UV Lights and Fluorescent Minerals - a fun side hobby to metal detecting !

[KingTotsalot]

Was a wait but it was worth it!

Finally today, a couple more interesting fluorescent minerals arrived in the Royal Mail Box and it has surely taken KT out of the Covid malaise a bit!

The first pair of pictures are of Montbrasite from Emmons Quarry, near Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine. The specimen is a miniature and shown in the first picture in natural light, and in the second picture is shown in SWUV 254nm light...a nice change!

The second specimen was sold as Calamine (the old name for hemimorphite) and listed from Searey County, Arkansas, which was a misspelling of the county name which actually is Searcy County. Anyway, in his former collecting days, KT visited many of the old zinc mines in north Arkansas, including those 10 or so in Searcy County. But alas, His Majesty was not interested in fluorescent minerals at the time and never checked any of the samples He collected.

Anyway, when the specimen arrived, KT was suspicious about the identification...as it was accompanied by an old New Hampshire University Collection label. Now Hemimorphite is a zinc silicate, and smithsonite is a zinc carbonate. Both have been identified from those mines, but every specimen of hemi KT has ever seen or collected from Arkansas was crystalline and the crystals were somewhat sword blade in form, whereas smithsonite is commonly mamillary in form, as this specimen. So KT took a tiny piece of the fluorescing mineral and put a drop of acid on it and observed under his binocular microscope. Lots of fizzing and bubbling going on! So it is smithsonite and not calamine. No telling why the museum staff never tested it! Anyway, the first picture is in natural light. Specimen is hand sized, and the second picture is in LWUV 365nm.

Enjoy the pictures!

 

[KingTotsalot]

A couple of more fluorescent Arkansas mineral specimens!

These specimens were sent to me by an individual who managed to purchase some of a now deceased friend's collection. He wanted identifications due to poor labelling....we are all kind of guilty of that, aren't we??

Anyway, now they are in my fluorescent mineral collection.

The first specimens, 2 samples, are from one of the coarser light colored veins that crosscut the dark gray syenite (pulaskite) at the 3MQ, Little Rock, Pulaski County, AR. KT was happy to get these because since His Majesty discovered sodalite syenite in the GMQ#1 and in outcrops in Saline County, AND in the cores from the DJ Quarry at Magnet Cove, He was glad to get to check these specimens with the Royal LWUV 365nm lamp. You will have to admit they pop! First pic is natural light, both specimens are slightly large miniatures. Second pic shows the sodalites fluorescence!

The other specimen of interest is a pretty nice pink Miserite with Wollastonite hand specimen from the North Wilson Pit, Wilson Springs Vanadium Mines, at Potash Sulphur Springs, Garland County, AR. This is the location of His Majesty's Master's thesis on the Petrography and Transition Element Geochem of those igneous rocks. Presently the site is closed by the reclamation company. The first pictures shows the miserite and bladed wollastonite with black diopside-hedenbergite (this is a metasomatic alteration of the silica rich Arkansas Novaculite, a reverse skarn....instead of limestone being invaded by granite, it is novaculite being invaded by carbonatite! Anyway the second picture shows the SWUV 245nm response without a filter, and the 3rd picture shows the response with a UV filter, to eliminate the blue UV reflections. To the Royal Eye, the miserite in the specimen fluoresces pale yellow.

So, it is nice to have a few pieces that KT knows his friend collected!

Enjoy the pics!

 

[KingTotsalot]

Specimen from China arrived today!

KT had been waiting awhile for this specimen, but it still arrived a few days ahead of schedule! It is from Yong Chun, Fujian Province, China.

The specimen is white to cream hydrozincite, hydrated zinc carbonate, on drusy quartz. The specimen looked clean, but in KT's normal preparation, He always washes fluorescent specimens to remove any house dust or lint because it will fluoresce bright blue. Anyway, when KT began to wash this specimen it had a surprising amount of soil on it, which with soap and water was removed with a soft well used toothbrush. Then it was set aside to dry.

After a couple of hours, KT checked it with both LW and SW lamps. If fluoresced the same color in both wavelengths, but stronger in SW than LW.

The first picture shows the specimen, hand sized, in natural light. The hydrozincite is the white mineral.

The second picture shows its fluorescent response in SWUV 254nm. A nice response!

Enjoy the pictures!

 

[KingTotsalot]

KT's local mineral club held an auction yesterday evening!

And His Majesty was in attendance to see if there were some interesting fluorescent minerals in the auction.....and Yes there were! KT himself brought a few small cabinet sized duplicates of the fl. calcite and willemite from Franklin, New Jersey and they sold at a decent profit for His Majesty...more money to invest in silver!

Anyway, KT purchased to specimens...the first is a cut septarian nodule from Utach. A personal friend, a lady that KT sometimes eats lunch with, was bidding hard on it, but KT outbid her....she does not know it yet, that that is HER Christmas present from KT....

The other specimen KT won is a nice large, ~3 inch long, Hanksite crystal. This mineral is water soluble so it must either be kept in a very dry environment or coated with a thin coat of mineral oil or glycerin. KT coated it with glycerin and then thoroughly removed as much glycerin as possible. The first pic nicely shows its color and translucency. It fluorescences in both LW 365nm and SW 254nm UV, but more pronounced in LW UV. The second picture was taken in LW 365nm light. Looking down the C-axis (no picture) the crystal in LW shows a distinctive zoning, essentially very weakly fluorescent as near the surface of the prism faces, it is strongly bluish to creamy white in a zone about 1.5mm in thickness.

The large crystal is doubly terminated, but a secondary smaller hanksite crystal on the back side is broken, and makes the base for it to sit up. A classic mineral from its type locality!

Enjoy the pictures!

 

[KingTotsalot]

A gift from a friend!

A long term friend of mine sent KT some tiny micromount specimens from a mine in Reynolds County, Missouri. The specimens were too small for his use and he did not want to just toss them!

While looking at them, KT noticed some small rhombs of white translucent dolomite, a carbonate mineral containing both Ca and Mg in equal proportion. Sometimes this mineral fluoresces, so KT checked it with both of his Royal UV Lamps....sure enough, the dolomite fluoresced a creamy yellow color in LWUV 365nm light.

Since the specimen is small, KT set up the Chinese USB led Microscope and photographed it at 10X. The first picture was taken in natural light and the second with filtered LWUV 365nm. The filter was needed because the UV Lamp was so bright it caused the image to wash out...And KT is pleased with the results because it looks the same color as the naked eye sees.

Enjoy the pictures!

 

[KingTotsalot]

Here is one from Hungary!

This specimen was waiting on KT upon his return from the land of the Wildcats and Bourbon...central Kentucky!

It is a specimen of Met-ankoleite, a Uranium mineral. It was identified by both XRD and SEM-EDS. From the Kovagoszolos Uranium Mine, Pecsi District, Mecsek Mountains, Baranya County, Hungary.

Both pictures were taken at 10X magnification. The mineral occurs as a fine-grained dissemination within the host rock...not really visible in the first natural light picture, but it is nicely fluorescent green in LWUV 365nm light in the second picture. It is the same color in SW 254nm but a bit weaker so no picture was taken.

Enjoy the color change!

 

[KingTotsalot]

And another!

KT picked up this sweetheart on his KY trip! Collected years ago from a location now closed, the finder is a friend of KT's. He brought one box of giveaways to the meeting (KT brought 10 boxes). Anyway, in his giveaway box was this one specimen of interest to KT after He checked all of them for fluorescence. This specimen had a thin coating of hyaline opal, not a great specimen for what the locality had yielded in years past, but a fluorescent mineral that KT had never thought to put a light on!

Anyway after taking it, KT showed it to him with the light and you would have thought I was stealing it from him from the expression on his face....until His Majesty reminded him it was from his giveaway box!

Anyway, opal is a common late mineral, forming in conditions where silica is dissolved in groundwater and as the ground dries out, it forms thin crusts.

KT took the picture at 10 magnification just to show a bit of detail, in both natural and LWUV 365nm. Another from Arkansas for the Royal Collection!

 

[KingTotsalot]

Several additions to the Royal Fluorescent Mineral Collection!

These are specimens KT acquired late last week at the KY Symposium His Majesty attended.

A hard to recognize and therefore rarely collected specimen of calomel, a mercury mineral from the Funderburk Hg prospect in Pike Co., AR. The first natural light picture shows some grayish tan greasy lustered grains and the second picture, taken in LWUV 365nm light shows some grains fluorescing a nice orange color...those are the calomel ! These photos were taken at 40X.

The second pair of photos are of yellow Eglestonite next to a patch of calomel. The eglestonite does not fluoresce, despite its bright yellow color. The next photo shows the calomel in this specimen in LWUV 365nm light. This pair of photos was taken at 30X.

Photos 5 & 6 are of 3 small calcite specimens, one with minor fluorite. Pic 5 is in natural light and pic 6 is in LWUV 365nm. KT was pleased to get these specimens as He has visited this site many times but never put a UV light on them to see their response! They are from the Martin Marietta Quarry, Magnet Cove, Hot Spring Co., AR.

The final set of pictures is of a clear fluorite cube from the Famborough Quarry, near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The crystal is so clear it is difficult to spot in the natural light image, but it responds with a bright white color in LWUV 365nm light!

Hope you enjoy this little fluorescent mineral field trip!

 

[KingTotsalot]

Today it is geode day in the Castle!

So KT got these geodes and septarian nodules ready and photographed for this post!

The first pair of pictures are of a couple of Septarian nodules from about 30 miles north of Oklahoma City, OK. The contained minerals are calcite and aragonite. The first picture is in natural light and the distance horizontally in the picture is 4.5 inches. The second picture shows the response in LWUV 365nm light, the calcite being a pinkish tan and the aragonite a strong white to cream color.

The second pair of pictures is of a geode containing the zeolite mineral....mordenite. This specimen is from the Purple Heart Claim near Morristown, Maricopa Co., AZ. First is in natural light and 2nd is in LWUV 365nm light, displaying the white fluorescence of the zeolite.

The last set of pictures is of a pair of Chalcedony-linde Geodes from Hamilton, Illinois. First pic is in natural light and second is in LWUV 365nm and shows the white to cream fluorescence of this mineral.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

 

[KingTotsalot]

An interesting Uranium mineral!

While at the KY micromount mineral symposium, His Majesty found a small tan paper box and on the lid was the label Autunite, Midnight Mine, Washington State. I opened the box and it had a fair number of small rock chips, mixed with what later I decided was old rotten brown foam that due to age had crumbled to a fine powder. Since it was on a freebie table, KT brought it back to the Castle. Once back home, His Majesty took a fine brass screen and sifted the material...the rocks and mineral flakes stayed on the screen and the rotten foam went through the mesh.

KT started to research this site and found a very interesting article on the location on Wikipedia. First I discovered the label was wrong, as the correct spelling of the location is Midnite Mine and it is located in Stevens County, Washington. It was an important source of Uranium concentrates during the Cold War, and is also a site with significant environmental damage, still in the process of reclamation. It is located on an Indian Reservation and was discovered by two Indian brothers. They were smart enough to find the site and to insist that an ore processing plant be built a mile and one half off the Reservation. Reclamation on both sites is scheduled to be completed by 2024 (per Wikipedia). So these small chips are from a locality that even if KT wished to visit, will soon be impossible.

Anyway, the first picture shows a small chip of rock, rather non-descript, at 15X in natural light, likely schist. The second picture shows the same chip, again at 15X, but in filtered LWUV light, the autunite displaying a bright green response.

Enjoy the pictures!

 

[KingTotsalot]

Here are a bunch of eye popping fluorescent minerals!

KT has been busy and has rounded up several interesting mineral image pairs for your enjoyment!

Here we go!

First two pics are of sand grains of calcite and sparse willemite from the Sterling Hill Mine, Franklin, NJ. The calcite fluoresces red orange and the willemite green in SWUV 254nm.

The next 3 pictures are of esperite and willemite from the Parker shaft, Franklin, NJ. First pic is in natural light, 2nd and 3rd are in SWUV. The esperite is bright yellow green and the willemite green. The esperite is so strongly fluorescent it washes out the photo image!

The next 2 pictures are of 4 1" pieces of calcite and willemite from the same locality as the first 2 pictures. Very strong fluorescence in SWUV254nm, orange and green.

And the last 2 pictures are of Hackmanite from Golden-Keene Qy., Hastings Co., Ontario, Canada. First of the pair is in natural light and the second is in filtered LWUV 365nm. OOPS! Apparently the Form will not let me load the natural light image of the hackmannite. Take it from your King that it is simply a light gray rock! HA HA.

Enjoy!

 

[KingTotsalot]

Here's a bit more catch up effort by KT!

Here are pairs of pictures for various fluorescent specimens....these were acquired at the Kentucky Symposium that KT attended...all were on the freebie tables!

Picture 1 did not load for some reason, but picture 2, now the first picture(!), is of calcite in vesicular basalt from SA Canyon area, Grapevine Campground, Gila Hot Springs, Grant Co., NM. Specimen is just shy of 3" across. Pic 2 is in LWUV 365nm, the calcite is fluorescing white. There are several Ca-zeolites at the location, but when I checked with dilute HCl, everything in these cavities fizzed strongly.

Pictures 3 and 4 are of Hyaline Opal, from Chalk Mountain, Spruce Pine, Mitchell Co., NC. The specimen is ~2" long. Picture 3 is in natural light and Picture 4 is in LWUV 365. The specimen also fluoresces the same green color in SW UV 254nm light.

Pictures 5 and 6 are of Calcite and Fluorapatite from a road cut on Hwy 519, Rio Arribo Co., NM. The specimen is ~1.25" across. Pic 5 is in natural light, Pic 6 is in LWUV 365nm. The calcite fluoresces a nice red and the fluorapatite a bright yellow, so strongly it washed out the color in the image.

Pictures 7 and 8 are of Caliche on agate from Saddle Mountain, Maricopa Co., AZ. This was a very popular collecting site for fire agate for many years, but now it is difficult to find decent examples. But the caliche coating the agate, an nuisance to many, has a decent fluorescent orange color in LWUV 365nm. The size of the specimen is slightly less than 2 inches.

These make nice additions to the collection, not because any are rare or scarce but because they are mostly different locations than I had. Granted I have a couple of hyaline opal samples but they are from the mine on Chalk Mountain, whereas the one above is from a newer locality not in the mine.

 

[hbot37]

Wow these are all really cool, you sure do know a lot about minerals. Are a lot of them fluorescent like this? If i got out at night with a light what do you think the odds are of finding anything? I'm sure its pretty dependent on what region you're in, but i was just curious how common they are.

 

[KingTotsalot]

Wow these are all really cool, you sure do know a lot about minerals. Are a lot of them fluorescent like this? If i got out at night with a light what do you think the odds are of finding anything? I'm sure its pretty dependent on what region you're in, but i was just curious how common they are.

In some areas they are fairly common and other places not so much. If you live where the rocks are unconsolidated...clay, mud, sand, and conglomerate gravels, it is unlikely. Odds are a bit higher when you live in an area described as having layers of rock or where igneous rocks have intruded. Check with your local geological survey to find out more about your area. KT will say tho that fluorescent rocks are where you find them! Perhaps no one has ever checked the area around where you live!

 

[KingTotsalot]

3 more calcite examples!

Here are 3 examples of calcite specimens that fluoresce different colors!

I am only posting the fluorescent pictures as the forum seems not to like so many pictures being posted!

The first picture is of a cut siderite septarian nodule internally lined with white calcite. The specimen is ~4" across and fluoresces a bluish white in LWUV 365nm.

The second picture is of a white calcite from Augusta, Richmond Co., GA. It measures ~1.5" across. It fluoresces a nice orangy red in LWUV 365nm.

The third picture is of a film of calcite and a small loose piece from the Casa Grande Mine, in Pinal Co., AZ. The larger piece is about 1" across and they both display yellow white fluorescence in LWUV 365nm.

Enjoy!

 

[KingTotsalot]

Yesterday KT went in the Royal Coach to Tahlequah, OK

for their annual Rock and Mineral Show. In years past, KT had found both interesting fluorescent minerals and a couple of dealers selling 90%Ag half dollars. Well, this year, neither of those dealers were there, but KT is NOT strike out!

His Majesty came across two different dealers with fluorescent rock and mineral examples.

The first purchase today was a polished ruby crystal from India. The dealer had an entire tray for KT to pick through. KT found one that he liked, naturally the largest and best fluorescent one in the tray and the price was very nominal since it was not gem quality, so KT bought it. Check out the first 3 pictures. The natural color in the first picture is pretty accurate....the crystal is magnified 10X. Pics 2 & 3 show the fluorescence in LWUV 365nm, but neither one look like what the Royal Eye sees with the UV lamp on it. Pic 2 has no filter and pic 3 has a filter to cut out the blue. Pic 2 looks pink and pic 3 looks orange, but KT's eyes seen a saturated blood red color. That is just what happens when the sensors in the camera or microscope are not seeing exactly what your eyes see! Anyway you get the idea. The ruby, a variety of corundum, is ~5mm across and about 1.5mm thick.

The second purchase was from a small box of slabbed dinosaur bone from the Four Corners area, of the USA. KT had seen this type of bone in a local rockshop in Moab, back in the late 1980s, but never put a lamp on it. The largest piece measures ~2.5 inches across and the 3 pieces were picked out due to different patterns they displayed under 365nm light and the one at the bottom of the picture has a different pattern. The large and small piece show that the intercellular walls were replaced by something that fluoresces golden yellow, whereas the medium sized piece the same areas fluoresce closer to creamy white.

Anyway, another successful trip under the olde Royal Belt in the Royal Coach!

Enjoy the pics!

 

[KingTotsalot]

To see the dino bone, mentioned in the above post, look at this post!

This is the natural light image of the dino bone slabs!

 

[KingTotsalot]

Scheelite, tungsten ore from Nevada

KT found this specimen on eBay, definitely undervalued and no one had bid on it, so KT made an offer, and was awarded the win!

The specimen is Scheelite and calcite in a white quartz matrix from the Oriole Mine, Minerva, Shoshonee Tungsten District, White Pine County, Nevada.

First picture is in natural light. The specimen is approximately 3.5" across.
The second picture is in SWUV and the Scheelite fluoresces a strong blue white.
The third picture is also in SWUV and is the reverse side of the sample, where one can see zones of white, red fluorescing calcite, crosscutting the quartz matrix and scheelite. A nice rich ore sample.

Scheelite was prospected for all over the USA with the early field type of SW Lamps as it is that diagnostic blue white in SW and Tungsten was in high demand in the early 1950s. At that time it composed the filament of every incandescent light bulb! So after WWII, most of the rural USA was being electrified, so you can imagine the demand was very high! Tungsten was also a necessary ingredient in armor piercing bullets and artillery rounds!

 

[KingTotsalot]

Another couple of fluorescent minerals!

KT returned home after attending a friends funeral this morning and eating lunch with a couple of former co-workers. And decided this was as good a time as any to take a couple more fluorescent mineral pictures.

The first pair of pictures are of Autunite, a U-bearing mineral, from the Crooker/Dunton/Newry area of Oxford Co., Maine. Both images were taken at 30X. The first picture is in natural light and you will see a yellow flake near the center of the field of view, that is the autunite. The second image is in 365mn light and the flake is quite obvious, giving the typical green fluorescence of many U-bearing minerals.

The second pair of pictures are of Plumbogummbite from Montmins Mine, Vichy, France. The first image is in natural light, also at 30X, and the 2nd image is in filtered LWUV 365nm. The matrix is the mineral in this case and is a weak cream color under UV.

Enjoy the images!

 

[GKL]

WOW KT !!!!

I was finally catching up on your new posts since I last checked and you indeed have been busy enlarging your collection !

Some really neat specimens there, sure you don't have to build a whole separate new building to have enough room ?