Tag Archives: citrine quartz

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Hello Blogging Hawks,

Did you find the title interesting? In a comment, I mentioned I would be buying a diamond for my collection of rocks and minerals. That sounds exciting but I have to say I could only afford and industrial quality diamond as I don't have a huge budget. Well, I bought one.

What is an industrial quality diamond?

You might know diamonds are very hard. They can be completely clear or have different colours depending on impurities. As well as white (or clear), I have seen pink, champagne (yellow) and blue diamonds. Good quality diamonds can be cut to make jewels but most diamonds found are not suitable for cutting because they can be flawed and have too many impurities. Industrial quality diamonds can be used to make strong cutting tools such as diamond drills and saws or even diamond cutters for cutting glass. My diamond is definitely in the industrial quality group.

Can you pick the diamond in my collection?

Look at the picture below. It shows photos of 9 stones in my collection. Can you pick the diamond? Once you have decided, click the link below the picture to see if you chose correctly. You can also learn what all are and a little about each.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Click here when you have chosen.

Gold.

We all know gold is valuable. Here are some gold photos from my collection.

Gold in quartz found in a mine at Hill End, Australia

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

 Gold Nugget (0.127oz) New Zealand

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Panned Gold "Dust", Australia and New Zealand

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Gold coin (0.1oz)

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

 

How is gold made?

In this section, when I type an element I will add its Table of Elements code in brackets... Hydrogen (H) A short way of writing hydrogen in H. You will find some elements don't seem to use letters from their names. Their codes come from their Latin names... Copper (Cu) Latin: cuprum, Silver (Ag) Latin: argentum, Tin (Sn) Latin: sternum, Antimony (Sb) Latin: stibium, Gold (Au) Latin: aurum, Lead (Pb) Latin: plumbum

We all know gold is rare and valuable on Earth but do you know how gold came to be? It's a hot subject, a very hot subject. Did you know new elements (the things that make up us and the whole planet), are made in suns? It's happening right now in our sun.

Hydrogen (H) is being fused (joined) with hydrogen under high temperature and pressure in the core (centre) of suns (nuclear fusion). They fuse to become helium (He). Once the hydrogen runs out, the stars stop fusion (joining) hydrogen. For small stars, they can start to cool and shrink. Larger stars might start fusing helium and even larger elements.

Hydrogen (H) - Helium (He) - Carbon (C) - Oxygen (O) - Neon (Ne) - Silicon (Si) - Iron (Fe)

It's thought that much heavier elements might have been made in supernova reactions in stars (supernova nucleosynthesis). A star that goes supernova becomes very bright. It can be from a very big star collapsing (falling in on itself) and releasing a huge amount of energy or it can be from a smaller, cooler star suddenly exploding back into life (fusion). It's in these supernovae it's thought elements such as gold come into existence and can be thrown out into space.

Isn't our universe amazing? What makes us up, the chemicals in our body, started out in stars.

I can remember seeing one supernova appearing 1987 (SN 1987A). It was about around 168,000 light years away. That means while I saw it in the skies in 1987, it had really gone supernova about 168,000 years ago but the light in our night sky only appeared in 1987.

 

Is All Gold Really Gold?

In the pictures below, you can see samples of iron pyrite crystals in my collection. Pyrite looks like gold but isn't. It isn't worth much but I like the samples more than real gold because I like crystals. What do you think?

How can you tell the difference? Pyrite is much lighter than gold and, being a crystal, can be shattered if hit by a hammer. Gold is the most malleable element. This means it can easily be hammered and shaped without cracking. Gold can be flattened into very thin sheets but I think I will keep my small pieces as they were found.

Iron Pyrites (Fool's Gold) on Calcite

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Iron Pyrite Crystal

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

4 Comments

Keira left a quality comment on a blog post.

What Stone Is That? - for Mrs. Yollis and class

Hello Keira,

Your rock has certainly caused much thought as we have tried to uncover its secrets. Science can be like that, a chance to uncover mysteries. After leaving a reply to Heather's quality comment, I found you also left a quality comment.

Here is a link to the information I shared with Heather...

What Stone Is That? - A Follow Up Post for Heather

This photo was supplied by Mrs. Yollis and class.

This photo was supplied by Mrs. Yollis and class.

Now for your comment...

Do I know why your rock looks amber on the outside?

From the picture, I'm not able to see the amber colour on the outside. It may be just the remainder of stone or dirt once surrounding your rock. Look at these photos. The first shows a collection of four geodes, one complete. The second shows a geode containing amethyst (mauve quartz). If you look closely, you can see the colours on the outside aren't always the same as the colours inside the geodes. There are other minerals probably once from the surrounding rock. Did you notice one in the top photo has a yellowish outside?

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

It's also possible some citrine quartz crystals might have started to form on the outside. The picture below shows citrine quartz in the paler rock. We can't be certain unless your rock is checked but, no matter what is on the outside, I found your rock very interesting.

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

About Galena

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

I like your description of galena. It does look a little like tinfoil. Tin (Sn) is an element as is the metal in galena. Galena is lead sulfide (PbS). It's where we get much of the lead (Pb) we use. Below is the heaviest sample in my collection. It's not the biggest in size but weighs 2500g (5.5lb). The gold coloured part of the sample is iron pyrite. It also contains zinc (Zn) but is mostly lead (Pb) in the form of galena. The small whiter patches on the lower left are quartz. The sample comes from one of my state's major mining areas, Broken Hill.

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Click on GALENA and it will take you to a Wikipedia page on galena. You will see where it can be found around the world and in U.S.A..

How do you find out all these facts?

I have been interested in very many subjects over the years. When I see something interesting, I sometimes remember facts and information I think might be useful in an extended comment. As I write, I start looking for more information and learn as I go.

For geology, I have assorted books and I can also search online. I always try to check the information I share on blogs because I'm not an expert in any area. Like you, I'm a learner. I've just had more time to learn.

Where did you get all these rocks?

Most of the samples I have were bought in rock shops with only some being collected by me. Many come from countries I have never visited. As an example, the big round geode and the one cut in half beside it are from Brazil. While it can be fun searching for your own samples, collectors often have to buy samples of rarer minerals or ones found in other countries. I have been collecting stones and crystals since I was about your age. It's just a matter of keeping your eyes open  in many cases. Look at these...

The first sample caught my attention because I could see crystals in it. Could it be a geode waiting to reveal something special inside? Perhaps I might one day break it open to find out.

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

This one is a geode from Queensland. You can see the crystalline mass in it. Perhaps cut and polished, it could look very good but I like it as it was found.

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

This rock was very interesting when I found it. You can see it also has a yellowish exterior like your rock but some chips broken off the rock have revealed what could be agate. I suspect this sample could look very impressive if cut and polished. The material inside might look like your rock.  As I don't have access to a diamond saw to cut it, I keep it as it is, a mystery.

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

A Hand Painted Geode?

"...Geodes, the first one looks interesting to me. The middle almost looks like it is hand painted. Was the middle polished or was it like that when you discovered it?"

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

I must say this sample looks as though it's the work of an artist. What I believe has happened is, as different minerals have mixed as the crystals formed in a space, different colours were formed. In this geode, crystal growth has filled the space.

I saw this cut and polished sample in a rock shop. It was the pattern you noticed that caught my attention.

In the middle of the rock that is cut open it looks like there is a little nook. Am I right?

 

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

You are a very observant person. There does seem to be a little nook in the cut rock but it is due to the way the crystals have grown inside the geode. Along the inner cut edge, you can see the crystals aren't even like a circle but have some areas thicker than others. This unevenness means some areas extend out over the others. Sunlight on them leaves a shadow below. In the shadowed area, the crystals look much like the small crystals in the middle.

Considering your curiosity and interest in rocks, I hope you keep learning and discovering. A mind with curiosity can be a very powerful learning tool.