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Colorado Rare Earth Minerals
MikeS
post Oct 1 2014, 05:49 PM
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What time is it?.... IT'S XENOTIME!!! thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

While we were diggin on the claim on Monday, my longtime friend (and co-owner) was getting into a nice pocket of gemmy smokies when he found a odd crystal we had never seen before. We suspected Zircon because of the crystal shape and it felt very heavy. After a specific gravity test it appears to be Xenotime. It is also on the heavy side of Xenotime which would suggest that the Yttrium in it has been replaced with a heavier mineral/element like Uranium or Thorite. It may have mild radioactivity. If I get the chance to test it for radiation I'll post results. If your wondering how to pronounce Xenotime here is a link with audio: Oxford Dictionaries

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The crew and I just before the rare find. (I'm on the left)

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RhodoRose
post Oct 1 2014, 08:03 PM
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Well, that's a new one on me, never heard of that animal before. Great pics, thanks for sharing!

I was goofing around the newly re-opened Old Stage Road last weekend and found a couple of small zircons - nothing as big as what you found, though. Good work! thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

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MikeS
post Oct 1 2014, 08:37 PM
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QUOTE (RhodoRose @ Oct 1 2014, 09:03 PM) *
found a couple of small zircons - nothing as big as what you found, though.

I would like to see a pic or two, big or small. This page could use another rare earth mineral to get it going. thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

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MikeS
post Oct 1 2014, 08:58 PM
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After doing more research I realized Xenotime can sometimes be highly radioactive so I recommended to my friends to avoid contact until we can test it. I think my buddy might have a working geiger counter. He would know a bit more about the levels of radiation as well.
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Denise
post Oct 2 2014, 06:36 AM
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Fantastic finds!! greensmilies-012.gif smiley-clapping.gif Owning a claim just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter doesn't it Mike! biggrin.gif

Great photo of you guys!! Keep up the good work in finding those treasures!!
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MikeS
post Oct 2 2014, 09:47 PM
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QUOTE (Mrs.CP @ Oct 2 2014, 07:36 AM) *
Owning a claim just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter doesn't it Mike!

It sure does! So far the mountain has been very kind and generous to me. About this time last year I set out on a mission to find out if I could turn my rockhounding hobby into a profitable adventure. I wanted to do it right which led me to this wonderful website. Now I am a proud claim owner, a proud club member and have harvested an amazing selection of rare and profitable minerals, all while working a full time job. I have even had the pleasure of seeing minerals that I dug from the Earth actually sell to an enthusiastic collector for a lot more greensmilies-007.gif than any of us expected. This has been an amazing first season for me thanks to patience, persistence, good friends and all the fine folks of the CP Club and website. Thank you!
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Caveman
post Oct 3 2014, 08:51 AM
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Very, very cool! but..... yer givin' me ideas...... music037.gif smiley-cool14.gif


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Woody
post Oct 3 2014, 02:30 PM
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Here is a picture of one of my unknown minerals.

It is about an inch and a half long and growing on the side of a broken chunk of Smokey Quartz crystal. It is Semi-translucent and when you hold it up to the light you can see a reddish, purple hue to it. I seen you mention Xenotime and had no idear what that was so I Googled it. At first it looked like a real good possible fit. -Grows in association with other minerals, -normally a dark brown color, -can display a reddish hue to it, -heavier than Quartz. Those all seem to fit nicely and the first picture I looked at had a shape kind of similar to this specimen. But then after studying the description a little more I think it falls out of that category. It is much harder than in the "4" range and the specific gravity of this piece is not nearly high enough. I have to lean to this just being an odd piece of Root Beer colored Quartz with a show of Fluorite and maybe something else in it. It is not Xenotime, but it was fun looking.

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MikeS
post Oct 3 2014, 07:25 PM
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Well.. it looks like it might be Quartz Woody. A specific gravity test should at least tell you if the piece is all quartz or a mixed combo. If it comes out heavy or light for quartz then you may have something different there. Zircon and Xenotime have a tetragonal crystal structure. What you have there appears to have a hexagonal structure like Quartz. There are a few rare earth minerals with a hexagonal structure like Bastnäsite, but Bastnäsite tends to have a flat termination as opposed to a point like Quartz. Sometimes knowing some of the rare stuff around the area helps. This Peak To Peak Website is quite detailed on what minerals can be found in specific areas of Colorado including many of the rare earth minerals and other rare stuff. Take a quick look at the mineral list on the first page. Lots of different and rare stuff to find in the Centennial State! thumbsupsmileyanim.gif


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MikeS
post Oct 14 2014, 06:08 PM
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Tested the Zenotime for radiation. It has detectable radiation but very low, approx. 30 counts per min. Just above background readings.


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Caveman
post Oct 14 2014, 06:54 PM
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Good! Then Jason didn't get that "warm" feeling when it was in his pocket..... blink.gif


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Woody
post Oct 15 2014, 06:52 PM
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Hey Mike,

I can't find it now, but you mentioned something about an easy way to do a specific gravity test in an earlier post. Could you elaborate on that please. So many times I wish I had such a test at my disposal. When I heard you mention it I ment to ask you abut it but somehow it got lost in the sauce. Please do tell~


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MikeS
post Oct 15 2014, 08:39 PM
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QUOTE (Woody @ Oct 15 2014, 07:52 PM) *
you mentioned something about an easy way to do a specific gravity test in an earlier post.

John Betts came up with this easy method but it works quite well. We use fishing line instead of a paper clip. A cheap digital scale will work. Got mine at harbor freight for $20
Quick test


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Denise
post Oct 21 2014, 06:41 AM
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Thanks Mike, that's great info to have! happy088.gif


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MikeS
post Oct 21 2014, 07:15 AM
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QUOTE (Mrs.CP @ Oct 21 2014, 07:41 AM) *
Thanks Mike, that's great info to have! happy088.gif

This little test could have saved me mountains of time over the past decade. Now that I know it makes an easy way to field test minerals. thumbsupsmileyanim.gif


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