Colorado Goethite, Best in the USA! Options

[Denise]

Here are a few pictures of some amazing specimens of Goethite.
This first specimen is smaller than a dime.
Enjoy!

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[Denise]

In the U.S., the best specimens are radiating crystal clusters from pegmatite pockets of the Florissant region of Colorado.

I have some!

Crystal description-

Small, black, shiny, equidimensional crystals rare. Commonly in slender flattened plates, velvety surfaces of needles, and occasionally in brilliant rosettes of radiating plates. Also fibrous-massive with reniform surfaces; compact or earthy, even vitreous in the type called Glaskopf. Compare with limonite (following). Golden needles included in quartz.

Learn more about Goethite here...
Goethite

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[Denise]

Another little black beauty.
No scrubbing involved when cleaning these specimens.

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[fourcornersrocks]

Nice specimens, is rutile related to this stuff? Cool background too, is it dino done?

[Denise]

Thanks! No, Goethite is not related to rutile. You can find more information on Goethite in the link in my post above.

Yes, that is dino bone the Goethite is on...hehe
Beautiful slab isnt it?

[jim]

i was wonderin the same thing.the background does look a bunch like dino bone.jim

[fourcornersrocks]

Well at least I'm perceptive... "Learn more about Goethite here..." Thanks for helping!

[Denise]

You can also check out our Colorado Goethite page. It also has some great information and reference links.

Here is another picture of a piece of Colorado Goethite that has not been cleaned all the way yet. Sure will be cool when the cleaning process is finished. This piece has a hole in its backside, (perfect crystal shape) showing where the Goethite formed onto the quartz crystal. Shame that sometimes the Goethite pops off the crystals. I'll post a picture of the backside soon.



For fun I thought I would add this close up picture of some Goethite.



Colorado's Goethite is the best in the USA.

[Denise]

Here is a picture of the backside of the Goethite pictured before the closeup photo.
Almost looks like a wee rusty mining spike stuck inside the Goethite crystals.

[Coalbunny]

Thanks! No, Goethite is not related to rutile. You can find more information on Goethite in the link in my post above.

Yes, that is dino bone the Goethite is on...hehe
Beautiful slab isnt it?

IIRC goethite is a secondary replacement mineral? Iron oxyhydroxide (FeO(OH)).

[Denise]

Its actually a primary hydrothermal mineral, in the diaspore group.

Formula: α-Fe 3+ O(OH)

"Named For German poet, novelist, playwrighter, philosopher and geoscientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe."

[MikeS]

Here is a video of some of my recent Goethite finds. One of them has some Amethyst (Onegite) with it. The last large one has Hematite forming up through the middle.

Recent Goethite Finds

[NewRockHounder]

Again, jealous Mike. Great finds - find 'em on your claim?

[MikeS]

Again, jealous Mike. Great finds - find 'em on your claim?

Yes I did.

[Denise]

Sweet specimens Mike! You have some really nice looking Goethite on your claim! Love the combos, especially the one you held up to the light.......Amethyst color showed right away. Very cool, never seen Amethyst with Goethite before....Excellent find! Shame the one Goethite broke, it had a great shape going on. You clean yours with a textile gun? That's how we clean ours and it seems to work really well.

Great example of how cool Colorado's Goethite is, thanks for sharing the video with us.

[MikeS]

You clean yours with a textile gun?

No, but it is on the list of things to get along with a lapidary unit/trim saw. They cleaned up kinda nice with the soapy water and gentle toothbrushing. Some of the terminations are thin blades, so I was very careful.

[Denise]

You would really love a textile gun, especially for cleaning Goethites! You have some great looking Goethite on your claim. Nice big thick pieces!
We sill have several we need to clean yet, one is a broken piece of Quartz with the whole side covered in Goethite.

[MikeS]

You would really love a textile gun, especially for cleaning Goethites! You have some great looking Goethite on your claim. Nice big thick pieces!
We sill have several we need to clean yet, one is a broken piece of Quartz with the whole side covered in Goethite.

After looking at some textile guns online yesterday, I found that they are more affordable than I thought. I also assumed they would need a compressor or something but if you can just plug into an outlet, then this would be perfect for me. It should help a bunch with the more complex Fluorites as well. Do you have a brand you recommend? Or a brand you recommend avoiding? I was looking at one made by Arrow with an adjustable nozzle.

[Woody]

She's right Mike.

Once you get a textile gun you'll be gald you did. There is a small learning curve that goes into it but don't worry. You hit your hand once or twice...... you'll learn. If you are needing one anytime soon, let me know. I'll let you borrow mine. Woody.

[Denise]

The one we have is an Red Arrow YH-170 cleaning gun with the adjustable nozzle and works great. With lots of use, you may just need to replace the spring in the nozzle but not hard to do. You can even take clay filled specimens from the pockets and more gently with the gun wash away the clay revealing the even smaller goodies that get rubbed off lots of times in the field with excitement. Is a total rush watching the piece slowly reveal itself and what little combo pieces pop in on or with it!! You will love a cleaning gun, can even put warm soapy water in it for cleaning.

Too funny Woody but true, almost feels like it will rip away skin if too close. Perfect for rock gunk removal and even goes in those hard to get crevices though. Once you get use to the force the gun has, you can even regulate how far from the piece to hold the gun by testing with your hand.

Hopefully you are out finding more of those spectacular Goethite specimens Mike!

[MikeS]

Hopefully you are out finding more of those spectacular Goethite specimens Mike!

I didn't get any Geothite this weekend. I picked at that spot a little and found one tiny pocket of smokies. All but one were broken. However I did have the pleasure of meeting Woody. Which is better than finding Goethite. We have a lot of interests in common other than gold and minerals. Conversation with him was my big score for the weekend.

[Woody]

Thanks for the warm welcome at your claim,

Spent a great day hanging out with you guys and got to see some new land. I had not been in that part of the country before. It wasn't a bust by no means and your partner did find a few small sprays of Goethite. That area of your has massive potiential. I can't wait tom hear what you find next. Let me know when you guys are able to get to my neck of the woods and we'll give it a go on this end. Have a good one, Woody.

[Denise]

That's great that you guys got to meet up! I find most that frequent these forums love to multitask with different interests. I hope to get the chance to meet you both some day also, would be a great time.

[Crusty]

She's right Mike.

Once you get a textile gun you'll be gald you did. There is a small learning curve that goes into it but don't worry. You hit your hand once or twice...... you'll learn. If you are needing one anytime soon, let me know. I'll let you borrow mine. Woody.

I'll second that! They are great, but will definitely light you up if you're too close, even with heavy rubber gloves on! Not sure what brand mine is; I just got it off ebay.

[MikeS]

Yesterday I picked up a few friends to join me for my first trip to the claim this season. Although it was overcast most the day it was a perfect day to mine some amazing Goethite, Quartz and Fluorite!
































After taking pictures and removing some overburden I found a fist size goethite, but it was heavily eroded.





I did come away with a quality piece of Goethite by the end of the day. What a great start to the season!

[NewRockHounder]

Dammmmmmn! Those are sweet. Great finds.

Thanks also (maybe) for making me jones more so than I already was.

Colin

[Denise]

Those are amazing Goethite finds Mike, some of the best I have seen in Colorado here!!
Seeing them in their natural form all dirty and root filled like that is very exciting and gets the prospector's blood pumping. Fantastic way to start your season.

Those are some prime specimens and will clean up nicely, especially with the pressure gun.
Thanks for sharing the pictures with us and keep up the good work, it sure is paying off!

[swizz]

Yowsa! Nice stuff!

[Crusty]

Wow, those cleaned up nice!

[MikeS]

Those are some prime specimens and will clean up nicely, especially with the pressure gun.

I bought a couple of pump sprayers from the hardware store and they work great in the field and at home. I have not pulled out the textile gun yet but I will.

[Denise]

I bought a couple of pump sprayers from the hardware store and they work great in the field and at home. I have not pulled out the textile gun yet but I will.

Those pump sprayers are very handy Mike! Fantastic finds, keep up the hard work.... You're doing great!

[MikeS]

My friend sent me some video and pics of goethite from the claim that has begun the cleaning process. Thanks Jason!
These specimens are phenominal!! And the combos are INSANE!!!
Goethite 1
Goethite 2

[mandbh]

My friend sent me some video and pics of goethite from the claim that has begun the cleaning process. Thanks Jason! These specimens are phenominal!! And the combos are INSANE!!! Goethite 1 Goethite 2

WOW! That's awesome and you guys are so lucky! We can't wait to get our hands dirty and find some awesome stones like that! Congrats!

[Crusty]

Nice looking stuff!

[CP]

Sweet goethites Mike! You guys have some very cool pieces on your claim, those fan blades are huge and the combos are just too cool!! Look forward to seeing more of those cleaned as well as the new finds to come.

[Dave S.]

Some of my Goethite finds from Pikes Peak granite near Lake George.


This one is not clean yet, but it came from a boulder above ground, along with the tiny fluorite cube:






A large bladed crystal:





A spray of crystals that used to sit on top some kind of flat crystal.




Two sprays that intermingled with each other as they grew.






A Combo! Goethite on a sharp "phantom" smokey quartz with inclusions in the quartz.(specimen on feldspar matrix)

[Yoda]

Some seriously sexy pieces there. The combo is pretty cool, but to me the conjoined sprays take the cake by being so interesting to look at.

[Denise]

Some spectacular specimens you guys are finding, good job!! I don't mind if they are not cleaned yet......Gets the blood pumping seeing them still dirty.

Thanks for sharing the pics with us Mike and Dave......You guys rock!

[swizz]

Too cool!
I did not know how beautiful this stuff was until I saw what you brought up to my claims (lucky bugger Crusty!). Incredible! It looks like metal but it's not.

[Dave S.]

It does have a lot of Iron in it Swizz! Iron Hydroxide (FeOOH) but metal detectors do not really pick it up. The hydroxide part, breaks up the metal signal.

[swizz]

Oh, interesting! I thought you mentioned Crusty's piece wasn't magnetic and that's what threw me off track.

[MikeS]

Oh, interesting! I thought you mentioned Crusty's piece wasn't magnetic and that's what threw me off track.

They don't seem to be magnetic either. I have strong rare earth magnets that have little or no effect on the goethite.

[Snacksquatch]

They don't seem to be magnetic either. I have strong rare earth magnets that have little or no effect on the goethite.

Mike, goethite wont exhibit much natural magnetism (powdered samples may show a little), but heat them up to red hot (dont worry, your samples wont be damaged), and then try it. Youll be very surprised at the difference!

[MikeS]

Mike, goethite wont exhibit much natural magnetism (powdered samples may show a little), but heat them up to red hot (dont worry, your samples wont be damaged), and then try it. Youll be very surprised at the difference!

Welcome to the forums Snacksquatch!

That is an interesting property of Goethite that I didn't know about. I will try that on a lesser piece when I get the chance. I should make a video about some of these properties.
If I can find a way for them to show up on a metal detector then finding them on my claim would be much easier.

[MikeS]

Made it back to the claim on Saturday the first time since the Club invite this spring. I poked at one of our workings for a few hours and found some small pieces of Goethite and other small goodies.

[MikeS]

Dave and I went up to the claim last weekend and had a great weekend mining. I found a great pocket with smokey quartz, goethite and a few fluorite crystals.

[Denise]

Excellent pics and finds Mike! That Goethite will clean up nicely! Hopefully you saved that sweet Smokey quartz from the clay and mud.

Thanks for sharing your pics and finds with us!

[Crusty]

NIce finds and perfect time to catch the fall colors too!

[EMac]

I think Mike is right on that CO goethite! Those are some great finds you've got there!

Pure serendipity, unrelated to mining, connected me with some recent Mississippi transplants down in Woodland park. Turns out they're looking to make a business of mining gems and other minerals. Doesn't hurt that Rich Fretterd is their neighbor, and the other neighbors are into mining gems, lapidary work and jewelry as well. Not a bad environment to learn in I'd say.

This is a pic of their goethite specimens found on the claim they filed last year (they moved here last June). Most of the specimens had unakite (I think that's what he said it was: small, purplish crystals) on the black blades.


I imagine lots of folks here have shelves like these, but I don't frequently get to see them first hand, so I'm geeking out a bit. Makes me want to go dig goethite. I was impressed with these miners, and I hope I can convince them to come here and contribute to our group.

Edited to congratulate Mike on the finds and clarify how he was right.

[James and Cyndi]

Even if your not totally into crystals, that will get yer rocks off!

[Crusty]

I think Mike is right on that CO goethite! Those are some great finds you've got there!

Pure serendipity, unrelated to mining, connected me with some recent Mississippi transplants down in Woodland park. Turns out they're looking to make a business of mining gems and other minerals. Doesn't hurt that Rich Fretterd is their neighbor, and the other neighbors are into mining gems, lapidary work and jewelry as well. Not a bad environment to learn in I'd say.

Wow, that is an impressive collection! Would love to get a closer look at those combos!

[MikeS]

Excellent pics and finds Mike! That Goethite will clean up nicely! Hopefully you saved that sweet Smokey quartz from the clay and mud.

Thanks for sharing your pics and finds with us!

I did save that smokey from the mud. I think the one in the picture was one of the nicer double terminated ones that came out of the pocket. I only took a few pics in the field but this pocket had 50+ smokey quartz crystals and 50+ goethite specimens and 4 little fluorite cubes. Many of these will fit back together for killer combos. What little free time I had this week has been giving these a soapy bath and gentle scrub. I should have several more pics coming when I get the chance(next week). I will be posting an invite to the claim soon also for Club Members.

[MikeS]

This is a pic of their goethite specimens found on the claim they filed last year (they moved here last June). Most of the specimens had unakite (I think that's what he said it was: small, purplish crystals) on the black blades.

Sounds like they are finding amethyst crystals on the goethite EMac. When goethite penetrates the quartz it is often called "onegite" which is likely the name they used. Very cool. Nice collection they have got there.

[MikeS]

I took some pics of what I found in the pocket last weekend.
Larger nicer smokies. Some of them with goethite on them.



I think this was the smokey that can be seen in the picture of the pocket posted above. It is a nice double terminated quartz and I think a goethite was on the side of it. If I can match them up, this will be a sweet combo.




Larger goethite, combos and fluorite.






This is the best intact combo from the pocket. A great smokey quartz with goethite on it's feldspar matrix.




Fluorite.




Goethite specimens.

[MikeS]

I still have around 50 small smokies and several small goethite to go through too.

[swizz]

Very cool!