Keith, not sure what you have in there, maybe they are just fractures? I've had the same wonder over these abundant inclusions in essentially all of the large pocket quartz crystals from the Strickland pegmatite, for example:
They are either hollow or partially to completely filled with what appears to be tiny secondary albite crystals, which are abundant lining the pockets. What would form long bladed crystals late in the paragenesis in a pegmatite? Zeolites come to mind and one day while looking in The Collector's Guide to Zeolites I came across bikitaite. The crystals are dead ringers and it is a pegmatite zeolite.
https://www.mindat.org/min-670.html
It makes sense, this is a Li rich pegmatite and Li is very mobile (much spodumene and lithiophilite there is altered). Very rare though, but then it may have dissolved away in many pegs, only here its presence was preserved inside quartz (and rarely as albite epimorphs with hollow interiors). Replace Li with Na, as is common in many peg alterations, and you are left with the chemistry of albite and water. Don't know if I can ever prove this though.
They are either hollow or partially to completely filled with what appears to be tiny secondary albite crystals, which are abundant lining the pockets. What would form long bladed crystals late in the paragenesis in a pegmatite? Zeolites come to mind and one day while looking in The Collector's Guide to Zeolites I came across bikitaite. The crystals are dead ringers and it is a pegmatite zeolite.
https://www.mindat.org/min-670.html
It makes sense, this is a Li rich pegmatite and Li is very mobile (much spodumene and lithiophilite there is altered). Very rare though, but then it may have dissolved away in many pegs, only here its presence was preserved inside quartz (and rarely as albite epimorphs with hollow interiors). Replace Li with Na, as is common in many peg alterations, and you are left with the chemistry of albite and water. Don't know if I can ever prove this though.
Hello everyone
Some small inclusions for you :)
I hope the photos are not too bad.
I start with one of the most popular inclusions of the general public:
(sorry there was one posted while i was writing so that's second photo Rutile inclusions in quartz of the post. ;)
Rutile (& Hematite) in Quartz - Loc.: Novo Horizonte, Bahia, Brazil (probably)
Two photo of acicular Rutile in Topaz, the last of which has a broken crystal of Rutile in 2 and included in 2 different crystals of Topaze!
Some small inclusions for you :)
I hope the photos are not too bad.
I start with one of the most popular inclusions of the general public:
(sorry there was one posted while i was writing so that's second photo Rutile inclusions in quartz of the post. ;)
Rutile (& Hematite) in Quartz - Loc.: Novo Horizonte, Bahia, Brazil (probably)
Two photo of acicular Rutile in Topaz, the last of which has a broken crystal of Rutile in 2 and included in 2 different crystals of Topaze!
I am happy to see others are having fun adding their favorites to the thread. Thanks for sharing your specimens.
Here is one we got in a flat one time a number of years ago. A guy stopped in our store selling a flat of amethyst. I told him I had no interest in amethyst, especially since it was not "clean" looking material but was full of inclusions. People like the nice amethyst without a number of other things in it. He just wanted to get rid of the box and said I could have the whole box for $15. Well, couldn't resist that price for a whole box of minerals.
When I took the box to my microscope I was amazed at what I saw inside the crystals and the flat took on a whole different meaning for me.
Kept several and sold the rest to micromount collectors.
Here is one we got in a flat one time a number of years ago. A guy stopped in our store selling a flat of amethyst. I told him I had no interest in amethyst, especially since it was not "clean" looking material but was full of inclusions. People like the nice amethyst without a number of other things in it. He just wanted to get rid of the box and said I could have the whole box for $15. Well, couldn't resist that price for a whole box of minerals.
When I took the box to my microscope I was amazed at what I saw inside the crystals and the flat took on a whole different meaning for me.
Kept several and sold the rest to micromount collectors.
Two pictures as contributions to the thread. The first is a specimen from a road-tunnell i Western Norway with crystals of julgoldite as inclusions in a clear crystal of calcite growing on a first generation crystal of calcite.
The second is inclusions of boulangerite which is quite common in fluorite from the Yaoganxian mine in China. The unusual feature in this case is a perfect ring of boulangerite formed in one of the fluorite crystals.
The second is inclusions of boulangerite which is quite common in fluorite from the Yaoganxian mine in China. The unusual feature in this case is a perfect ring of boulangerite formed in one of the fluorite crystals.
Hi Rolf,
Here a few more from my collection.
Does a bug count?? Insect in polished amber, 1.7 cm.
This is a close-up of a specimen I obtained from Ross Lillie during the 1980s. Chalcopyrite included in fluorite from the Denton Mine, Illinois. Field of view is 4 cm.
Another ex-Ross Lillie specimen of hydrocarbon-included fluorite from the Minerva No. 1 mine, Illinois. Field of view is 4 cm.
Here a few more from my collection.
Does a bug count?? Insect in polished amber, 1.7 cm.
This is a close-up of a specimen I obtained from Ross Lillie during the 1980s. Chalcopyrite included in fluorite from the Denton Mine, Illinois. Field of view is 4 cm.
Another ex-Ross Lillie specimen of hydrocarbon-included fluorite from the Minerva No. 1 mine, Illinois. Field of view is 4 cm.
Here a few more from South Africa:
This is a 138 carat diamond mined from the Vaal River alluvial gravels in the Barkly West district, South Africa. it contains unidentified black inclusions. I was fortunate to photograph this diamond before it went on auction.
The Messina mine is well-known for its ajoite/shattuckite/papagoite inclusions in quartz. Much less common are the inclusion of the secondary copper minerals in calcite. Here is one (field of view is 2.9 cm) of one of these species included in scalenohedral calcite.
Finally an ettringite crystal included in gypsum from N'Chwaning II mine, Kalahari manganese field, RSA, 6.8 cm.
This is a 138 carat diamond mined from the Vaal River alluvial gravels in the Barkly West district, South Africa. it contains unidentified black inclusions. I was fortunate to photograph this diamond before it went on auction.
The Messina mine is well-known for its ajoite/shattuckite/papagoite inclusions in quartz. Much less common are the inclusion of the secondary copper minerals in calcite. Here is one (field of view is 2.9 cm) of one of these species included in scalenohedral calcite.
Finally an ettringite crystal included in gypsum from N'Chwaning II mine, Kalahari manganese field, RSA, 6.8 cm.
neat idea for a thread Rolf,
Chalcolpyrite in Calcite from the Faraday (Madwaska) mine.
45x36x18mm
Chalcolpyrite in Calcite from the Faraday (Madwaska) mine.
45x36x18mm
it makes all these inclusions dream! it seems almost magical ;)
Here are some small inclusions of Galena (sorry but I do not have the material to make micro-photos. Software problem) straight from Bulgaria.
Calcite on(/ Epimorphosis of Calcite) Quartz with Galena - Krushev dol mine, Madan ore field, Smolyan Province, Bulgaria
See you soon
Alix JULIEN
Here are some small inclusions of Galena (sorry but I do not have the material to make micro-photos. Software problem) straight from Bulgaria.
Calcite on(/ Epimorphosis of Calcite) Quartz with Galena - Krushev dol mine, Madan ore field, Smolyan Province, Bulgaria
See you soon
Alix JULIEN
Rolf, I told you it would be a good topic ;-)
Here are some included things I collected.
Hematite inclusions in quartz from Bierghes, Belgium
Marcasite inclusions in calcite from Ave-et-Auffe, Belgium
Rutile inclusions in albite from Bertrix, Belgium
Rutile inclusions in quartz from Marvie, Belgium
Dolomite and chlorite inclusions in quartz from Bierghes, Belgium
Marcasite inclusions in baryte from Doische, Belgium
Byssolite inclusions in apatite from the Knappenwand, Austria
Ilmenorutile inclusions in topaz from the Schneckenstein, Germany
Quartz and a universe of other inclusions in fluorite from Foisches, France
Here are some included things I collected.
Hematite inclusions in quartz from Bierghes, Belgium
Marcasite inclusions in calcite from Ave-et-Auffe, Belgium
Rutile inclusions in albite from Bertrix, Belgium
Rutile inclusions in quartz from Marvie, Belgium
Dolomite and chlorite inclusions in quartz from Bierghes, Belgium
Marcasite inclusions in baryte from Doische, Belgium
Byssolite inclusions in apatite from the Knappenwand, Austria
Ilmenorutile inclusions in topaz from the Schneckenstein, Germany
Quartz and a universe of other inclusions in fluorite from Foisches, France
Here are a couple more from the Messina copper mine in South Africa.
Quartz included by blue ajoite, green epidote and orange iron-rich albite, 6.2 cm.
This is one of my favourite Messina specimens, albeit that it had to have some of the surfaces polished to reveal the included red hematite, fibrous white kaoline, pale blue ajoite and dark blue papagoite(?)/ shattuckite(?), 5.2 cm.
Quartz included by blue ajoite, green epidote and orange iron-rich albite, 6.2 cm.
This is one of my favourite Messina specimens, albeit that it had to have some of the surfaces polished to reveal the included red hematite, fibrous white kaoline, pale blue ajoite and dark blue papagoite(?)/ shattuckite(?), 5.2 cm.
How about hewettite in gypsum?
Some stuff in muscovite
7 inches long.
4 inches long
A couple of the rutilated quartz crystals that came from the unlisted location in My previous postings.
One of My favorite crystals from that location is this little piece that has rutile, brookite, sagenite, muscovite, adularia, dolomite/ankerite, pyrite, hematite and at least 3 unidentified minerals/crystals in it.
Unfortunately it defies close up photography.
Tony,
Nice to have collected those. The comment was mostly based at the hematite in several photos since I also found similar at a local mine in SE Arizona.
I will add those here. Fun thing is that in one it looks like a pie chart with part red and part black.
in the above photos, some of the hematite is included in the quartz and some formed in cracks and is surface.
Nice to have collected those. The comment was mostly based at the hematite in several photos since I also found similar at a local mine in SE Arizona.
I will add those here. Fun thing is that in one it looks like a pie chart with part red and part black.
in the above photos, some of the hematite is included in the quartz and some formed in cracks and is surface.
Here are two of my favorite included specimens.
2mm pyrite crystal in a 27mm quartz crystal, Spruce Claim, King County, Washington:
4mm reticulated marcasite in calcite, Pint's quarry, Raymond, Iowa, personally collected 6/1987. The left-hand photo was taken with a polarizing filter to cancel out one of the doubly-refracted images that makes the unfiltered right-hand photo difficult to "read". (photo by Dan Behnke, posted as Mindat photo #815106 with his permission)
2mm pyrite crystal in a 27mm quartz crystal, Spruce Claim, King County, Washington:
4mm reticulated marcasite in calcite, Pint's quarry, Raymond, Iowa, personally collected 6/1987. The left-hand photo was taken with a polarizing filter to cancel out one of the doubly-refracted images that makes the unfiltered right-hand photo difficult to "read". (photo by Dan Behnke, posted as Mindat photo #815106 with his permission)
More from undisclosed locations within El dorado County, CA. Chlorite inclusions and white (I say white but it’s more blonde) Rutile growing off of possible brookite seed crystals hosted in quartz. FOV is approx .25” under 10x magnification, crappy pic taken with iPhone 6.
Another different crystal, FOV is probably close to .25”, showing 2 colors of Rutile, blued steel color and blonde.
Tourmaline of unknown species included in smoky quartz on 2” block.
Another different crystal, FOV is probably close to .25”, showing 2 colors of Rutile, blued steel color and blonde.
Tourmaline of unknown species included in smoky quartz on 2” block.
Jobe,
The thread is not meant to exclude anyone loving inclusions in any mineral, loved that last photo, great piece!!
I wanted to put one in that has me scratching my head a bit.
The piece is self collected at the Johnson Mine in SE Arizona. I had gone with a geologist on a sampling trip and they had a shovel that would scrape places to gather new material for analysis and I was able to collect samples too.
The one area had a lot of copper mineralization and it was filling all the fractures in the host rocks. I was able to see the green was malachite but then other things were going on. There were long crystals that were kind of colorless to white that I have no idea exactly what they are. Then malachite grew on those elongated crystals. The first photo shows the one long crystal that is not overgrown but above it is one, a bit hard to see, that is covered by malachite. There is a lot of allophane in the material and I think that it is possible the allophane joined with the malachite and in the second photo one sees the transparent green coating those elongated crystals. It is a bit hard to see since the field of view is quite small. It had me wondering what was going on here. They are too small to actually do much with except enjoy looking at.
Thought I post them since I just came across them yesterday in a couple of malachite pieces I had in our collection.
The thread is not meant to exclude anyone loving inclusions in any mineral, loved that last photo, great piece!!
I wanted to put one in that has me scratching my head a bit.
The piece is self collected at the Johnson Mine in SE Arizona. I had gone with a geologist on a sampling trip and they had a shovel that would scrape places to gather new material for analysis and I was able to collect samples too.
The one area had a lot of copper mineralization and it was filling all the fractures in the host rocks. I was able to see the green was malachite but then other things were going on. There were long crystals that were kind of colorless to white that I have no idea exactly what they are. Then malachite grew on those elongated crystals. The first photo shows the one long crystal that is not overgrown but above it is one, a bit hard to see, that is covered by malachite. There is a lot of allophane in the material and I think that it is possible the allophane joined with the malachite and in the second photo one sees the transparent green coating those elongated crystals. It is a bit hard to see since the field of view is quite small. It had me wondering what was going on here. They are too small to actually do much with except enjoy looking at.
Thought I post them since I just came across them yesterday in a couple of malachite pieces I had in our collection.
Strickland Quarry, Strickland pegmatite, Collins Hill, Portland, Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA