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Minerals

14th Dec 2011 19:16 UTCMatthew Johnson (2)

While in Southern India over the summer, my team managed to retrieve this sample from the village water well which was dug just a few years ago. The well is just a straight shot down into the earth, no pipes or anything which would bring in other variables as to where this sample would have come from.

The sample wanes from a smokey greyish teal in one corner to a deep rich blue. It is very smooth along the blue areas of chonchoidal fracture, and gets more tough and 'unorganized' near the less colorful corner, characteristic of perhaps where the sample may have broken off from the base rock/crystal. It also has a little bit of deposit on the outside, some of it being sediment, other bits look like a fine grain matrix of garnet.

After consulting with my geology professor and science dean (who is also a geology professor) about the sample, we've concluded that we are quite confident, but not 100% positive that this is a sample of quartz. Have done most of the tests (not yet done specific gravity or any sort of mineral analysis) but I wanted to throw this up here as there are no samples of blue quartz from India listed on the site.

Scratched the streak plate indicating a hardness for quartz, slight conchoidal fracturing, but no visible cleavage.

What are your thoughts? (I apologize on the crudity of the photos)

-Matt

19th Dec 2011 09:18 UTCRock Currier Expert

I think better pictures would go a long way toward having a knowledgeable person here comment on the specimen.

19th Dec 2011 17:53 UTCWayne Corwin

Matthew

try taking the photo outside in the sunlight please.

but from what i can see in your third pic,,

I would guess its glass,, is there bubbles in it?

Wayne

20th Dec 2011 22:49 UTCMatthew Johnson (2)

I'll have to take a better picture when I have access to a better camera.

At first I thought it was glass from the conchoidal fracturing but there are no bubbles and the color in the 'crystal' wanes from a dullish grey-green to a rich blue, which seems uncharacteristic of glass. The color would usually be consistent throughout a sample of glass, correct?

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