[Rockhounds] ID help

[Lawrence Rush]

Good thought, Pete. The shape is "wedge" like, like Titanite, and the color 
fits...but this is too hard, over 7, Quartz won't scratch it (and my wife 
won't let me try her diamond...silly women!). Also too hard for Scapolite, 
Don.

An additional note for Axel...the termination is not a flat basal,  but is 
"tent-like" raised at a low angle with the ridge connecting the two widest 
spaced corners. (not very crystallographic language, sorry!)

Still leaning towards Topaz, (unless it is a new mineral; Obamaite...green, 
glittery, transparent, well formed, and too new to be judged!!)  (OK 
,moderators...I apologize in advance!)

Larry

================================================

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pete Richards" <rpr at heidelberg.edu>
To: "Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors" 
<rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 9:36 AM
Subject: Re: [Rockhounds] ID help


> I'll try a different suggestion.  Could it be titanite? Alpine  titanite 
> is often green, sometimes light.  Some of the angles look  right, and I 
> imagine I see a groove in one view that might be a re- entrant region 
> caused by the common contact twinning.  I don't know  anything about 
> fluorescence....
>
> Pete Richards
>
>
> On Jun 23, 2009, at 12:50 PM, Lawrence Rush wrote:
>
>> I just got a box of minerals from Pakistan which contained 2 pieces  of 
>> an unidentified material. These are unfamiliar to me, and I need  some 
>> help.
>>
>> The color is a sea green, translucent. The crystals are well  formed, 
>> appear to be perhaps Tetragonal or Orthorhombic. They have  4 distinct 
>> sides, diamond-shaped in cross section, with  sharp low  angle edges on 2 
>> sides. The hardness is greater than 6. The matrix  is quartz, evidently a 
>> pegmatite mineral. No locality, but all of  the others from this supplier 
>> were from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and  Waziristan.
>>
>> I suspect they are Topaz, but the shape and color have me  questioning 
>> this.
>>
>> I posted photos on http://www.connroxminerals.com/temp.html
>>
>> Any thoughts?
>>
>> Thanks...Larry
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "Noel Coward thought work was more fun than play,  but he never,  ever 
>> worked in the mines"
>>
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> ___________________________________
> R. Peter Richards
> rpr at heidelberg.edu
> Morphological crystallographer
>
>
>
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