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Yep, couldn't agree more. I love taking transparent rocks and faceting them into finished gems - but some things are just perfect by nature, such as the specimens above {) :Y:
 
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Smoky Quartz, from near Oberon NSW
 
Lefty said:
Yep, couldn't agree more. I love taking transparent rocks and faceting them into finished gems - but some things are just perfect by nature, such as the specimens above {) :Y:

I was just lucky enough to stumble on the pocket after following a vain but after soaking the vain I now think I have black amethyst as theres a tint of purple on the vain piece I pulled out
 
Just pulled this out of my bag of finds from a couple weeks ago not sure what it is. Wave hill area nt where I found it was thinking agate. Shining light through gives a pink colour

1537271904_6917f822-8ff9-4a1d-a7ad-2c4ebe11c6e6.jpg

1537271905_351dd93c-e4f0-4c7c-a4a6-e6a21ddf2841.jpg
 
Straya said:
Pardon my lack of knowlege of geology but is that same as petrified wood

Certainly is.

From Mindat.org:

A decorative type of fossil wood where the original organic material has been replaced - usually by chalcedony or agate (cryptocrystalline quartz), but sometimes by opal, coal, pyrite, calcite and others.
Colors red and green are usually caused by iron, but a few of the more brightly colored green woods may be colored by chromium.

1537409070_s-l1000.jpg
 
Ive got petrified wood from Riverslea with red and orange and white chalcedony growing over and through it. Haven't yet found a piece composed entirely of chalcedony, hopefully I will before the river crossing is drowned by the new wier construction.

Theee was some really nice opalised wood at Springsure where the labradorite is still available but the wood deposit has been closed after someone took in an excavator without permissikn.
 
I did see some amazing fully petrified cycad pieces in the Alpha area, pieces that were 8 & 10" long. The piece in the above photo that I collected came from near Middlemount.

My brother-in-law tells of whole petrified logs being uncovered in the open cut areas from Moranbah to Coppabella.
 
They apparently used to make walking sticks from stuff recovered mining the Ballarat leads. I would love to have one, even if I don't need it yet! I can only think they were only slightly replaced (enough to be preserved).
 

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