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Post by dwtdenver on Jul 3, 2008 16:40:47 GMT -5
I found this in the Algerian Sahara. These were quite common. The unusual feature is the wrinkled texture of the rock, somewhat like brain matter. It fluoresces yellow under short-wave uv. Color is whiter than it appears in the photo.  |
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Post by arappaho on Jul 10, 2008 16:40:02 GMT -5
Do you think it could be a quartzite or welded sandstone that has been naturally polished
by sand and wind action? Break one open and see what the inside looks like.
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Post by eriktheawful on Jul 11, 2008 18:02:52 GMT -5
How hard is it?
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Post by dwtdenver on Jul 12, 2008 18:24:32 GMT -5
Quartz will not scratch it. I am reluctant to do any destructive tests, as my luggage was lost on the return from Algeria, and this peice is the only I have, as it was in my pocket.
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Post by amythestguy on Jul 12, 2008 19:51:25 GMT -5
Geez Algeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world.
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Post by hydrogeologist on Jul 12, 2008 21:38:34 GMT -5
My uncle almost moved to Nigeria to start up a solar company with one of his suppliers. Way too dangerous, he would have needed a bodyguard as they really hate white people over there. Nigerians were promised a lot of money by the global oil companies to drill there but ended up getting a lot less than promised. I guess they associate the white man with broken promises, not unlike a lot of the Native American tribes that were relocated out west. Anyways, he ended up getting ex-pat status and moving to Shanghai instead.
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Post by dwtdenver on Jul 12, 2008 22:05:09 GMT -5
I was in Algeria on a seismic crew exploring for oil. We were in a very remote area in a camp guarded by the Algerian military. Most of the problems in Algeria were in the more populous areas along the coast, particularly Algiers. We traveled to camp by Air France charter from Paris to Hassi Messaoud, then by car to camp west of Ouargla.
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Post by amythestguy on Jul 12, 2008 23:50:45 GMT -5
I just finished reading a book called Oil on the brain which talks about how Shell tried to help the people in the Nigerian delta but the Govt. screwed them over.
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Post by hydrogeologist on Jul 13, 2008 10:44:39 GMT -5
Ruthless and corrupt governments are the bane of developing countries.
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Post by DigDug on Jul 22, 2008 18:01:38 GMT -5
I have an item almost identical except for the color and mine is from Russia   |
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Post by arappaho on Jul 22, 2008 21:19:44 GMT -5
Well, don't keep us in suspense, DigDug! What is that Russian rock you got there? It looks like gold in the second pic! Sorry to hear about your luggage, dwtdenver, but I hope your sojourn to Algeria was sucessful.  I really don't have a clue what your specimen is and you're the geologist! And from the photos it's hard to tell if your piece is similar to DigDugs or not, but for the time being I'm not ready to give up on quartzite yet. Quartzite can have many different cementing agents, and if the cement is silica it can resemble and be as hard as a botryoidal chalcedony. And ripple marks are common. Just thought I'd throw that in for consideration. Joe |
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Post by dixieeuhedrals on Jul 22, 2008 22:00:07 GMT -5
digdug's picture is a tektite . I know that it is green even though the picture looks yellow . The tektite is type of glassy meteorite . He is right in that the outer surface of the two look the same .
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