What it probably is, Purple stuff? No, not fluorite.. Options

[NewRockHounder]

After doing some book research I came upon "Purpurite," based on the description provided, IE occurs as crusts, compact, granular masses, brittle, slightly powdery consistency - it 99.8% matches what I have. Why did I leave off .2%? - Because, I don't have any means, currently, to do a scratch test. Book says it will leave a dark red streak.

A ceramic tile would work for a scratch test, right? Just to remind ya's what the deuce I'm talking about, provided some pics, again. (The first pic looks different then the rest, because it's sprayed with clear coat as not to crumble.. more so than it had)

[Coalbunny]

Hmmm. Streak test is what I think you meant. Scratch test can work as well, but for hardness. With that said, the fist pic I was gonna say bornite. The next two shot that down, and I'm thinking lapis. But also don't know the site or the geology.

[Dave S.]

Hey, how are you NRH? For a good scratch test, the best way is to isolate a piece of the mineral, then crush it into a powder. Then put the powder on a new white piece of paper. It helps to see if the powder can "paint" the paper when you rub it into the paper (dry). When using a "streak plate" you should only use an UNGLAZED piece of white porcelain, and even that does not work for minerals that have a Moh's hardness of 6 or more.

I don't know if you discussed this piece in another forum or not, but it would help me identify it from the pic if I had more info:
+ Where was it found? (Pikes Peak Granite?) + Does it change color/ hue from sunlight to artificial light? + What other minerals did you find near it?

You may also be able to see if it is a copper mineral, by putting it in a torch flame. If it has abundant copper it should turn the flame green a little bit. (do this in a ventilated area).

Hit me back with some info, and I can help you narrow down the possibilities.

[fenixsmom]

Massive mineral intelligence must run in your family! I'm constantly impressed with you guys. What an awesome addition to the club!

[NewRockHounder]

Yes, meant streak test. It's not a copper mineral. It doesn't change color in sunlight/artificial. Found clear quartz around it some with Chlorite inclusions. It's hard to do a scratch test on it, as it just crumbles. Super brittle. It almost feels like a chalk. In other words, soft. People have told me before that it's just fluorite (Mike S, included) but I'm still having my doubts. (kinda why I reposted it)

[Coalbunny]

Are you sure it's not copper? The physical description, "...it just crumbles...Super brittle...It almost feels like a chalk", tells me something. I know the fluorite I've encountered didn't feel like that. Of course I only found crystalline, not massive. Azurite is possible, as the description you give is quite similar to azurite & chalcanthite I have found. Could also be callaghanite. Lots of stuff we need to know first. can't just look at it and say "oh, it's this!", with exception for gold (usually). Though I seriously doubt it is purpurite.

[Dave S.]

I agree with Coalbunny. You should not rule out copper minerals just yet ( even if you did a flame test) (did you try one?). Purpurite should not have the BLUE colors that we see in the pic. The purple powdery stripe on the blue part could be Purpurite, but the identification of that may require a look under a microscope, by an experienced mineralogist.

Did you try the STREAK TEST? If it crumbles that bad, it should be good to try a streak test. ( carefully crush it on white paper with a hammer, don't "hammer" it, just grind and crush it with the hammer head)

I guess I should ask here: --- Are the blue parts, and the purple parts the same mineral? (it appears they may be 2 different minerals, hard to tell from the pic.)

I have not done it yet, but I heard that the Colorado School of Mines Museum does identification, maybe even for free. I am going to find out. I have several pieces that I wish to ID, or verify my own identification ( like the Florencite-(Ce) in rare-earth forum). I can let you know how that goes.

The best things for you to do for home tests is:
Streak Test and
Flame test (even if it has no copper, it may turn the flame a color that will help us.) Use tweezers and a glove, in a dark, ventilated area. Under a blow torch flame (use butane instead of mapp gas) you might see other colors.

Red/ pink -- might mean Strontium, or Lithium. Green -- copper, etc. Purple -- Potassium. And so on.

[Dave S.]

Sorry ! I forgot something important on my previous posts. When doing a flame test, be careful because some minerals can give off harmful fumes. The main one to look out for (smell for) is ARSENIC . Minerals that have arsenic can give off a "garlic like" smell, even if they are not being heated. So if you smell garlic when preforming a flame test, stop breathing the fumes. The fumes can be toxic, and irritating to the lungs. Many minerals from granite (especially Pikes Peak granite) can contain this toxic element.

Furthermore, any fumes that are irritating to your throat or lungs should cause you to stop the flame test. Sorry for the late safety tip!

[Coalbunny]

Dave is right, the first pic does not look like the next two. Not just the mineral itself but the apparent host rock. And he is right again about the tests. But there are a couple more tests you can run as well.


Let me summarize these....
Streak- you can get a piece of unglazed white porcelain tile for cents on the dollar from a flooring contractor or supply store. You can also get them very inexpensive from a rock shop. I have a piece, 7/8"x1-7/8", I bought for 35 cents at a hardware store/prospecting store in Idaho Springs back in 2004. DUDE. THIRTY FIVE CENTS. No doubt they have gone up, but not enough to not have a few scrap tiles laying around.

Hardness- you can get the tools for this, and they are relatively more than the porcelain tile. But there are ways around the tools by "rednecking it".

Flame- you can do this with a candle or alcohol lamp. Alcohol lamp uses denatured alcohol. Usually isopropyl. Yes arsenic compounds can emit toxic fumes, but give me a break! Unless you are heating the arsenic minerals by the pounds, it won't affect you in the least. Quick sniff, and it's ID'd, and that's it. However, you can also burn the test specimen and see what comes of it. Azurite will turn into a black copper oxide.

Radioactive minerals- odds are you won't need this, but either a geiger counter or a scientilometer is needed for this. There are "redneck tricks" to detect radiation, but the radiation count for those to work will not work for this. It's simply not labor or cost effective. And even if it is radioactive, don't worry about it. The harmful radiation is scant and you get more from walking through an airport, hospital or government building. Know someone on radiation therapy? Well, their sweat will put out far more radiation than any minerals you'll find (with rare exceptions, of course). And before you start messing around with that, learn about radiation. Some people have a major hissy fit if they see a geiger counter getting the normal background radiation then they go run home to mommy dearest, plop their lazy ***** in front of the CRT boob toob DING! radiation! while their dear lovey cooks a meal in the microwave oven DING! radiation! and when they sit out in the back yard eating the burnt pizza they gaze at the retarded birds flying around the retarded powerlines DING! radiation! trying to figure out if they can dodge the retard birdie poo from the retarded birds flying around the retarded powerlines....
Enough of my retarded radiation rant.... (Hey! I found another one of my 3 R's! )

Acid- No, not LSD and nothing weird, psychotic or death-defying. Go down to the local NAPA and buy a small a 1/2 pint bottle of muriatic acid. AKA hydrochloric acid. We'll cover acid tests later. But nitric can help as well, though even with the muriatic you need experience before you use it yourself. Possession can lead you to some trouble.

More later...just got an emergency call.

ETA: Colin, also get a few books on this. I will say that hitting up the local community college is a good idea. Take a few of their geology courses, maybe just a short course. It's worth the investment.

[Dave S.]

Sorry Coalbunny!
I did not mean to be over dramatic. I did not know that it would take so much to be harmful. Just trying to watch out for people. I have never flame tested those minerals, and I read that they were toxic.

[Coalbunny]

Well dave, they are. Just as Chalcanthite is. Chalcanthite is a hydrous copper oxide, secondary replacement (of course). It's blue and commonly used as a pigment. You'll find it around areas where there is copper, and you'll see what looks like a blue stain that follows the water, like in tunnels or outcrops, cliffs, etc. That is toxic if you consume it, but a common way to tell what it is is by taste testing it. It tastes like a sweet-alkaline taste. I've taste tested that a number of times and ain't died yet. Also flame tested arenopyrite a few times and....yep. I lived.

Just don't taste test or flame test any suspected mercury ores. Not only is it a bad idea, but I hear they taste/smell awful.