure of mineral or stone , found in northeastern Colorado |
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New mineral occurrences are found all the time, so to dismiss the possibility without real evidence is a bit rash. I would first like to know where in NE Colorado the find was made (Colorado is a big state), what kind of rock it was found in, and then know some details about the specimen. That said, I agree that baryte is more likely.
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Kevin Conroy

Joined: 03 Dec 2018
Posts: 65
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri


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Posted: Nov 16, 2019 09:20 Post subject: Re: Unsure of mineral or stone , found in northeastern Colorado |
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This is a very good crystal, nice find! If possible do some tests on a lesser specimen. Maybe start with a test to see if it's a carbonate: put some drops of muriatic acid on it and see if bubbles form.
Considering where it's from, the shape of the crystal, and the zoning there aren't too many minerals that this can be.
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JessHaley
Joined: 16 Nov 2019
Posts: 2
Location: CO


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Posted: Nov 16, 2019 10:22 Post subject: Re: Unsure of mineral or stone , found in northeastern Colorado |
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Found in some large canyons near Peetz County, Nebraska borderish, also found some possible fossils there as well . Not sure of the material its attached to, looks like a hardened sand of some sort, I've tried researching but just didn't know where to start ! Thank you all for your replies.
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Bob Harman
Joined: 06 Nov 2015
Posts: 608
Location: Indiana



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Posted: Nov 16, 2019 12:22 Post subject: Re: Unsure of mineral or stone , found in northeastern Colorado |
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Well, yours is a nice find as Kevin C noted.
Being found in the sedimentary fossil rich environment very near far SW Nebraska, where you found it, I reviewed Nebraska minerals. Lots of great fossils, but Nebraska is a relatively mineral barren state.
There is no Anhydrite reported. The only Baryte reported occurs in Gage County in far SE Nebraska. Celestine seems a possibility in the sedimentary environment, but that also occurs only in geodes
(Nebraska's only geode occurrence) in Wymore, also Gage County, far SE Nebraska.
Sooooo my opinion still is Baryte, with Celestine being a remote possibility. Not Anhydrite. Bob
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Sante Celiberti
Joined: 04 Oct 2019
Posts: 43
Location: Tuscany



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Posted: Nov 16, 2019 16:42 Post subject: Re: Unsure of mineral or stone, found in northeastern Colorado |
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Bob Harman wrote: | Mr. Celiberti, I seriously doubt that the example is anhydrite.
While baryte is common from multiple Colorado localities, anhydrite is less common and usually associated with rhodochrosite, all having a much different appearance. Also not found in Northeastern Colorado, but in the Ouray area in the SW part of the state.
I do not post on Tuscany minerals; you should get to really know Colorado minerals before posting on them. In general, posting on mineral identification should be only when real knowledge of the mineral/location is known. Just posting an incorrect id based on the photo per se only confuses the issue for the poster. Bob |
Mr. Harman
Having passed the 70 years for a while, and having collected minerals for over 50 years, I no longer have the age to show who is the first in the class.
I'm sorry if you have interpreted my post as a malfeasance. Far from my intentions the idea of a competition with you.
Everybody, in this Forum, knows the depth of your knowledge.
Normally, an experienced collector does not ask for a species id, at most for a locality id.
Therefore I disagree with you about the opportunity of suggesting to a new collector another investigation hypothesis, even unsupported and coming from a non-specialized collector.
Indeed, if on one side an unsupported suggestion could "confuse the issue", on the other side it could offer a non-expert collector the chance to investigate on two species instead of one, increasing his knowledge (which is the spirit of this Forum, if I'm not wrong).
Mr. Jesse Haley, thank to us, and knew that his specimen could be most likely Baryte, Subordinately, Celestine and less likely Anhydrite; he also knew that a hardness and/or hydrochloric acid test could help the identification.
I knew, thanks to your information, something more about Colorado minerals.
The users knew - as interesting as it may be- that in Tuscany there are Anhydrites with that shape and color.
Certainly it's just a grain of sand, but it's something.
On the other hand, the idea that one must speak just of his own country minerals would restrict very much the circulation of knowledge.
Certainly more credit must be given to an expert (Argumentum auctoritatis: "Ipse dixit"; "Autòs epha"; "Ubi maior minor cessat"...), but this does not prevent the others from giving their opinion.
Furthermore, I've not suggested a Pyrite or a Corundum, but - as you have done in your first and second hypothesis - another sulphate relatively common in many geological environments.
And, finally, I would be very very happy if you posted on Tuscany minerals.
A very friendly and sincere greeting.
Sante
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Bob Carnein
Joined: 22 Aug 2013
Posts: 157
Location: Florissant, CO



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Posted: Nov 16, 2019 18:34 Post subject: Re: Unsure of mineral or stone, found in northeastern Colorado |
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New Mexico Tech can do an XRD analysis for you, and it's very cheap (I believe it costs $15). If you have a piece that you can sacrifice (it needs to be about rice-grain size or a little bigger), that's one certain way to find out what it is.
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Tom Tucker
Joined: 03 Dec 2009
Posts: 58
Location: Virginia


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Posted: Nov 16, 2019 20:37 Post subject: Re: Unsure of mineral or stone, found in northeastern Colorado |
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Looks similar to barite from Muddy Creek, Rio Grande County, Colorado, which I don't think is in Northeast Colorado. There are a few pictures on Mindat.
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Birdbrain59
Joined: 07 Feb 2019
Posts: 13
Location: Oregon


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Posted: Nov 17, 2019 13:25 Post subject: Re: Unsure of mineral or stone, found in northeastern Colorado |
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Cool specimen !
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Kevin Conroy

Joined: 03 Dec 2018
Posts: 65
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri


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Posted: Nov 18, 2019 09:04 Post subject: Re: Unsure of mineral or stone, found in northeastern Colorado |
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You may want to contact Ed Raines at the Colorado School of Mines Museum. His contact information can be found in the lower right portion of the page:
https://www.mines.edu/geology-museum/
(link normalized by FMF)
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