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This stone is only mildly magnetic, giving just the slightest tug on a compass needle. Rust colored and clear crystal runs through it. The outer structure of the orange mineral is best seen in the enlarged image. A very small, turquoise colored fleck can be seen in the center of the wide image. I'm not sure if this is contamination from another stone in the rock dump or if it is native to this specimen, but we collected no other material of that color. It is yet another piece in need of testing to try and narrow down the species.
One possibility I'll look into is whether the orange/brown material is Limonite after Pyrite. The external brown form has emerging crystal forms that appear to be cubic amid striated, botryoidal features.
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Mineral Type | Magnetite - Fe+2Fe+32O4 Unidentified Minerals |
Size | 7.5 x 4.5 x 3 cm |
Collection ID | 09062107J |
Collection Location | Near Comstock Mine, Iron Springs County, Utah, USA 37:36.874 N 113:23.576 W |
Collection Date | June 21, 2009 |