Unidentified minerals from Afghanistan
23rd Jul 2019 14:16 UTCAymeric Longi
Lots of new Pakistani sellers on ebay are listing unidentified crystals and specimen and, since I enjoy indulging in "the unknown", I've lately acquired a few of these (4 pieces for 3 different minerals).
Here is the first one with a lovely, slightly burnt, orange colour and very intense and brigt olden flashes. Although showing a somewhat "blade-like" shape I'm wondering if it's not rather a multitude of smaller crystals that have grown together into a single one of this shape.
Eosphorite comes to my mind, anyone some insight ? I haven't checked the hardness.
Cheers! :)
Greetings everyone and thanks for stopping by! :)
About hardness, I could scratch fluor-apatite, but not epidote, so I guess that puts it somewhere between 5 & 6.
Uwe, it weights 12,50gr (2,97cm x 3,48cm x 1,05cm).
Monazite is one of the possibilites that came through my mind, but siderite is too hard.
Wayne, no clean calcite cleavages to be seen so I guess not.
Eric and Ian, Titanite would fit hardness-wide at least, but bastnäsite, wow, it sure would be a pretty funky one ! But the crystal comes from Badakhshan, no Zagi Mnt.
José, not fluorite either (that would be a funky-looking crystal too ! )
Frank, from what I have seen of the local orange clinohumite, the burnt hue doesn't really fit.
Here is a photot of the chipped base, in case that can provide some info...
Also, I actually have a crystal/faceted stone set, and the crystal which yielded the stone seems to be quite blockier than mine, with nothing of the blade-like shape visible. I only have a single photo of it, it was shot by the seller, not me.
Cheers!
About hardness, I could scratch fluor-apatite, but not epidote, so I guess that puts it somewhere between 5 & 6.
Uwe, it weights 12,50gr (2,97cm x 3,48cm x 1,05cm).
Monazite is one of the possibilites that came through my mind, but siderite is too hard.
Wayne, no clean calcite cleavages to be seen so I guess not.
Eric and Ian, Titanite would fit hardness-wide at least, but bastnäsite, wow, it sure would be a pretty funky one ! But the crystal comes from Badakhshan, no Zagi Mnt.
José, not fluorite either (that would be a funky-looking crystal too ! )
Frank, from what I have seen of the local orange clinohumite, the burnt hue doesn't really fit.
Here is a photot of the chipped base, in case that can provide some info...
Also, I actually have a crystal/faceted stone set, and the crystal which yielded the stone seems to be quite blockier than mine, with nothing of the blade-like shape visible. I only have a single photo of it, it was shot by the seller, not me.
Cheers!
