Hambergite or Some thing Else ?

Is it Hambergite or Some thing Else... this specimen is from Shungas Valley of Skardu Pakstan...


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Hi Sajjad,

I think you have it right, it looks like Hambergite.

Ron

Hola Sajjad!
For color and lustre could be also pollucite but shape looks more rhombic than cubic. Finally, as Ron and you, I also bet for hambergite.
Wassalam,
Jose

Also reminds me of Adularia lustre, but most likely Hambergite.

I guess adularia or some other feldspar. A hambergite of this size is pretty much unheard of.

yes but i think its not adularia what you think that feldspar comes in this shape ...?

Sajjad, will be helpful if you can post some more pictures, view from every side, not only top and down faces, so that we can see the entire shape, then we can speak more properly.

Judging by the second picture, the sides in the first picture are crystal faces and not cleavage planes? Whopper of a hambergite if that's what it is!
A picture from each side as Jose suggests, would be helpful.

These are some other pictures..

youtube video

Sajjad Shakir, wasn't you going to get this analysed?

After all it's second time you ask about this sample:
http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,11,225826,225829#msg-225829

And it created some fuzz when you tried to sell the same sample on mindat auctions based on the opinions from this forum... is this a second try to do the same?

YES BUT SOME BODY TOLD ME THAT ITS NOT HAMBERGITE ... I ALSO CANCELED THAT ON THAT TIME.. I SOLD THAT ONE HERE IN PAKISTAN BUT I GOT THIS SPECIMEN AGAIN ... NOW I WANT TO CONFIRM MY SELF. SIR AS YOU KNOW THERE IS NO LAB FOR MINERALS IN PAKISTAN. MINERALS IDENTIFICATION IS VERY HARD FOR US..

It's not so difficult; it looks like it's easy to get a fragment of the back of this sample without altering the overall beauty or value, vrap the fragment and send it to a foreign lab - there are several anounsing on mindat directory, and it wil cost you 50 US$ + postage. Then if it's hambergite, you can with documentation sell it for big bucks, making the 50$ a small amount, and making both you and your customer happy.

Sajjad, please, don't use capital letters all the time, it hurts my ears! Relating your specimen, it really looks hambergite to me. Relating analysis, here they do XRD for USD 40:
[attminerals.com]
Peter, is very likely but is not same sample. Anyway, I think is not forbidden to ask two times the same thing. Please relax, nobody has committed a crime!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2012 06:01PM by Jose Zendrera.

thanks jose... i will do a test jose you noticed that in Pakistan there is no such lab .. we are just looking at mindat for help ... peter is so helpful coz he help me in many occasions.. jose i will try to send you a sample ...

Hi,

Couldn't some simpler tests be run?

What about looking at hardness, density?

What about chemical tests for Be and B?

Seems a bit simpler than sending something out for XRD. My college profs used to call this the black box approach.

Just a thought,

Best Regards,

Hans

Hi Sajjad,

There are tests that can be performed in lieu of more accurate up to date and available methods. I will give you one. If it means alot to you, you can attempt it if you wish. It will not be completely definitive but will bring you closer to an id.

The specific gravity range of values (as measured) for Hambergite are 2.347-2.372, since your specimen is one large crystal, this value should be measurable for your sample. You probably neither have a jolly balance nor one large enough for your specimen so you need to improvise. Methods for determining specific gravity have been presented here many times by long time helpful Mindat members such as Donald Peck. I propose a method below from another source. If you find it easy, try it. If not, perhaps someone else can help with an easier method. In addition, you need invest some time of your own to perform other basic tests, just to get closer to an id. You should test and determine hardness, streak, feel (is it greasy, etc.). Here are basic instructions for determining specific gravity, good luck with it.


How to test using specific gravity

"Testing a mineral for a specific gravity value is a complicated procedure. For the layman, it is done by water displacement and requires a beaker and a scale. The weight of the beaker is taken and written down, as well as the weight of the specimen. The beaker is partially filled up with water, and the level of the water is noted. The mineral is put into the beaker with water, and the water level rises. The difference in the amount of water before the specimen was put in and after it was put in is noted. The mineral is taken out, and the water is spilled out. Then the beaker is filled with the amount of water that the specimen displaced and measured. The difference in weight of the beaker when it was empty and the current measurement (the beaker with the displaced water) is the weight of the displaced water. The weight of the displaced water has the same volume as the specimen, but a different mass. The weight of the specimen is divided by the weight of the displaced water, and that number attained is the specific gravity of that specimen. This test cannot be conducted for an embedded mineral, but only for a single crystal or mass, for obvious reasons."

Source: [www.minerals.net]


Sajjad, this method is neither precise nor accurate and can be inaccurate but it should give you a fair estimate.

All the best,
Ron

Wooow Thats new thing for me. Thanks i will try that its so nice.. Thanks you so so much..Ronald John Gyllenhammer.

Hi Sajjad,

As I have never used this specific gravity testing method, I cannot attest to it's accuracy. So please report back to us if you can with the results of your testing and your thoughts on it. Thanks.

Ron

Often heard of this method to calculate density but had not tested. Now I just tested with a home volumetric meter with marks only every 50 cm3 but with good eye you can "read" easely every 10 cm3. This will not work with small specimens. I tried with a large pollucite specimen and the result was 2,8 g/cm3, very close to 2,9 official pollucite density and enough accurate to remove many doubts. Really efficient, easy and cheap. Thanks for the trick Ron.






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2012 11:13PM by Jose Zendrera.