Rock & Mineral Specialty Items

The ROCKS, MINERALS & OTHER SPECIMENS listed below are specialty items such as Ulexite, Carborundum, Aragonite Star and Moqui Marbles.

Ulexite comes in different grades: All of our samples are Grade "A". These specimens are clear with only an occasional inclusion. Small pieces are approximately 1.0", medium pieces are between 1.25" - 1.5" and large samples are greater than 1.5" in size.

Apache Tears in Perlite Matrix - Apache tears are an opaque form of Obsidian with a legend behind them.

During a battle between the U.S. Cavalry and a small band of Apaches on a mountain near Superior, AZ, the Indians found themselves trapped on the edge of a sheer precipice several hundred feet high. Faced with defeat and capture at the hands of their enemies or death, they chose the latter and leaped from the cliff, dying on the rocks below. The great spirit looked down on their grieving loved ones and turned their tears into opaque, black stones so that all who see the stones will remember the lost warriors.

Apache Tears - No Perlite Matrix - These tears (opaque black Obsidian) are larger specimens than the RI016c above and come from the same deposit but are NOT in a Perlite Matrix.

Archean Butterstone - This rock is from the Greenstone Belt of Southern Africa. It formed during the Archean Period (>2.5 billion years old), with early life (micro fossils) forming in the shallow sea. Each piece is about 1.25" x 1.25".

Aragonite Star - Aragonite star crystals are carbonate gemstones that are light brownish-orange in color. They are found around natural hot springs; forming as entwined branch-like crystals.

Carborundum Crystal - Carborundum is a beautiful man-made silicon carbide decorative specimen displaying a wide spectrum of colors from dark violet to light blue/azure, brown, red to orange and yellow.

Copper - Native - These specimens of native copper (shown on the right in the photo) are "hackley" (having sharp, jagged edges) and have inclusions. They are from the Caledonia Mine in Ontonagon, Michigan.

Available in two sizes:

• SM200b - Small is 1.0" to 1.25".
• SM200c - Medium is 1.25" to 1.75".

Copper - Nugget - These beautiful, naturally occurring copper nuggets (shown on the left in the photo) are tumbled specimens with a few inclusions. They come from the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan.

Available in two sizes:

• SM201b - Small is 1.0" to 1.25".
• SM201c - Medium is 1.25" to 1.75".

Desert Rose - It is an intricate rose-like formation of crystal clusters of gypsum (selenite), barite, or even chalcedony, that typically include abundant sand grains.
We offer three sizes of Desert Rose:

• M220b about 0.75" - 1.25"; 5 pk
• M220c about 1.25" - 1.75"; 5 pk
• M220d about 2.50"; 1 ea

Hematite - Botryoidal - This hematite mineral occurs in botryoidal habit (crystal pattern like a bunch of grapes) due to being formed in an environment containing a "seed" nuclei of material, such as sand or dust. It is an iron oxide with the chemical formula of Fe2O3. These specimens are from Morocco and are about 2" x 2" in size.

Lodestone - Specimen shown is covered with iron filings to illustrate the magnetism. Not just "magnetic" like some minerals but a true magnet with definite polarity. The only true magnet in nature.

Available in three sizes (1 each):

• M410b - Small is 0.75" to 1.25".
• M410c - Medium is 1.25" to 1.50".
• M410d - Large is 2.0" to 2.5".

Purpurite (Heterosite) - [(Mn, Fe) PO4] is the manganese and iron end-member of a beautiful and rare phosphate. It occurs as massive purple and rose colored pieces, which is the result of time and alteration from primary phosphates originally crystallized in a granitic pegmatite.
Available in two sizes:

• S455b - Small is 1.0" to 1.25".
• S455c - Medium is 1.5" to 2.0".

Salt Snowball - These are seeded man-made spectacular crystals from Death Valley salts and minerals.

Zebra Marble - Zebra Marble comes from Utah, and as the name implies, is a combination of black and white stripes. This rock is 3 to 5-1/2 on Moh's hardness scale, making it an excellent choice for carving, knapping, and cutting. Specimen is approximately 1.5" to 2.5" in size.

Fulgurite - The name for these natural rarities - Fulgurite - is derived from the Latin fulgur meaning "lightning". They are the result of lightning striking the Earth's surface melting the soil, sand or rock where the right combination of soil composition, strike intensity and strike duration occur. Fulgurites are often hollow. This void is created by the expansion and escape of gas and moisture that result from the explosive fusion during the strike.

We offer two types of Colorado fulgurites:

• S450 - Smooth texture from the eastern plains of Colorado; about 0.75" to 1.75" in length.
• S451 - Rocky texture from Boulder Canyon in Colorado; about 0.60" to 1.0" in length.

Fulgurite - These fulgurites are the result of lightning striking to form sand glass from the white sugary Florida beach sands. They are white to off-white in color and have very nice hollow tubular features.

We offer four sizes of the Florida fulgurites:

• S452a - is about 1.0" to 2.0" length.
• S452b - is about 3.0" length, thin diameter ~1/4".
• S452c - is about 2.5" to 4.0" length, diameter ~1/2".
• S452d - is 4.0"+ length, diameter ~1/2".

Fulgurite - These fulgurites from the Sahara desert in Algeria are light to medium gray colored hollow glass tubes formed during lightning strikes.

We offer just one size range of the Sahara Desert fulgurites:

• S453a - is about 1.25" to 2.0" length..

Petrified Wood - These are pieces of genuine petrified wood. Petrified wood is actually considered to be a fossil. It forms when plant material is buried by sediment and protected from decay by oxygen and organisms. Then, groundwater rich in dissolved solids flows through the sediment replacing the original plant material with silica, calcite, pyrite or another inorganic material such as opal. The result is a fossil of the original woody material that often exhibits preserved details of the bark, wood and cellular structures. Order by size:

small average about 1.0"
medium average about 1.5"
large average about 3.0"

bag of 10 pieces average size is about 1" x 1"

Petrified Wood with Quartz Crystals - Interesting and unique specimens. Petrified wood is actually considered to be a fossil. The organic matter in the original tree was completely replaced by minerals. This type of fossilization is known as permineralization. The term, "to petrify", literally means, "turn to stone." Petrified wood, then, is wood that has turned to stone. These specimens have a crystalized core of tiny quartz crystals.

Available in two sizes:

• F396S - Small is 1.0" to 1.25".
• F396M - Medium is 1.5" to 2.0".

Pipestone - Pipestone (Catlinite) is the sacred red clay stone that American Indians use for making prayer and ceremonial pipes. Our pipestone is of excellent quality. We price our pipestone by the piece and try to offer a nice assortment to better suit your specific need. See Pipestone page for available piece sizes and prices plus history and geological information about the famous, historical Minnesota deposit. If you need additional information, please e-mail or call us.

Steatite - In its natural state, Steatite is a gray colored metamorphic rock composed primarily of the mineral talc. It is very soft and can be carved and transformed into a beautiful, lustrous, deep black colored pipe or effigy. For the experienced stone carver, it provides a beautiful contrast to the traditional red pipestone. See Steatite page for available piece sizes and prices. If you need additional information, please e-mail or call us.