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Techniques for CollectorsCleaning Magnetite

30th Mar 2007 02:37 UTCJeff Beckert

I dont usually hunt at this location so I'm unfamiliar with the cleaning and prep for some of the specimen here. The thing is these magnetite crystals are covered in a blue-ish clay like substance. I soaked it for a few days and had minimal results. Any ideas? Oh yeah I almost forgot to mention, this piece of magnetite was found at French Creek in PA

30th Mar 2007 02:42 UTCJeff Beckert

http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l53/vwphishgd/?action=view&current=P3280653-2.jpg

30th Mar 2007 02:44 UTCJeff Beckert

I'm sorry, it's not that sky blue glare, its the residue looking material on the magnetite.

30th Mar 2007 03:30 UTCAlfredo Petrov Manager

High-pressure blast of water would probably remove it in seconds so, if you don't have your own water gun yet, take it to the car wash! Not a good idea though if the magnetite is fractured or the matrix is very weathered,

31st Mar 2007 16:23 UTCMRH

Jeff,

I'm assuming here what this material is, rather than a clay, is heavily weathered byssolite (mountain leather), an Amphibole.

Given this info, pehaps others here can give you some ideas. I don't apply acids for cleaning etc., so I don't know what you could use to desolve or remove a Silicate mineral without affecting the Magnetite, but I'm sure others here could comment.

One note of caution, the magnetite at French Creek can be quite granular and friable (not the nice xtls you have, rather the massive matrix they are likely on. Make sure if you give it an acid treatment to soak it for a while in distilled water first (so acids are less likely to be drawn into the matrix by capillary action). when treatment is complete, do soak well in a base solution (stop acid reaction).

Many specimens from French Creek have had acid treatment to remove the Calcite which those fine Chalcopyrites, Pyrites, etc xtls are often embedded in. Many treated specimens from here, which are on this granular magnetite matrix, quite literally crumble and fall apart eventually, due to poor prep before and or after treatment.

MRH

31st Mar 2007 19:47 UTCMRH

Oh. . ., one other note Jeff,

You might want to probe the specimen in a few areas before any treatment (if their is one), to make sure the byssolite is not a cementatious layer, and that the magnetite xtls are actually ON matrix. I Haven't seen this so much with Magnetite, but for pyrite the xtls are often secondary to, or concurrent with the byssolite. If there IS a way to remove the Byssolite, and it IS a cementatious layer, you'll wind up with a chunk of matrix with a bunch of loose xtls laying on top. (Not really indicated by what I see, but it's always better to be safe than sorry).

A final note: All in all, the byssolite is a "classic" association mineral for the locale, not just an impurity/gunk, so removal may not even be warrented here. The presence of the byssolite, I think, actually helps make the individual Magnetite xtls stand out better visually. Of course this is all completely up to your own sense of aesthetics.

MRH

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