⭐ Gemstone & Mineral Show n Tell
- Thread starter Colin&Lee
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kawman
steve wardle
very interesting specimens.. I am fairly sure they are alkaline basalt... keep an eye out in several weeks time.. My mate and myself will be scratching about in the barrington area testing some theories at least once a month.. 
rod said:
Will keep an eye out there for you kawman m8, we will be camping alot up there once it warms some, not just day trips like now.
Also i got felsic and mafic mixed up, basalt is mafic and granite is felsic, i always get them mixed up lol.
We have found some alluvial clues aswell, no big stones but lots of small zircon, small blue sapphire, will have to take some pics of the alluvial stones.
Rod
Also i got felsic and mafic mixed up, basalt is mafic and granite is felsic, i always get them mixed up lol.
We have found some alluvial clues aswell, no big stones but lots of small zircon, small blue sapphire, will have to take some pics of the alluvial stones.
Rod
kawman
steve wardle
don't forget to keep an eye out for very small diamonds that have been reported from the area in geo papers I have studied... there are some old gold mines up there as well that will be interesting to check out. we are looking forward to the warmer/dryer weather as well.. not long to wait now.. I have built up a nice arsenal of prospecting gear over the last 6 months and totally restored my old Datsun ute to cart it in.. I only need to make a tent/shelter, buy some snow/mud chains and we are ready for the main event...
rod said:
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Agate is a stone I've come to appreciate more since I started cabbing a short while ago. There is a reasonable supply of it within a couple of hours drive from where I live. Good for jewellery because it's hard and tough and does not scratch or chip particularly easily. It also comes in an infinite variety of colour hues and patterns and no two pieces look exactly alike.
These ones look great but the problem is that the fiery orange colour is usually only a thin layer on the outside, the thickness of a coat of paint. The inside often does contain interesting features nonetheless and people who have seen cabs made from these bits asked if it was opal.
I have a few slices of this bit left. I cut the cab I made from it far too thick and high-domed to show the banding properly. Next on will be flatter, we'll see how it looks.
My first few cabs - they are the inner section of the orange pieces.
Here's what I've been looking for. Found on Sunday, this piece appears to have a thick shell of clear red agate with a solid orange agate centre instead of the more common void lined with tiny crystals. Should be able to get something nice out of this bit.
By far the most common find in this spot is is the colourless stuff and the stuff that looks deeply coloured on the outside but is colourless/milky translucent inside. But I now think this is mostly because those ones stand out and are easy to spot. Having examined this piece closely it is not a coloured around colourless but looks to be orange-red right the way trhough. It was only by chance that I saw it - a piece or unremarkable shiny brown stone with the end chipped off showing the dark agate inside. I've ground the outer coating away here. I reckon there might be plenty more of this fully-coloured stuff but it's not so easy to find a special shiny brown stone among a virtual mountain of regular shiny brown stones.
This little bit shows some solid white but the colours in this spot mostly seem to be colourless, orange and red. But you never know what might turn up if you keep looking......
These ones look great but the problem is that the fiery orange colour is usually only a thin layer on the outside, the thickness of a coat of paint. The inside often does contain interesting features nonetheless and people who have seen cabs made from these bits asked if it was opal.
I have a few slices of this bit left. I cut the cab I made from it far too thick and high-domed to show the banding properly. Next on will be flatter, we'll see how it looks.
My first few cabs - they are the inner section of the orange pieces.
Here's what I've been looking for. Found on Sunday, this piece appears to have a thick shell of clear red agate with a solid orange agate centre instead of the more common void lined with tiny crystals. Should be able to get something nice out of this bit.
By far the most common find in this spot is is the colourless stuff and the stuff that looks deeply coloured on the outside but is colourless/milky translucent inside. But I now think this is mostly because those ones stand out and are easy to spot. Having examined this piece closely it is not a coloured around colourless but looks to be orange-red right the way trhough. It was only by chance that I saw it - a piece or unremarkable shiny brown stone with the end chipped off showing the dark agate inside. I've ground the outer coating away here. I reckon there might be plenty more of this fully-coloured stuff but it's not so easy to find a special shiny brown stone among a virtual mountain of regular shiny brown stones.
This little bit shows some solid white but the colours in this spot mostly seem to be colourless, orange and red. But you never know what might turn up if you keep looking......
Nice work Lefty,I've not long joined the Bundaberg gem club and started to cab and cut my own stones.
Some of your stones look a bit like what we find at Windera and in the Burnet R.
Are yours from around the Fitzroy R. area?
Richard
Some of your stones look a bit like what we find at Windera and in the Burnet R.
Are yours from around the Fitzroy R. area?
Richard
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Cheers Richard. Yes they do come from the Fitzroy river area, not all that far from Mount Hay although I've never actually found any thundereggs at this spot.
We seem to be quite lucky here in Queensland in that our state is very rich in gemstone materials. It seems fairly proportional to the amount of volcanic activity that an area has experienced - the area now covered by Queensland was very volcanically active in prehistoric times.
With agates it's always a lucky dip - I was excited when I went into the club last night, I had a heap of that material from the Fitzroy to saw up. But I spent all night sawing rocks and found very little that was any good for cabbing. A few things that will look interesting done on the flat lap and put in a rock cabinet. A quite pretty little nodule of pink and white banded agate that would have been a nice cab - but for a crack running right up the guts.
I'm not that into petrified wood but I had some of the stuff I'd picked up with the agate so I opened a bit and it turned out quite interesting with red and yellow woodgrain and a little eye of blue agate in the middle. Still rock case stuff to me though.
I'm not surprised you find agate around Bundy, all that old volcanic activity that created all that nice rich farming soil. I've heard of Windera, where exactly is it?
Next weekend I'll head down to Lowmead for a dig. There's still some good amethyst there if you work for it.
Cheers.
We seem to be quite lucky here in Queensland in that our state is very rich in gemstone materials. It seems fairly proportional to the amount of volcanic activity that an area has experienced - the area now covered by Queensland was very volcanically active in prehistoric times.
With agates it's always a lucky dip - I was excited when I went into the club last night, I had a heap of that material from the Fitzroy to saw up. But I spent all night sawing rocks and found very little that was any good for cabbing. A few things that will look interesting done on the flat lap and put in a rock cabinet. A quite pretty little nodule of pink and white banded agate that would have been a nice cab - but for a crack running right up the guts.
I'm not that into petrified wood but I had some of the stuff I'd picked up with the agate so I opened a bit and it turned out quite interesting with red and yellow woodgrain and a little eye of blue agate in the middle. Still rock case stuff to me though.
I'm not surprised you find agate around Bundy, all that old volcanic activity that created all that nice rich farming soil. I've heard of Windera, where exactly is it?
Next weekend I'll head down to Lowmead for a dig. There's still some good amethyst there if you work for it.
Cheers.
Two very nice blues in your hand Spud. Well done
Some zircon,garnet,quartz,topaz as well as a bit of malachite and chalcopyrite.
Nice stones Shivan, have you found any Sapphires there at all?
We found another baby this time out, beautiful colour but on the micro side.
Goldpick
Chris Johnson
I have a few selections of copper, lead and zinc specimens originating from various South American mines, kindly donated by some work contacts. Some of these mines are the largest operating mines in the world, in both size and volume of production.
1. Lel Teniente Mine - chalcopyrite
2. Candaleria - pyrite/chalcopyrite
3. El Tosoro - chrysocolla, malachite
4. Rio Blanco - pyrite/chalcopyrite/bornite
5. Mallay - skarn replacement mineralisation
6. San Vincente - lead/zinc (galena)
7. Chuguicamata - porphyry copper (chrysocolla, malachite)
1. Lel Teniente Mine - chalcopyrite
2. Candaleria - pyrite/chalcopyrite
3. El Tosoro - chrysocolla, malachite
4. Rio Blanco - pyrite/chalcopyrite/bornite
5. Mallay - skarn replacement mineralisation
6. San Vincente - lead/zinc (galena)
7. Chuguicamata - porphyry copper (chrysocolla, malachite)
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Hello all. I have been following this thread with some interest, ever since I saw Wal N Liz's new highbankers. I made two myself and have since been finding some gems and other minerals. But I don't know what I'm really looking at. Perhaps more learned people on this thread could help me? I would really appreciate it. I suspect sapphire, pink sapphire plus diamonds. Is the big rock a topaz or something like it? Also perhaps some chalcopyrite? Thanks.
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