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It's kind of a slow, lazy day today, with the temperature warming up to the upper 80s (mid 90s by Tuesday).  The camera is down, with the battery recharging, so I thought I would post a mineral specimen that I previously posted on CT about two years ago, as part of my thread on the beauty of impermanence. 

This old timer specimen is a mass of malachite and azurite with a polished face.  The intense greens and blues really stand out.

Malachite (green) and azurite (blue) are sister minerals, and they are responsible for some of the beautiful patinas seen on some ancient bronzes.  Not all ancient bronzes acquire a hard almost gem-like color and sheen, but when they do they are a pleasure to behold.

Here's the specimen:

Massive Malachite and Azurite,  Bisbee, Mule Mountains, Arizona.

297.8  grams

1675905211_D-CameraMalachiteandAzuriteBisbeeMuleMountainsArizona297_8g.9-29-20.jpg.380f8b643f78f1cf0b533ebdb71170e7.jpg

Edited by robinjojo
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57 minutes ago, robinjojo said:

It's kind of a slow, lazy day today, with the temperature warming up to the upper 80s (mid 90s by Tuesday).  The camera is down, with the battery recharging, so I thought I would post a mineral specimen that I previously posted on CT about two years ago, as part of my thread on the beauty of impermanence. 

This old timer specimen is a mass of malachite and azurite with a polished face.  The intense greens and blues really stand out.

Malachite (green) and azurite (blue) are sister minerals, and they are responsible for some of the beautiful patinas seen on some ancient bronzes.  Not all ancient bronzes acquire a hard almost gem-like color and sheen, but when they do they are a pleasure to behold.

Here's the specimen:

Massive Malachite and Azurite,  Bisbee, Mule Mountains, Arizona.

297.8  grams

1675905211_D-CameraMalachiteandAzuriteBisbeeMuleMountainsArizona297_8g.9-29-20.jpg.380f8b643f78f1cf0b533ebdb71170e7.jpg


Bisbee related item.9B0B8648-7C31-4400-8D2C-A6C702323259.jpeg.09e8bf1f32d5a0e6e267b6c0bc546d73.jpeg

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@robinjojo Yes, it’s a marvelous hammered silver coin made by a friend who became fascinated with ancients. 

AR (35mm 28.34 gr)

Javelina right surrounded by wreath of prickly pear cactus pads, OB (Old Bisbee) above, BSBE (Bisbee) below.

Phainopepla right on branches, PHN-O-PPLA

Edited by Etcherdude
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45 minutes ago, Spaniard said:

Picked up this year's back, but still don't know what it is? Pretty though.

20220815_161645.jpg.807e64eb903742da0e860aad87ff1aa3.jpg20220815_161631.jpg.9cd718d71b1a87a556a3fde3482d7300.jpg

I'm not a geologist or mineralogist, but it reminds me of Stibnite (antimony).  That might be a place to start.  Just a guess from something that stuck in my memory, so I could be completely wrong.

 

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Well, Cornwall is a classic location for tin, going back to Roman times., as well as numerous other minerals.

Here's a website that shows some of the minerals:

https://www.virtualmicroscope.org/content/cornish-mineral-heritage?page=0

I think you might have a crystal cluster of arsenopyrite, but that just a guess based on the photos.  Arsenic is part of its composition (FeAsS) and it is perfectly safe to  handle.  Just wash your hands when finished.

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Here's one more malachite specimen that I've owned since 1969, when it was purchased from an Italian mineral dealer near Milan.  

The Russian malachite that was mined in the middle Ural Mountains in the 19th century was of such high quality and massive quantities that Russian artisans were able to create magnificent objects using veneered malachite from this area.  The famous Winter Palace Malachite Room of the Hermitage Museum, created in the 1830s, is renowned for its malachite veneered works of art, including table tops, urns, columns and wall panels.

Malachite

351504990_MalachiteRoomHermitage8-18-22.jpg.e3ef7e366accaacc580e934ab31b932a.jpg

1552525395_MalachiteRoomHermitage.28-18-22.jpg.2ddea28e4b21dd69ff599f60e033005a.jpg

 

The Ural malachite is a classic, no longer obtainable except through old collections.  The contrasting green banding and eyes is remarkable and not equaled by other locations.

Malachite Middle Ural Mountains, Russia.

9.5cm x 8.2cm x 4.5cm; 474.8 grams.

1292314713_D-CameraMalachiteMiddleUralMountainsRussia9.5cmx8.2cmx4.5cm474.8gItalyMilan19698-17-22.jpg.7a8db5ef0939883d998fc443202064f3.jpg

 

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34 minutes ago, robinjojo said:

Here's one more malachite specimen that I've owned since 1969, when it was purchased from an Italian mineral dealer near Milan.  

The Russian malachite that was mined in the middle Ural Mountains in the 19th century was of such high quality and massive quantities that Russian artisans were able to create magnificent objects using veneered malachite from this area.  The famous Winter Palace Malachite Room of the Hermitage Museum, created in the 1830s, is renowned for its malachite veneered works of art, including table tops, urns, columns and wall panels.

Malachite

351504990_MalachiteRoomHermitage8-18-22.jpg.e3ef7e366accaacc580e934ab31b932a.jpg

1552525395_MalachiteRoomHermitage.28-18-22.jpg.2ddea28e4b21dd69ff599f60e033005a.jpg

 

The Ural malachite is a classic, no longer obtainable except through old collections.  The contrasting green banding and eyes is remarkable and not equaled by other locations.

Malachite Middle Ural Mountains, Russia.

9.5cm x 8.2cm x 4.5cm; 474.8 grams.

1292314713_D-CameraMalachiteMiddleUralMountainsRussia9.5cmx8.2cmx4.5cm474.8gItalyMilan19698-17-22.jpg.7a8db5ef0939883d998fc443202064f3.jpg

 

Thanks for sharing that remarkable piece

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  • 5 weeks later...

The last ones look like Pyrite

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrite#/media/File:Pyrite_elbe.jpg

 

The crystals on top are cubic. 

Halite (rock salt)?????

https://celestialearthminerals.com/product/crystals-minerals/halite-mineral-specimen-3/

Fluorite is also cubic, but mostly greenish

Edited by shanxi
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Here are a few "eye" agates from Alashan, Inner Mongolia.  The eyes in these examples are clearly pseudomorphs, replacements of a previous mineral by quartz.  In the case of these specimens I believe the mineral replaced was aragonite, a mineral that can take on different forms, from crystalline to massive banded forms, including eye-like formations.  I might be wrong about this, but I don't know of another mineral, other than possibly a zeolite, that would be a candidate, an unlikely one I think.

That aside, these agates come from a vast arid plateau in the Gobi Desert, a windswept region that is part of the legendary Silk Road of ancient times.  Other type of agates and fossils have be found in what was, eons ago, an ocean bed.  

172 grams

1106617944_D-CameraGobiagateInnerMongoliaChina172grams9-21-22.jpg.f7abf3dd5fc87cb74e6cdcc2ccdd1f42.jpg

 

219.5 grams

664497713_D-CameraGobiagateInnerMongoliaChina219.5grams9-21-22.jpg.cb965494a29a3344126c6b18c258236c.jpg

 

3.56 pounds

1340975703_D-CameraGobiEyeAgate-GobiMonster3.56lbAlashanareaInnerMongoliaChina.jpg.56c04df351bfafbbe13768d085f994d4.jpg

Edited by robinjojo
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9 minutes ago, robinjojo said:

Here are a few "eye" agates from Alashan, Inner Mongolia.  The eyes in these examples are clearly pseudomorphs, replacements of a previous mineral by quartz.  In the case of these specimens I believe the mineral replaced was aragonite, a mineral that can take on different forms, from crystalline to massive banded forms, including eye-like formations.  I might be wrong about this, but I don't know of another mineral, other than possibly a zeolite, that would be a candidate, an unlikely one I think.

That aside, these agates come from a vast arid plateau in the Gobi Desert, a windswept region that is part of the legendary silk road of ancient times.  Other type of agates and fossils have be found in what was, eons ago, an ocean bed.  

172 grams

1106617944_D-CameraGobiagateInnerMongoliaChina172grams9-21-22.jpg.f7abf3dd5fc87cb74e6cdcc2ccdd1f42.jpg

 

219.5 grams

664497713_D-CameraGobiagateInnerMongoliaChina219.5grams9-21-22.jpg.cb965494a29a3344126c6b18c258236c.jpg

 

3.56 pounds

1340975703_D-CameraGobiEyeAgate-GobiMonster3.56lbAlashanareaInnerMongoliaChina.jpg.56c04df351bfafbbe13768d085f994d4.jpg

Wonderful examples. Don't see those too often

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