ABC's of rocks and minerals

Post by **Linna Heartbooger** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 1:56 pm

Aragonite
(apparently, it's the thing that makes up pearls and mother-of-pearl.)

I blame my kid for the fact I started this ABC thread... his idea.
He considers me blaming him to be "giving him the credit."
So the credit he shall have.

Post by **Wosbald** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 2:41 pm

+JMJ+

Borax

Post by **wayfriend** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 4:33 pm

Because every new ABC thread needs a little help to get off the ground ...

Cuproadamite

Adamite containing copper in its structure, which replaces some of the zinc. The presence of copper gives it a vibrant blue to green color.

Post by **Sorus** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 8:38 pm

Dilithium, also known as radan, is an element, a member of the hypersonic series, mostly occurring as crystalline mineral.

Post by **Linna Heartbooger** » Wed Mar 16, 2016 12:17 am

erythrite:
Although erythrite itself is not precious, it signals cobalt is nearby, and apparently silver deposits are sometimes correlated with cobalt present.

I was so surprised when there were 3 responses to this thread... you guys!

wayfriend wrote:Because every new ABC thread needs a little help to get off the ground ...

Yes, because they're soooooo crucial... they're practically the underpinnings of this institution!

Post by **Sorus** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 11:23 pm

Fel Iron can be gathered in Outland if your mining skill is 275 or higher.

Post by **Linna Heartbooger** » Fri Mar 18, 2016 1:57 pm

Sorus wrote:Fel Iron can be gathered in Outland if your mining skill is 275 or higher.

You silly! The kiddoes got a kick out of that... the older one even has mining on his troll.
He said: "Also, please call Sorus a cheater."

Moving on to the next mineral, though...
Galena - a lead sulfide mineral.
"However, some specimens of galena contain up to a few percent silver by weight." ...so it's often a silver ore.

Love those funky geometric facets...
...and the iridescence.

Post by **JIkj fjds j** » Fri Mar 18, 2016 4:32 pm

Hydromagnesite Balloon

Post by **wayfriend** » Fri Mar 18, 2016 6:43 pm

Ianthinite. (I checked for Iolanthinite, but no such luck.)

Post by **Sorus** » Fri Mar 18, 2016 10:15 pm

Linna Heartlistener wrote:You silly! The kiddoes got a kick out of that... the older one even has mining on his troll.
He said: "Also, please call Sorus a cheater."

It was never specified that they had to be real! I was hoping to do Kryptonite next, but luckily we're only on J.

Jasper is an opaque form of Chalcedony, which is a microcrystalline variety of the mineral Quartz. It often contains an abundance of impurities, and therefore some regard it as a rock instead of a mineral. Jasper is usually associated with brown, yellow, or reddish colors, but may be used to describe other opaque colors of Chalcedony such as dark or mottled green and orange. Some forms of Jasper are banded, and these banded Jaspers may appear similar to Agate, but unlike Agate they are opaque. When Jasper is dull and lacking interesting colors or patterns, it is not Jasper but rather Chert.

Post by **JIkj fjds j** » Sat Mar 19, 2016 10:02 am

King's Jewel

The Arkenstone - "Heart of the Mountain"

"That stone of all the treasure I name unto myself,
and I will be avenged on anyone who finds it and withholds it."
- Thorin

Post by **Linna Heartbooger** » Sat Mar 19, 2016 12:35 pm

The Silmaril recaptured by Luthien.
From my kid: "Ok, now that you make the excuse I accept it, because you allowed a whole new world of possibilities." (Mom: so gracious of him, right?)

Kid: "This is the Nauglamir, in which was contained the Silmaril of Luthien. But I wish I was doing M, for Mithril or the Palantir of Minas Tirith."

From mom: Also, when I looked at Rune's post and said, "Arkenstone, really?" his younger brother cackled gleefully! Good work. Y'all are playin' to your audience. They're LoTR/old-skool-roguelike-games/Silmarillion geeks.

Post by **wayfriend** » Sat Mar 19, 2016 9:07 pm

(I am going to assume that there was an L in there somewhere. [Linna? Luthien? Silmaril?])

Metamorphic.

Post by **JIkj fjds j** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 9:12 am

Nepheline

Post by **Sorus** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 9:54 pm

Really, really wanted to do Octiron:

A rare metal naturally imbued with magic (making it extremely ill-behaved), it is extremely dark in colour and in its unrefined state produces high levels of thaumatic radiation. When used for common purposes it will often yield unexpected results such as the great bell of Unseen University which when struck produces negative sound. The hub of the Discworld is thought to be composed of Octiron giving rise to the strong magical field of the disc.

...so I'm sneaking it in even though I can't find any pictures.

Here's Obsidian as a bonus:

(I've always liked the pieces with the snowflake patterns.)

Obsidian is a natural volcanic glass found as a kind of igneous rock. It is produced when lava high in silica (SiO2) cools rapidly, and solidifies without time for crystal growth.[1] Because there is no crystal structure, obsidian blade edges can reach almost molecular thinness, leading to its ancient use as arrowheads, and its modern use as surgical scalpel blades.

Post by **JIkj fjds j** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 11:36 pm

Pyrite

I found this small chunk of pyrite purely by chance back in 1997,
while in a car park admiring a classic car.
Hale-Bopp was visible in the sky.

Post by **Cord Hurn** » Tue Mar 22, 2016 4:49 am

Quartz

Post by **JIkj fjds j** » Tue Mar 22, 2016 12:37 pm

Rapa Nui

Post by **deer of the dawn** » Tue Mar 22, 2016 2:51 pm

Post by **JIkj fjds j** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 12:24 am

Tiger's Eye

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch

ABC's of rocks and minerals

ABC's of rocks and minerals