I recently surveyed a ranch in Mason County, Texas and discovered literally thousands of full and partial crystals of what turned out to be ilmenite. I collected several kilograms of the heavy black mineral in crystals up to 100 grams. Most of the crystals were scattered about the surface and in the alluvium of the waterways on the ranch while thick veins of razor-sharp tabular ilmenites can be seen in the pegmatite quartz all over the property. I took a few of these home to see if they would hold a polish and to my surprise, they took a wonderful mirror bright metallic gray polish. These polished ilmenite crystals look similar to hematite, but tend to have an almost iridescent blue-green sheen on the mirror-like polish. Has anyone ever cut ilmenite, or is this material atypical?
Frank
