My new obicular poppie jasper

[MichaelB]

I found this deposit around 2 years ago in my region of Tamworth NSW Australia. The colour is caused by hematite and heaps of magnatite black base the poppies are jasper. Silica.

[MichaelB]

[SwordfishMining]

Thats some cute material. I just got a couple chunks of the Chinese from Highland Park. I had to try the auction to remember I have to stay away from auctions LOL. I have never seen rough so thoroughly packed. I wish I had an audience I could go thru this place auctioning too, but no stage to start with, ie the business employees & warehouse factory. The prices were retail, but the material is choice or rare. I have a soft spot for circles.

[PinkDiamond]

Very nice! It's amazing to see how patterns form in rocks, and that's a real beauty.

[SwordfishMining]

There is one hill by here that has a little poor oolite in it in pods but it is ugly brown grey. The agates adjoining it have the most unusual surfaces like they were written on with a wax pen. Also a lot of druzy geode pockets in the little things. The biggest Ive found, and they are nodules, not a vein are about 3-4 inches across. I keep coming up with more things to do something with later than actually doing something with all I got already. I am sitting in a proverbial cutters horde. Im glad you polished some. Its hard to show off how nice it can be worked unless it is worked. Example, here's my vein at the copper mine
My friend Scott Ryals cranked out the cabs since I never did.

Pegmatite vein, feldspar quartz + copper, iron & silver.

"wine" quartz

The Amazonite side of the suite

too many projects

treated opal from my mine Starbonded crazed material

virgin valley opal treated chips
Then they will be stuck to JB weld or something to make a doublet out of them, Devcon like the turquoise guys use maybe for production.
one of the pieces of matrix that was sliced up

Andamooka Matrix bedding lines

I'd dig around a bit to figure out how it comes where to find the most rare and it could be a retirement stream. I need somebody doing that for me.
I just sent Scott 20 lbs of UV opal & twigs with a few chunks of the lavendar/creme wood to fill the box. he actually has a store LOL.

[MichaelB]

Thanks for the reply’s. Great to see material from other sites. That Andamooka matrix looks good. There is a method that does not use acid now and it gives a darker background. Olive oil in vacume chamber. Wrap opal in Alum foil. Put in beach sand in small container and cook at around 250-300 •c for around 1.5 hours. I have seen then of pieces explode but if it’s course grain it’s ok.

[SwordfishMining]

Interesting. I'll have to try that when i get around to treating it or slab up some more. I now have a vacuum now where as before i just has a pressure cooker. I also want to do some Morgan hill when I find it again too.