First crystal found

[flintknapper]

Hello everyone I know it's not much but I found my first real crystal today ~.

Without a camera to take a pic it will be hard but maybe someone can help me . I found my first good crystal today and hope to describe it that someone familiar with middle Tennessee might have some idea what it is likley to be because of where it was found . Approx ( 75) miles west of Knoxville Tn maby slightly north .

It's small about the size of my thumbnail . and embedded in a rock that weighs about one pound . The crystal is jet black and looks like it was polished very shinny and smooth on top . I can only see 5 sides of it clearly with the 6th side being covered with a brown ( what I guess ) to be iron matrix of somekind with a lot of white pebble looking rocks embedded in it also . It's deffently a black stop sighn shaped rock with the top just above the big rock approx 1/8 of an inch .

Theirs a few other brown blotches and it appreas that they too may have black under them . ( not positive ) However their is another very small black chunk protruding in another spot but it's not a good clear shape of a stop sign .

I'm going to make it up to the Mitchell county area rock hunting someday and even hope to make it to one of the group digs and I'll bring it with me if I can make it up on the 4th ~

Again without a camera I know it makes it rough I was hoping with color and location that it may be narrowed down .

Thanks and happy digging . ~

Lonnie

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I found this where I find a lot of flint and quarts . So far the quarts have been very small

[geodepat]

:DSounds like a black toumaline. Do the sides of the crystal have little lines on it? Pat

[rons]

Sounds like sporal? tourmaline? but with outa pic. hard to tell still sounds like a nice find...Ron......by the by my spelling sucks

[flintknapper]

Thanks I'll look that up just as soon as I post this and see what I can find . This is very shinny and has ( for lack of better words ) a oil slick type look to the shinny surface . You can turn it to the light and see some great color variations greenish blue tones like oil floating on water kinda . Black still looks prominant to me . My wife thinks it will be red if removed from the big rock .

The brown ( reason I brought it home ) kinda reminded me of two sides of a crystal so I brought it home . Once the mud was off I seen the one black shinny one about like my fingernail . . Using a magnet I'm no longer thinking iron as no attraction at all . And after removing about half the brown looking stuff I uncovered another good crystal right next to the first one .

Funny thing is the brown seems to be eating the black lol . Shesh how to describe this . Ok think about a rotton tooth . the little pieces I mentioned they were shinny but when I broke them off the back side was this light brown . Well that revieled the smallest crystal but this brown stuff took it;s shape . You can see the black outline of a perfect crystal once I broke off the tiny jaggard pieces with brown filling in the inside area . It was their the whole time but I couldn't see it untill removing the pieces . Reminds me of a hollowed out tooth that filled with another mineral .

This brown stuff I'm wondering about it . It's not the iron like I thought I know plenty of iron looking stuff is where I hunt . This is lighter in weight and has a type of leathery looking patina to it . Very hard and scratching it produces a polished look very fast . I put a piece of the brown in the tumbler we have going to just see what it will do .

Looking at the rock yoou can see they were a very nice crystal here at one time . And I swear it looks like the brown just move it out and took the first ones shape . I know the third very small one did that .

Anyhow thanks for pointing me to the black toumaline I'm going to look now . And I know it's not right not to post a pic I'll get one if I have to mail Ric a pic in email for him to post .

Thanks

Lonnie



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[flintknapper]

Sorry Pat . I can't see the sides . I can see 90% of the top on one crystal ( five full sides ) . Probably 60 % of a bigger one but they only protrude up out of the matrix maybe a 1/8 of an inch . What I can see of the front side of one looks like the top .

Lonnie

[flintknapper]

Thanks everyone you helped me nail it down . Reading up on the tourmaline and with what I could see myself I'm strongly believing blue /green tourmaline .

Now to identify the brown stuff . Stating that it polishes was a bad way to describe . Thinking more about it I'm wanting to think abrasive of some kind . But a soft leathery feeling hard abrasive . I admit I'm just guessing because of how it responds to being rubbed . Any metal I rub it with will rub off onto the brown rock with a very shinny / polished look. Can't wait my book should be here this week to help some

Many thanks again