Leon_UK

Thanks for the advice - I will try and crush a small piece to be 100% sure. I wasn't using a metal detector - just spotted a few chunks by eye at a river location. This one stood out the most.

Getting a streak plate sounds like a good, affordable idea to help with these 🙂

Cracked this one open and there flakes of gold / blue / red & silver colors inside - I'm thinking it must be pyrite & galena? The rock is not especially heavy, especially when compared to others nearby where the galena had a darker blue color overall.

I smashed it up - after testing the flakes with a pin I'm pretty sure it's mica. The majority floated in the water.

Here's a close up shot of the pieces that didn't break into dust when stuck with the pin:

Hi All,

I've found some quartz pieces in England with very small metallic minerals (see below).

It's clear silver / grey colour and looks very different to other minerals I've seen like Galena, Cassiterite & Zinc. There is a history of gold being found at this location in very small quantities.

Does this look like it could be genuine, or is it possible it's something else like Mica?

Thanks for any help provided.

Leon

Here is some of the quartz coloured by the same orange tint - will hopefully polish up well.

After sorting through the rocks I've collected from the area and putting aside any with lichen, these look they definitely contain minerals.

I'm assuming all of them are cassiterite - it's very flaky / crumbly when struck and leaves behind a shiny surface? The color is dark red / black and a lot of the nearby quartz is orange. The blue in the photos is not there when looking with the naked eye. Is it usual for this to erode with the weather as it's not as hard as the quartz or stone?

There is also a blue spot (the last photo) which I'm guessing is Galena based on the color and shape? The area is famous for Lead mining. I've not tried breaking this rock in order to avoid making any lead dust.

Thanks for info - I would have never guessed the dark markings were mostly lichen! 

The local area is known for Silver, Lead and Zinc but it does look very similar to tin oxide & quartz when I look online.

I'll have a go at breaking up some of the smaller pieces and see what shows up.

P.S - the weights range from 1oz & 5oz for the smallest, 1lb 2oz - 1lb 7oz for the other 3 and then 2lb & 5lb+ for the largest.

Hi Everyone,

I recently found a bunch of decent-sized quartz when hiking in Wales, UK. My guess is that these had been left over by an old mining operation from around 100-200 years ago and moved from their original location due to erosion (they were laying on open ground, covered in mud).

I've had an interest in collecting rocks and crystals since a young age but am unable to identify the mineral type/s. Originally assumed it was iron but none of them are magnetic and when tested with a test kit from a local store, I couldn't find any trace of lead on the rocks either.

Is it possible that the mineral is Galena or Silver or something else? (the local mine was an abandoned Lead & Silver mine)

Thanks for any help.

Leon