MIcrocline and Albite from Papachacra, Catamarca, Argentina.  Dimensions are 6.5 x 5.1 x 2.6 cm.   MinID is QJA-YVM

And from the back.

This is the same agate viewed from the side

I purchased this agate nodule some years ago and was not given any locality information.  I'm thinking either Laguna, Chihuahua, Mexico, or Dryhead Agate Mine in Montana, or somewhere else?  I'm hoping some agate experts here can help me with a likely locality, or at least narrow it down ...

It was sold to me as chalcopyrite by a knowledgeable mid-western dealer, so I just took his word for it. Would EDS testing distinguish between marcasite and chalcopyrite or there any tests that I can do myself to determine the species? I'm not familiar with any "pyrite conservators.";  can you ...

Here is the same specimen after washing:https://www.mindat.org/photo-1238378.html

Thank you to everyone that made suggestions.  I think I will just hit it with a light watergun spray and then leave it alone.

I just acquired this specimen; it was collected at the Sweetwater mine in Missouri.  I would like to clean it if possible, maybe restore some luster.  Has anyone had any experience using Super Iron-out on similar pieces?  Or has anyone had success with other cleaning methods?  ...

Yes, you are correct, these are from the 2011 Lower New Street find.  I have edited the gallery photos with the correct locality.  Thank you for pointing this out Bryan.

Two large Prehnite specimens from Imilchil, Morocco.

From the 2013-4 find of Prehnite crystals at Prospect Park, NJ.

Hi Jolyon,This is Nik Nikiforou from Globeminerals.com.  I was a dealer on the older version of Minfind and would like to get back in.  Your pdf document contains some helpful information, but there are no specific instructions on how I can opt back in.  I have tried direct messaging ...

Hi Jolyon,This is Nik Nikiforou from Globeminerals.com.  I was a dealer on the older version of Minfind and would like to get back in.  Your pdf document contains some helpful information, but there are no specific instructions on how I can opt back in.  I have tried direct messaging ...

I added some photos of a specimen and one of them was corrupted and did not completely upload, so it is displaying as a black image with the error "Unable to open object, Error loading image....". The photo that should be deleted is https://www.mindat.org/photo-1144765.html

It's doubtful to me that the fluorite in question has been "acid treated".  Fluorite stands up to some very corrosive acids, including hydrofluoric.  The only effect that acid has had on fluorite in my experience is dulling of the luster by HCl on some specimens from the Huangshaping mine ...

It looks like many of the cancelled shows will happen in April, 2021:https://jogsshow.com/tucson-gem-show-schedule/For me this is good news as I usually drive there from the East Coast; less chance of bad weather on the roads and warmer nights in Tucson :-)

Hi Ben,This looks a lot like selenite and rosasite on ferroan dolomite from Bou Bekker, Morocco.  See this photo for reference.

To me it looks like a totally manufactured specimen. The beryl and all of the garnet crystals look like they've been glued on to the schorl.

Hi Steve, Thanks for the correction. My specimens are not fluorescent. Be well, Nik

Hi Stephen, This prehnite is definitely from the Lower New St. Quarry in Paterson, NJ. I've handled about a dozen pieces of this material which came from a small find in the summer of 2011. I hope this solves your mystery, although the material that I've seen was definitely not from an ...

Thank you all for the information, it has been very helpful. Cheers, Nik

I've had this Topaz/Muscovite specimen for several years; it comes from the Shigar Valley in Pakistan. It has an unusual feature in that the prism face on one side seems to be split in half. The opposite face is continuous and does not exhibit the split (see the last photo). Is this possibly a ...

Well, I applied warm vinegar to a small section and there was a bubbling reaction, so I guess Calcite is the most likely ID. I just photographed another specimen from this locality and this is definitely Calcite: Thanks to all who had replied to my question. Nik Nikiforou

Here's another photo, taken through the eyepiece of a microscope (sorry for the poor quality - I don't have the necessary attachments to take a proper photomicrograph): I noticed some sharp lustrous triangular faces that resemble scalenohedral calcite. If I can find my muriatic acid I will ...

I recently acquired this Wulfenite specimen from Xinjiang, China. Although mimetite is not listed as occurring at this locality in mindat, I suspect that the small round crystal aggregates at the top of the piece may be mimetite. Any thoughts? Photo

Although I no longer own this sample, you can see from these photos that the crystals are stacked plates, some of which have peeled off as shown: Photo

Phil M. Belley wrote: > Phlogopite often fluoresces yellow under shortwave > UV light: >Not often at all. >Looks like heulandite to me. Colour is a bit strange. Wrong. See this: http://www.mindat.org/photo-316655.html Same locality as the specimen in my photo. PS - Every ...

Phlogopite often fluoresces yellow under shortwave UV light: Under natural light: Photo

The glue that was dissolved in the acetone may have been redeposited on the Quartz as the ashy layer that you now see?

I acquired this miniature several years ago and was suspicious of the grainy material at the base of both the beryl and garnet crystals: An overnight soak in acetone confirmed that these were glued in; the beryl in a carved out hole and the garnet over the stub of a schorl ...

gary moldovany Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I use lots of bubble wrap. I wrap each specimen in > paper towels and bubble wrap, which is then taped > together I also use Gary's method for wrapping, but I would recommend using rubber bands instead of tape to ...

William, Check out Rock's article on cleaning Quartz: http://www.mindat.org/article.php/403/Cleaning+Quartz If you go down to section 9. (about 3/4 of the way down the page) you will see some instructions on using an over the counter product that contains about 2 - 3% HF to get silicate ...

I picked up a few of these from a couple of Chinese dealers in Tucson. The locality they gave was Xinyang, Henan Province, China. No one mentioned Inner Mongolia as the source. Here are a couple of photos of one of the pieces, with a detail showing the stepped cubic formations. Photo I ...

Hi everyone, Is it possible to bulk edit the copyright link on all of the photos in my gallery or do I have to edit each one individually? Thanks in advance, Nik Nikiforou

The best product I've found for this (thanks to Jasun McAvoy) is Weiman's WaxAway. It is intended to clean up wax residue and can be found in candle making sections in craft stores such as MIchael's. Soak the specimen in it for a couple of hours and the old tack will completely dissolve. Nik

I photographed an almost identical piece for a client last year; the locality is Bou Becker, Touissit, Morocco: It's about 20 cm. wide. I hope that helps, Nik

I agree with Eric. These are not modifications, rather they are the imprint of adjacent crystals which are no longer present.

Hi everyone, Is it possible to bulk edit the copyright link on all of the photos in my gallery or do I have to edit each one individually? Thanks in advance, Nik Nikiforou

The visual appearance, streak, and S.G. are consistent with Cerussite. Does it fluoresce yellow under longwave UV light?

The best product I've found for this (thanks to Jasun McAvoy) is Weiman's WaxAway. It is intended to clean up wax residue and can be found in candle making sections in craft stores such as MIchael's. Soak the specimen in it for a couple of hours and the old tack will completely dissolve. Nik

Thank you Ron and José for your kind help! Nik

Hi everyone, Attached are three photos of a Fluorite specimen from China, most likely the Xianghuapu mine. Much of the Fluorite at this locality exhibits modified, beveled edges but on this piece there seem to be additional faces as well: Photo Photo I'm referring to the edge faces in ...

Hi Jose, Thank you for the photo and suggestion. I doubt that my specimen is from Paprok; I have shown it to several very knowledgeable Pakistani dealers and they were all stumped. I have handled several Paprok specimens identical to yours and can say that the color is quite different, and the ...

Here are two more photos of the specimen. Can anyone recognize the locality? Thanks, Nik Photo

I agree that on the home page under New Discussions, only the most recent post of each discussion should appear in the list, and should appear only once. This would prevent a popular discussion from pushing other recent posts off of the list. In other words, if there is room for only twenty ...

Mike, thank you for the additional photos. I now see the resemblance but i wish there were more corroboration on the locality. The only other reference of Elbaite from the Kantiwa locality that I could find (Kantiwa Elbaite, about 1/4 of the way down the page, is similar in shape to your but ...

Thank you Mike for the photo. The color looks right, but the "look "of your crystal is quite different from my material. All of the specimens that I've had of this material (about 25 pieces in all) are composed of many subparallel crystals joined together by their sides, and every one has flat ...

Any ideas, anyone?

Okay, these are photos of one of the specimens that I got seven years ago from a Chinese dealer in Tucson, said to be from Kashgar, Xianjiang, China. The similarity to the above material is too close to be coincidence, in my opinion. Photo Photo Thanks for looking, Nik

Photo Photo Hi everyone, I acquired a small lot of these elbaite crystals from a Pakistani dealer in Tucson this year and need some locality help. This one is 3.7 cm. long and has flat terminations on one end and complex ones at the other. The dealer told me that they are from Dassu, ...