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Identity HelpHi. Looking to identify what i found. Thx

10th Apr 2016 22:06 UTCDan Pittam

New here so thanks in advance ☺ a lot more sparkly in real life.

Sorry about an inch wide. Found in uk. Seems to have a bobbly crust. Not magnetic

10th Apr 2016 22:13 UTCMonika Kertowska

Where did you find it, what is the geology of this place? Give us more details (hardness etc)

I`m not a specialist at all, just a beginner, but judging only by the photo, this looks a lot like my chlorite specimen that I found at the seaside in co.Cork, Ireland.

Greetings

10th Apr 2016 22:25 UTCDan Pittam

Found at eastbourne, east sussex. Near cliffs. Can be scratch bits off with finger nail. Hit it with a hammer to see what it wad. Probably the wrong thing to do though

10th Apr 2016 22:29 UTCMonika Kertowska

I wouldn`t hit any of my specimens with a hammer, unless I had a REAL purpose for it ;)

If you can scratch it with a fingernail, this COULD be some chlorite, especially that you found it by a cliff/seaside. Chlorite group minerals are very soft. I will, however, leave the ID job for our experts here on Mindat. I wish I was right, though. That would show I make some progress :)

It would help to check if the locality where you found it is marked on Mindat, or any nearby locality at all. If so, is chlorite on the list of minerals? If it isn`t what other soft minerals are?

10th Apr 2016 22:32 UTCDan Pittam

Thx This is the crust. It was kinda spherical

Plus its dense like iron

10th Apr 2016 23:05 UTCReiner Mielke Expert

Breaking bits off with a fingernail is not the same as determining the hardness. To me it looks like pyrite. If it is pyrite you should be able to scratch a piece of window glass with it.

10th Apr 2016 23:16 UTCMonika Kertowska

If it`s pyrite, why does it have this spherical crust?

If it`s chlorite, this could be justified if it formed by filling in a porous/ spongy surface/gap/vug...

What is the colour of it? Can I see right that it`s greenish?

10th Apr 2016 23:22 UTCDan Pittam

Camera not great. It is silver inside with cloudy white bits

Glistens like crystal

10th Apr 2016 23:29 UTCDan Pittam

10th Apr 2016 23:30 UTCMonika Kertowska

Uhm, silver. That changes a lot ;)

10th Apr 2016 23:35 UTCDan Pittam

My bad. Never used a forum before. Must have missed a detail or two ☺

10th Apr 2016 23:44 UTCThomas Lühr Expert

It's most probably a pyrite (or marcasite) concretion. Not so uncommon on Englands south coast.

10th Apr 2016 23:45 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager

Can't really tell from the photos. It could be pyrite as Reiner suggested.

Monika, it appears to have hundreds of tiny pyrite cubes scattered throughout the entire rock (if in fact it is pyrite). There is no reason why it couldn't have a crust if the "pyrite" is mixed throughout a matrix of different material.

BTW..... welcome to Mindat, Dan! :)-D

10th Apr 2016 23:48 UTCDan Pittam

Thanks all for the info. Googled marcasite. Looks more like that in pics

10th Apr 2016 23:49 UTCMonika Kertowska

Yes, in this case it could really have a crust. As I said, I`m just a beginner, I usually just read but today I wanted to give it a try ;) Another great lesson today :)

10th Apr 2016 23:52 UTCLloyd Van Duzen Expert

A streak test being blackish would suggest pyrite. cubic crystal structure suggests pyrite. Your pieces resemble what is called a "nodule".Try basic physical tests and as mentioned, try to find its locality or as close as possibly as mentioned before here on Mindat. Research occurring minerals for the area.

If it turns out to be pyrite, be careful of heat from lights, it may cause it to crumble to bits and pieces.

I am not professional but only reflecting from my own research.

Good luck.

10th Apr 2016 23:53 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager

Nothing wrong with sticking your neck out, Monika; it's how we learn........ :-D

11th Apr 2016 00:19 UTCMonika Kertowska

Thx, Paul.

I`m partially glad it`s not that ugly chlorite ;)

11th Apr 2016 00:57 UTCDoug Daniels

Monika, really.....what do you have against chlorite....a perfectly respectable and common mineral group.....:-D

12th Apr 2016 20:34 UTCD. Peck

Monika & Dan, Welcome to mindat. And don't be afraid to speak up or ask questions. We were all in your position once. You can get a good introduction to testing and identifying minerals if you jump over to minsocam.org (Mineralogical Society of America). Click on Education & Outreach, and drop down to and click on Mineral Identification. It is interactive, starting with the common properties and how to observe/test them. That is followed by an interactive dichotomous key that gets you to a table of minerals with similar properties to the one you are observing.

12th Apr 2016 22:56 UTCMonika Kertowska

D.Peck, thank you very much. I didn`t know this website. I`ve been studying minerals almost every day for the last year, whenever I find some time, even if it`s just a few minutes a day (usually more :) ) and I think I`ve made a lot of progress. Always looking for ways to learn more. Maybe in 30 years` time I`ll be as good as you guys :P

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