New Photos Gallery Return to front page. Click on image for larger view | |
Photos recently added to NH species galleries, set #49. |
|
Species: DRAVITE Locality: Vacinity of Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, NH Specimen Size: 5 cm crude complete crystal Field Collected: Tom Mortimer - June 1977 Catalog No.: 1550 Notes: Collected from a pegmatite dike with Mike Undercofler. I was never able to relocate this dike dispite several attempts. Dravite confirmed by EDS analysis . Note the analysis shows Mg > Fe therefore this is the magnesium dominant tourmaline, dravite. |
|
Species: MAGNETITE Locality: Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, NH Specimen Size: 4 cm specimen with magnetite zones to 1.2 cm in quartz-feldspar matrix. Field Collected: Tom Mortimer - 2006 Catalog No.: 1871 Notes: Magnetite identification by strong magnetic attraction. Magnetite has not appeared on previous Richmond Soapstone Quarry species lists. |
|
Species: APATITE-(CaF) Locality: Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, NH Specimen Size: Pale green apatite crystals to 1.3 cm in quartz matrix. Field Collected: Tom Mortimer - 2013 Catalog No.: 1859 Notes: This apatite fluoresces pale yellow. Although Phillip Morrill's New Hampshire Mines and Mineral Localities booklet does list appatite for the Richmond Soapstone Quarry, I have not seen apatite from there previous to 2013. Not outstanding as a New Hampshire apatite specimen, but an interesting locality occurrence. I did not recognize the apatite until after I brought the specimen home, so perhaps more diligent collecting in this milky quartz rock-matrix would produce better examples. |
|
Species: CORDIERITE Locality: Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, NH Specimen Size: 1.3 cm brown, terminated, cordierite crystal in quartz matrix. Field Collected: Tom Mortimer - Sept. 2013 Catalog No.: 1883 Notes: The diligent collector may still find cordierite crystals at the Richmond Soapstone Quarry locality. Hexagonal prism terminations are showing for a pair of smaller crystals below the main crystal. |
|
Species: CORDIERITE Locality: Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, NH Specimen Size: 6 mm hexagonal terminations on a pair of cordierite crystal prisms. Field Collected: Tom Mortimer - Sept. 2013 Catalog No.: 1883 Notes: |
|
Species: CORDIERITE Locality: Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, NH Specimen Size: 2 cm cordierite crystal partially altered. Field Collected: Kevin Mortimer - 1993 Catalog No.: Notes: |
|
Species: CLINOCHLORE Locality: Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, NH Specimen Size: 1.5 cm clinochlore in 4 cm specimen Field Collected: Tom Mortimer - 2006 Catalog No.: 1884 Notes: |
|
Species: CLINOCHLORE Locality: Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, NH Specimen Size: 1.3 cm specimen Field Collected: Tom Mortimer - 2006 Catalog No.: u1396 Notes: For individual clinochlore crystals, these Richmond, NH ones stand up quite well, even on a world-wide stage. |
|
Species: RUTILE Locality: Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, NH Specimen Size: 6 mm rutile "button" crystal with secondary crystal growth on pyramid termation faces. Field Collected: Tom Mortimer - 2006 Catalog No.: u1393 Notes: |
|
Species: RUTILE Locality: Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, NH Specimen Size: 4 mm rutile "button" crystal, C axis view Field Collected: Tom Mortimer - 2006 Catalog No.: Gifted -> BW Notes: I call this rutile form a "button" crystal because the prism development is usually less than 20% of the termination face width. |
|
|
Species: TALC with magnesiohornblende Locality: Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, NH Specimen Size: 4 cm specimen with pale green talc interspersed within blades of magnesiohornblende. Field Collected: Tom Mortimer - 2013 Catalog No.: 1872 Notes: During a 2013 visit to the Richmond soapstone locality I desired to collect some additional samples of the magnesiohornblende that is the majority component of the quarried soapstone. Microscope examination of these samples revealed that this rock also contains a minor talc component as a soft pale green to gray-white mineral interspersed with the darker blades of magnesiohornblende. A 1987 article in the Journal of Petrology by Schumacher and Robenson, "Mineral Chemistry and Metasomatic Growth of Aluminous Enclaves in Gedrite-Cordierite-Gneiss from Southwestern New Hampshire, USA" confirms the presence of talc at this Richmond locality. |
Species: GARNET Locality: Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, NH Specimen Size: 0.6 mm red garnet in biotite (annite?) mica. Field Collected: Tom Mortimer - 2006 Catalog No.: 1871 Notes: Overall matrix is quartz. Given that this is a very magnesium rich environment, perhaps this could be the magnesium garnet, pyrope. Analysis is in process. This small garnet is on miniature specimen #1871, cataloged as magnetite. |
|
Species: GEDRITE Mg5Al2Si6Al2O22(OH)2 Locality: Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, NH Specimen Size: 3.7 cm specimen with dark-brown blades of anthophyllite in quartz Field Collected: Tom Mortimer - 2013 Catalog No.: 1877 Notes: Gedrite confirmed by EDS analysis . |
|
|
Species: PHLOGOPITE Locality: Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, NH Specimen Size: 1.8 cm field of view. Dark-brown phlogopite mica with blue gem iolite on left. Field Collected: Tom Mortimer - 2006 Catalog No.: 1870 Notes: Zoom view shows characteristic brown tint of phlogopite mica. |