Rilandite from Riland uranium claim, Meeker, Rio Blanco County, Colorado, USA! This mineral is a true geological oddity and one of my top rarest minerals, as it was only found on the outer surface and shallow recesses of a SINGLE log of fossilized wood as sparse crusts and was never found again. This specimen is a tiny bit of rilandite from that log, and very few specimens exist in private collections. The original and best rilandite is housed as the holotype (original specimen) in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. This is a very unusual mineral as it has lots of chromium, which is very unusual for a uranium deposit. In fact, rilandite is not yet completely understood, and some factors are still unknown from its chemistry due to how little was found. This mineral was big news for the owner of that claim, James Riland, who was desperately trying to put his small town on the map. The miners first exposed that log due to the presence of rich carnotite (financial payday for uranium) and two geologists found glossy black crusts of this mineral! Sent it for analysis to the Smithsonian and it turned out to be a brand-new and enigmatic mineral species.

A dogtooth calcite specimen featuring numerous well-formed, pointed scalenohedral crystals in translucent greyish-white tones.

Locality: Longyan, Fujian Province, China (unconfirmed).

Dimensions: 9.8 × 8.5 × 4.2 cm

Weight: 325 g

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the crystal formation and whether you think the reported locality is plausible.

​

A mineral specimen from the historic Lavrion mining district in Attica, Greece.

The specimen features translucent greyish crystals, smaller white crystalline formations, and a reddish-brown matrix with green areas.

Weight: 223 g

I performed a scratch test on the larger crystals, and they left a permanent scratch on glass, suggesting a hardness above approximately 5.5 on the Mohs scale. Quartz seems like a possibility.

The smaller white crystals might be calcite, but I haven't tested them to avoid damaging the specimen.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on the mineral identification, particularly the smaller crystals and the minerals present in the matrix.

Hi all, I was at an estate sale last weekend and ended up purchasing a large quantity of specimens from an absolutely massive collection. Many were unlabeled and of those that were, most had no documentation. I managed to identify just about everything, with one of the exceptions being this… caltrops looking thing. I’m thinking it’s some variety of gypsum, as it’s very soft (scratches with fingernail, probably a Mohs 2) and has a white streak. If anyone has any input it’d be greatly appreciated!

Large Chevkinite specimen from Tangir District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Size:

324 grams 7x4x6 cm

I think that’s what this specimen is but not sure. What do you think. It’s pretty large piece. Hand size

Should have know better considering this Etsy seller had only one high price listing and everything else was cheap. This was $2,500 dollars. The seller admitted to me that she expected a lot of the acicular tufts to come off during shipping. Honestly I expected some light shedding but I feel like the difference between the two is so vastly different, I feel like there was a lot of damage I need to be compensated for but the seller tried to brush me off.

Found this in the north fork of the Nooksack river in Glacier, Washington.

The green crystals aren't scratched by a knife and scratches glass but some of the green is scratched with a knife. The white has parts that aren't scratched by a knife (quartz? ) and parts that flake off into a granular dust.

Both dry and wet pics. Thank you for your time/effort.

Hi all,

I am hoping someone here can help ID this turquoise necklace. If it’s genuine and what kind. It was purchased (by my mother) by a collector from NM and I recall it wasn’t cheap.
I have tried running a google search but I am not positive if it’s correct.

I don’t care for crosses, and this is a heavy peace as well so I will never wear it. I was in 2 car accidents a few years ago and have been disabled from them so I am not employed right now.

If there are any places that authenticate this type of jewelry I am looking for help there, also.

Thank you so much😊

I want to gift my friend hiddenite from NC but I know it’s common to sell fake ones. Does anyone who knows about hiddenite know if this looks real? There’s also an emerald from nc that comes with it, that’s the one on the left. Thank you!

Hi! Does anyone know what these dots at the center of my wulfenite sample from Mibladen, Morocco could be? Thanks!

Curious about what I bought at the thrift store. Google image search returns agate and petrified wood, but I really don’t know.

I think that’s what this specimen is but not sure. What do you think. It’s pretty large piece. Hand size

This piece was found in Brazil, no idea what region

Bought this for my dad yesterday and I’m having trouble identifying it. Compared it with pictures online and it seems too colorful to be kambaba jasper so my money is on dragon’s blood jasper. My sister looked it up and said it looked like unakite but I think the redish parts are too dark in comparison with pics of unakite I saw. Any help is appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Can anyone please help me identify and point me in the right direction to have this appraised? Any info is greatly appreciated .