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What is Your Favorite Mineral?


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mineral | ˈmin(ə)r(ə)l | noun. a solid inorganic substance [chemical substance] of natural occurrence.

Assuming you have a favorite mineral, what is it, and why?

I think mine is bornite (Cu₅FeS₄), because it has both iridescence and metallic lustre (and I’m a sucker for both). This is to the point that I sometimes have dreams of finding it.

And sometimes I do find it, like on a camping trip a week ago, when I found bornite veins in quartzite bedrock (which was completely unexpected; I have not heard of copper minerals being found in that area).

 

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It's called clown range for a reason.

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Tough answer as I like color so much.  
I’ll pick Turquoise because of its variability.  But any of the blues are nice. But it drifts into greens and blacks. Being a SW person, Native American arts in turquoise are nice, but it don’t like it when it “goes over the top”.

But it would take a list as I’m a rock lover. 

IMG_0480.jpeg

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Before You Diagnose Yourself With Depression or Low Self-Esteem,...First Make Sure You Are Not In Fact, Just Surrounded By A$$holes.

2018 Record Rainfall - 62.65"   Record High Temp. 120.0*F
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16 hours ago, Andie said:

Tough answer as I like color so much.  
I’ll pick Turquoise because of its variability.  But any of the blues are nice. But it drifts into greens and blacks. Being a SW person, Native American arts in turquoise are nice, but it don’t like it when it “goes over the top”.

But it would take a list as I’m a rock lover. 

IMG_0480.jpeg

Another copper mineral: CuAl₆(PO₄)₄(OH)₈·4H₂O. (It’s the copper that is responsible for the blue color.)

It’s one of the so-called secondary minerals that forms in response to weathering over millions of years, and the sort of weathering needed to cause it happens only in a drier climate. This is why turquoise is only found in arid to semiarid regions.

There is a road south of Santa Fe, NM that is called the Turquoise Trail, and the name is (or was) literally correct, because not only are there old turquoise mines in the area, in the 1980’s the state highway department re-graveled it using material from the old mine tailings. Yes, people were finding bits of turquoise in the road gravel after that was done.

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It's called clown range for a reason.

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That is amazing.  I’m very fond of amber too. I don’t wear it but just the fact it exists and how it’s formed is interesting.   
Im not very knowledgeable on rocks in their chemical sense but I love how they’re so individual.  
I have a stony meteorite (not iron) that I need to get examined.  It weighs at least 3lbs.  I need to take it to an expert and get smarter.  I’ve had it since I was a child.  

Before You Diagnose Yourself With Depression or Low Self-Esteem,...First Make Sure You Are Not In Fact, Just Surrounded By A$$holes.

2018 Record Rainfall - 62.65"   Record High Temp. 120.0*F
Record 
Low Temp. - 8.4*F

 

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6 minutes ago, Andie said:

That is amazing.  I’m very fond of amber too. I don’t wear it but just the fact it exists and how it’s formed is interesting.   
Im not very knowledgeable on rocks in their chemical sense but I love how they’re so individual.  
I have a stony meteorite (not iron) that I need to get examined.  It weighs at least 3lbs.  I need to take it to an expert and get smarter.  I’ve had it since I was a child.  

Amber is interesting. It’s not a mineral, because it doesn’t have a defined chemical composition. It’s questionable whether it’s even a rock, since it is literally the same carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms that comprised the ancient tree sap it came from.

I have found amber in the coal deposits east and south of Seattle, where it is known to occur. It was not gem-quality amber, occurring in small nodules too small and far too brittle to be useful for such purposes, and therefore had no value other than curiosity value. I had the idea to drop a small bit of it on a hot stove burner. It smoked and caught fire, as my kitchen filled with the resinous aroma of a tree species that became extinct many millions of years ago.

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It's called clown range for a reason.

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Wow.  The thought of that ancient scent coming back to life is a stunner.   Bit of a mind trip.  
I’ve often wondered how Mt St Helen’s affected the geology, changed rock composition or revealed unknown veins.  
So much is buried in the earth. We’re still ignorant. 

Before You Diagnose Yourself With Depression or Low Self-Esteem,...First Make Sure You Are Not In Fact, Just Surrounded By A$$holes.

2018 Record Rainfall - 62.65"   Record High Temp. 120.0*F
Record 
Low Temp. - 8.4*F

 

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On 8/24/2024 at 8:00 AM, Rubus Leucodermis said:

Amber is interesting. It’s not a mineral, because it doesn’t have a defined chemical composition. It’s questionable whether it’s even a rock, since it is literally the same carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms that comprised the ancient tree sap it came from.

I have found amber in the coal deposits east and south of Seattle, where it is known to occur. It was not gem-quality amber, occurring in small nodules too small and far too brittle to be useful for such purposes, and therefore had no value other than curiosity value. I had the idea to drop a small bit of it on a hot stove burner. It smoked and caught fire, as my kitchen filled with the resinous aroma of a tree species that became extinct many millions of years ago.

Didn't know you were such a geology and chemistry whiz. And that last story is so cool with the smell coming to life again. What did it smell like?

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On 8/22/2024 at 8:49 PM, Rubus Leucodermis said:

mineral | ˈmin(ə)r(ə)l | noun. a solid inorganic substance [chemical substance] of natural occurrence.

Assuming you have a favorite mineral, what is it, and why?

I think mine is bornite (Cu₅FeS₄), because it has both iridescence and metallic lustre (and I’m a sucker for both). This is to the point that I sometimes have dreams of finding it.

And sometimes I do find it, like on a camping trip a week ago, when I found bornite veins in quartzite bedrock (which was completely unexpected; I have not heard of copper minerals being found in that area).

 

 

Without a doubt mine is gold.  That stuff is just so pretty and valuable.  I love it so much I have a gold mining claim.

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9 hours ago, Meatyorologist said:

Didn't know you were such a geology and chemistry whiz. And that last story is so cool with the smell coming to life again. What did it smell like?

It’s really hard to describe a smell. It must be experienced. Best I can say is that is smelled resinous.

It's called clown range for a reason.

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