Mineral identification P1 - Watch this and You can learn the skills to identify rocks and minerals.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 เม.ย. 2020
- You can learn to identify rocks and minerals, and the skill of mineral identification is one well worth learning. The basic characteristics of minerals include: crystal shape, Hardness, luster, Chemistry, density, cleavage and color. Each one of these characteristics is an indicator of what the mineral is. Buy a book that will list the various characteristics and help you identify minerals. My prospecting book has a little of this, but there are mineral guides that focus on the topic. It’s not just about color: a lot of people focus on it because its so easy to see. But many minerals come in multiple shades and colors. Don't send me pictures, watch these videos and learn to identify minerals for yourself. This video is part 1 of a 3 part series.
Part 2 can be found here:
• Mineral identification...
Part 3 can be found here:
• Mineral identification...
For those who want to learn more about Prospecting and finding gold check out my book, Fists full of Gold. It’s an encyclopedia of everything on the topic of prospecting. It’s available on Amazon. You can find it at (affiliate):
www.amazon.com/gp/product/098...
For even more information on prospecting, minerals, gems and other related information you can also check out my website at:
nevada-outback-gems.com/prospe...
The Prospecting and Mining Journal magazine can be found at:
www.icmj.com - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
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I need not spend time, effort and money to learn about minerals in school. This is learning. Glad I enjoy your video.
Glad you enjoyed it, part 2 is out now.
You are the man, thank you for trying to educate humans in this important fascinating subject matter. You're a good teacher.
Part 2 is out and part 3 will be out soon.
Hi Chris, thank you sharing your knowledge on mineral identification with the rest of us. I know you are limited on time that you can present on TH-cam, but I came to realize years ago that mineral identification is an art and science in itself.
I truly understand the extreme difficulty of identifying a mineral/rock from a just a picture and even that it can be of great difficulty identifying rocks and minerals, even with all the 7 tests that you present at the first of your video.
even when you have a specimen in one's hands, you can have great a difficulty identifying a mineral that even professional experts in this field of mineralogy/geology can have a very difficult time of identifying different rocks and minerals due to the different mineral content within the specimen as there is if I remember around 6,000 or so different minerals in the world to try and identify a mineral/rock that is unknown in the field or lab.
Bottom line is nothing appears in nature as what's on the surface as it appears to be most of the time, so as I said at the beginning learning to identify rocks and minerals it is an art and science that is a enjoyable life long learning experenice.
Thank you again Sir, for sharing your knowledge on helping everyone out here in all the different ways of identifying the rocks and minerals. I am looking forward to your next video in this series. Respectfully dd.
Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Wow !! This series brings back memories of my Geo 101 class decades ago. Love it !! Sign me up Chris. I need a refresher course. This is really great !! I want front row for the next class ! I've never seen oxidized pyrite hold it's crystal shape like that. Amazing !
The placer area at Rye Patch here in Northern Nevada has smaller pyrite cubes weather out of the slate all the time. I have a small bottle of them. The one I showed is from another area but it does have all the outward signs of a pyrite crystal.
Thank you for sharing your valuable knowledge with the world.
glad you enjoyed the video.
Excellent post, thank you for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it.
I’m in sixth grade and now learning about this stuff thanks👍
That's great! Stay in school, be curious, learn lots and be persistent.
Thanks for the top-notch video there. Chris!
Glad you liked it!
Chris, I finished you book yesterday, what a great book. I would recommend it as the #1 book on Prospecting that I have read so far.
Awesome, thank you! I spent 10 years writing it (off and on during the 10 years).
Excellent video, valuable information.... thanks again Chris...!
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
The info on Appalachian is priceless! Thanks.
Utah isn't really known for its gold.
Thank you for this wonderful information.
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Ralph, your videos and website are a teacher's best friend. You are making my life so much easier. Thank you
I come from a family full of teachers on both sides. My mom, my daughter, my sister, great grandmother and daughter-in-law all are or were public school teachers. Glad I could be of assistance.
Thanks Chris. These presentations are a useful practical adjunct to all the "theoretical" geology sites on TH-cam. I appreciate the points you make about making allowances for altered appearances in rocks owing to factors such as weathering. I've noted your book as well and intend getting hold of a copy. Greetings from Western Australia.
I spent 6 weeks prospecting in WA, had a great time, found some nice gold....
Excellent video. I have a strong interest in Earth Science such as Meteorology, Geology, & Astronomy. I’m a starter in terms of learning about the different types of minerals that form and exist on Earth’s surface and glad to how,this video as another start reference about mineral identification, I believe understanding hoe to identify minerals is valuable especially in search of valuable minerals we use everyday. I will order a mineral book on Amazon to serve as a guide for identifying sample mineral specimens that I will also purchase
Thank you for all this great information. Great job.
Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Thank you sir Chris for the information and Education.
You are very welcome
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this video Sir. There's a river in front of my house here in the country side of Costa Rica, up in the mountains, after watching your video I'm definitely going out for a walk, a scientific expedition with my dogs. I'll let you know if I find something interesting.
Best of luck to you.
I always appreciate your videos you been helping me out alot for a while so thank you buddy!!
Glad to help
Love your videos. Trying to learn better how to identify rocks minerals and fossils. Found many up here in northern nebraska. Jasper, flint, Agate & quartz galore up here
Take a look at this video and learn for yourself how to ID rocks and minerals - th-cam.com/video/MpkW58ZeQlc/w-d-xo.html Best of luck to you.
👍great video, can't wait for p2.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Part 2 is coming soon!
It wasn't until this year that I've been getting more serious with my rocks and minerals collection; So, I'm trying to learn as much as I can, I've even purchased that book you referenced. My favorite crystal that I have by far is labradorite, I really want to get an Ethiopian Opal, they are so precious!
Glad you enjoyed the video.
Thank you , I’m trying to learn as much as my brain can handle but yes nice to know what I’m holding this is a new hobby for me but wish I knew more. Thanks again for the tutorial, mucho 🧡
You are so welcome.
hay chris, i like all your videos,but i dont see any thing on north carolina, that state i live in,have u done any prospecting in nc?
I live on the west coast and have never been to N.C. I've done several of these where to find gold videos, and only those who live there are interested in them. So an NC video would only be of interest to people from NC, folks from other parts of the country would not care.
Thanks for the video always look forward to you posting new information
Thanks! I've got much more to come!
Very helpful video! Thank you! Is it true that along the length of aquamarine crystals the faces bulge out slightly?
It can be but not necessarily. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Awesome channel and information! I subscribed. I'm a new treasure hunter and would definitely like to get into rock hounding/gem hunting someday.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
This is great content, thank you for educating us all. I teach IT to adults and can tell you, you present and educate really well. Australian here and wanting to start fossicking, so starting to learn more about geology. Came across this and subscribed 2 minutes in. Thank you so much.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it, and thanks for the kind words. I have lots of plans for a lot more content, so stay tuned. Starting Saturday I will begin a series on the minerals and geology of different metals from aluminum and lithium to rare earths and Uranium (Australia is the worlds largest producer of Lithium).
Thank you- I love “you may need to take it home to test…” - this is why I have so many rocks 😂♥️
So true!
A very helpful video...so informative!!
Glad it was helpful!
Best Experience Video Sir
Thank you very much
I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Thank you for giving educative video may u continue
So nice of you.
Great video! I’m definitely looking forward to the next two. Ever think about writing a mineral guide book to accompany Fist Full of Gold? Which is a great book by the way. Bought my copy when I started prospecting, worth it. I also have two rock & mineral books, one from National Geographic and the other from the Smithsonian. Both are small field guide type and almost identical in content and layout, but I carry one with me everywhere.
Though about it and decided not to. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Geology was a 2-unit course of a 5-yr eng'g. program I was enrolled in at Silliman U. That was eons ago. With your videos, I hope to re-learn some forgotten lore, in a hi-tech environment, starting with Part 1.
Lots of info in these videos.....
I know that I am really late to the party-
but thank you so much. This is so super helpful, I have recently gotten into finding rocks/minerals, and this is really nice! 😊
Glad you enjoyed the video.
Thank you. I got your book. It’s extremely difficult to identify stuff from the pics in the book because it’s in black & white. I paid over $30 for it and was pretty disappointed. I would have spent more if it was in color. Black & white was a very poor decision. I feel kinda ripped off. Is there any chance to get a color digital copy of the images or even the whole book?
I respectfully disagree with you for the following reasons:
1. Color picture books are very expensive in small print runs. I looked into it and the price of the book in full color would have retailed at over $100 per copy. While you might have paid $100, for a few color pictures, most folks would not. The value of the book is in its information, not its pictures. I made the right choice and have sold more than 15,000 copies.
2. Many of the images are originally in black and white. These never would have been in color anyway.
3. If minerals are your color issue, there are a zillion color mineral pictures on the internet and also mineral guide books that are in color. Just about anything in the book can be found online as color images. Get a color guide book for minerals. My book is not intended as a mineral guide book, its about how to find gold.
4. The ad I do for the book at the end of my videos specifically says its in black and white.
5. As I say over and over again in the video you just commented on, identifying stuff from pictures is not reliable as many minerals come in multiple colors - some of them in every color of the rainbow.
If you dont like the book, just return it. I assume you got it from Amazon, just send it back for a refund.
This is so helpful for preparing to my geology classes. Thank you, sir!
Glad it was helpful!
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 very informative video as usual thanks Chris
Glad you enjoyed it. There is a part 2 and part 3 also.
Hey Chris, Im learnin alot from your vidios. Could you tell me the differance between Slate and Shishk? Also, is there a good rock that might host gold in meddle Tennessee?
Do you mean Schist? I'm not sure. Schist is a rock that has been subject to more heat and pressure than slate.
@@ChrisRalph So slate and schist is simillar? I know Coke creek has gold. They even is a club to join. But if I don't check my own back yard I'll aways wonder. Thanks for your help.
@Hello Jimmy Jacobson, How are you doing?
chris, do u use magnifying glasses to find that real find gold?
Sometimes I use magnification.
Hi chris loving the info that your giving out in your vids i would love to be able to get your book but as i am in australia i havent been able to find one here and the ones online are over 100 dollars and thats us dollars not au but i will keep looking as i think this book would help me out even more thanks for your time and keep the vids comming its helping me heaps cheers
I used to ship books to Australia where they were handled by Jonathan Porter. The Aussie dollar has gotten so cheap and shipping so expensive that it would have to be priced at $100 Aussie per copy for me to make any money on their sales. I stopped when it was costing more to sell books in Australia than I was making. I even tried having small lots printed there, but the cost of the small lots was also crazy. I wish I had an answer, but there is no easy one that I can find. It sells on Amazon. Have you tried that?
Ah thabks for that mate ill work something out but it will be a good investmant for me i think ill find one somewhere thanks again for your time mate and keep the vids comming and im going to buy myself a gold monster after seeing your vids on them cheers
thank you
You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it.
Cool !!!!!!!
Thanks. Hope you are doing well.
Chris Ralph, Professional Prospector do good here been doing a little Detecting and weed eating. I like Detecting more !!!!!!
This is a great video!
Glad you think so!
Thanks
You are Welcome!
this video helped me learn a lot
Glad it was helpful.
Great video Chris. This is a very good review of the class I took years ago, and I've learned a few new things. Can't wait for the other videos. Thank you.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Enjoyed your video, looking forward to part 2&3. I have a really big crystal rock. About 30 lbs. it’s has been in my family for 50 years at least. How do I identify it? Wish I could send you a picture .
I get so many, many requests for personal help, advice, training, review, mineral ID, etc. - every day - I simply cannot get involved with all the requests. I have plenty of my own projects to work on. Watch my videos and learn to identify minerals for yourself. Maybe buy a mineral ID book. Best of luck to you.
Good video, can't wait to find malachite, perhaps gold
Sounds, exciting. Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it.
Hello Chris I have some questions about some rocks that I have in my collection and I'm not really sure who to go and speak with about them. I would like to know the most accurate and precise specimen of a few rocks out of my collection and was wondering if I could get your help with that if possible?
Hi Greg -
I get many people every day who ask me for advice, input, evaluations, training, etc. However I have many projects and commitments of my own to work on and simply do not have time. I wish you the best of luck, but I cannot help you.
Chris
I really appreciate the response. Thank you very much Chris.
In your video pt. 1 what are the 3 rocks, silver in bottom right corner, used as examples?
Not sure what you are referring to.....
the rock in the bottom right corner thats silver. very shiny. its all around the sweet home mine. A little before half in part. 1
@@ChrisRalph I think Ashely meant the 3 rocks you said were the same basic substance but affected by weathering- at 7 mins 40 sec?
This is good
Thanks. Glad you liked it.
Do you know of a video on TH-cam that explains the basic differences between crystals, rocks, minerals and gems? or can you explain?
Watch the video you commented on and listen carefully.
I also like rock hounding but can I get precious and semi precious stone in rivers of himalayas small river?
Perhaps - I do not know what is in every river on planet earth.
MY suggestion to anybunny seeking to look at crystal structures [and structures in genera] if you are a hobbyist, you can get either an optical or digital microscope pretty cheaply that will work within a reasonable level of magnification.
For those who are just a little more serious, but still not wanting to spend much money, I would suggest getting a more powerful optical microscope [some of them come with an attachment for digital cameras which are really excellent because you can get a far higher resolution image and still save it to your computer for cataloging and share with other people, BUT on top of a higher power microscope, get a diamond saw and a polishing disk! This allows you to cut off high precision wafers and refine the surfaces until you can get into the crystal with a BLACK LIGHT or
[higher budget] POLARIZED LIGHT projection system and
[HIGHER YET] X-ray fluorescence tool.
I'm too poor at this time for any of those [except the cheap digital microscope, I got one of those, and it has helped a little], but eventually, I fully plan to get all of them.
Powerful optical microscopes are not cheap.
@@ChrisRalph This is something I myself said in my original comment.
The trick for many people is to look for them second hand on e-bay or find them in some auction when some laboratory is closed.
Either that, or figure out how to make one out of modified optics from some other sources maybe.
Other than those, one can just stop buying beer and cigarettes and stop buying coffee at starbucks for a couple of weeks and they'll have enough to pay for one shortly!
[srarbucks: [adj] [a combination of the words 'star' and 'bucks' ] a descriptor used to to describe an item so costly it will require require astronomical volumes of money to purchase.
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Its not just the chemicals, you need the equipment to measure the results, the equipment is $$$$$$$ to purchase. Plus you have to know how to run and maintain the equipment.
@@ChrisRalph I have a machine shop and can blow borosilicate glass, so making specialized equipment is somewhat available to me, I just need to know the process to build the proper environment.
Again, the idea is to put the power in the hands of prospectors.
Some people literally spend tens of thousands of dollars on the sheer HOBBY of prospecting, and many spend between 2,00 and 5,000 per year on it.
While not every person can or will [let alone 'SHOULD'], the number of those who can and will is enough to justify tooling up to make testing equipment, minus the 1,000/hr labor costs specialized scientific laboratory grade manufacturing companies charge when its all a matter of time, tooling and techniques.
Nobody is helping the public by making it sound impossible.
The old prospectors back in the day used these chemicals with crude equipment in the late 1800's, and there is no excuse to not be able to do the same now in the 2020's.
Hello new subscriber here! I love your channel I have been collecting rocks for 33 years
Glad you enjoyed the videos.
I need this for my regents
Speak to them.
Well explained by a good teacher.
The lectures' visual impact, however, could benefit greatly by emphasizing the minerals themselves. Hand holding the crystals makes it difficult to appreciate the commentary. Please use a macro lens and place the specimen on a slowly rotating turn table, augmented by 6000K - 6500K spot lighting. The specimen should be the focus, and not the lecturer. Implementing those suggestions would elevate the lectures to another level.
Interesting thoughts. I will consider those for future videos.
I found a stone the shape of that crystal you held first but it's an uncut stone 🪨...
Thanks for the lectures
Congratulations on your find.
Chemical tests are the part I want to know the most because 1, its hard to get good information on many of the best tests, 2, its hard to source special acids and reagents, and 3, since you can keep total control of what is in a chemical test, its typically the most accurate and reliable, provided one STRICTLY follows the prescribed methods the designers of the tests outline for them.
Chemical test are done by labs and cost between $50 to $100 and are done in bulk with many tests at once. Most labs wont accept just one or two samples.
@@ChrisRalph I know this. I want to be able to obtain [or manufacture] those chemicals so people can use them in the field as the old timers used to.
I have some papers and even found some of the chemicals online, as well as some literature on how to make them, only not really good literature on how to read the results.
I really enjoyed today's video. In general this is great but we are after gold. So it seems ( seems if your are into puns), we are into geology and minerals that help us get gold. Will this be the first of a series to help with that?
I'm glad you sort of enjoyed the video. I hope you can see that knowing how to recognize minerals will help you find gold in the long run. If not then maybe you need to be watching the Maximov Ro channel.
Wow. Maybe my comment was misspoken or misunderstood. My excitement is about being able to identify the geology that will help lead to the gold. And, knowing geology is a complex subject, I was hoping and excited that you were going to do an extensive series on geology. There are a number of things i am wondering about that is purely about geochemistry and I am hoping you will answer. So, please read my comments only through my excitement.
Sorry if I was too touchy. Ive done videos on placer geology in the past, have you looked at those? If you have some other aspect of geochemistry you'd like to see me talk about, let me know. I am open to suggestions.
Chris ralph have you heard of covelo jade or been able to observe it i was wondering what it really is
Never heard of it - there are many trade names of things.
@@ChrisRalph that sucks it's weird because it's not like crystal yet some stones are almost see through is there a way i could send you sample's??? i have been very curious for a while but covelo jade is the only name i can find for it it's not chirt either
I appreciate your request, but I get many, many requests for personal help and assistance every day from all over the world. I have a lot on my plate and I just cannot help beyond my videos themselves. Watch this video and learn to identify minerals for yourself. See: th-cam.com/video/MpkW58ZeQlc/w-d-xo.html
@@ChrisRalph thank you for taking the time to answer me i completely understand i've been watching your identification videos il try to figure it out but i don't think my opinion is reputable enough to explain to others what it actually is again thank you so much and im glad your out there teaching us about geology
Thank You going to number 2
Glad you enjoyed it.
7:30 what are the 3 rocks?thanks!!enjoy learning from you
I say it in the video - igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary.
Please when you get around to it make a video on willow and Valdez mining district Infor etc etc only if you have time 🤘🏼
Its a long ways for me to travel, but there is plenty of info on the internet if you want to do some reading.
Chris Ralph, Professional Prospector haha it will be warm in June I’ve read most of the mining records about four hours a day for the last month I’m on my second round of reading them and taking notes
How can i send you the pic of my stone can u help me??
In the video you did not watch I say very clearly DO NOT SEND ME PICTURES. I also explain why. I get so many, many requests for personal help, advice, training, review, mineral ID, etc. - every day - I simply cannot get involved with all the requests. I have plenty of my own projects to work on. Watch my videos on how to identify minerals for yourself. Start with - th-cam.com/video/MpkW58ZeQlc/w-d-xo.html Best of luck to you.
The only part I think I can really gain a lot of benefit from is specialized chemical tests, since I know there are some very specialized chemicals used for testing for specialized minerals that are hard to come by and require some specialized set-ups to conduct properly.
Short of getting a costly X-ray diffraction/fluorescence tool, from what I have learned, the chemical tests are the most precise methods people can use to identify minerals, especially when one is out in the field and looking at a whole lot of seemingly identical rocks.
If I had the tooling, I would [and I have been reading up on some very old government issued papers] produce these rare testing chemicals in large quantities so people could easily get them cheaply [relatively anyhow, not sure how much it would cost because I would have to make some batches to get an idea how much it cost me to make them] in larger quantities.
Admittedly, this in no way replaces all of the rest of the valuable information, but it certainly is one of the hardest to obtain for many people, even the initial information nearly requires an advanced geology course at a well venerated college or university.
I am considering taking geology courses at the U of A as a secondary to television production, both would come in handy, especially if I ever wanted to make good quality mining videos to post on youtube....
But my main thought is the whole idea of specialized chemical reagent testing to get specialized chemical results for identifying minerals.
Yes but chemical tests done by labs are expensive.
@@ChrisRalph You said that before sir, and as I have now said 2 times, the idea is to cut out the labs entirely.
Nix the labs, put the chemicals and the knowhow back in the hands of the prospectors themselves.
Its not just the chemicals, you need the equipment to measure the results, the equipment is $$$$$$$ to purchase. Plus you have to know how to run and maintain the equipment.
Hey you never revealed what the mineral in the picture from yesterday was?
If you read through the comments some people guessed right, and I let them know they were correct. I will discuss how to come to the right conclusion and how to put all the clues together in identifying a mineral in part 3 - and use the photo as an example.
How do we email you
My apologies, but I get many requests every day for personal assistance, advice, evaluations, etc. I have many projects of my own. I wish you the best of luck, but cannot help.
Also do you have a email that I can send some pics to you? Please respond as soon as you get a chance.
Respectfully,
Hi Greg -
I get many people every day who ask me for advice, input, evaluations, training, etc. However I have many projects and commitments of my own to work on and simply do not have time. I wish you the best of luck, but I cannot help you.
Chris
Claim jumpers are watching
Especially in nevada
EPA is their favorite tool
I always have a mind to claim jumpers whenever I am in the field.
So many rocks look like so many others. Hard to tell them apart. That fluorite looks like an amethyst.
As the video says - color is not a good identification tool because so many different minerals can all be the same color.
Hey Chris, if I send you a picture of a rock, can you make it be gold?😮😂 Thank you for your work.
If I had that power, I'd do it for you, but alas, I do not.
Well then where is the book that shows a weathered example?
not really.
I bought a mineral set off ebay and I just bring home the rocks I have found to compare them.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Thank. For the information i looking for some help I some really good ore. U know anybody Los Angeles Hector Perez. It’s gold
good luck to you.
This makes me want to go looking for rocks, but its 1:00 in the morning 😂
I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
@@ChrisRalph thank you for making it
Now I have a herkimer, credit goes to you and when I am Rich I will invite you to dinner!
I will look forward to it.
" i cant identify minerals from your pictures" 2 minutes later " sometimes you have to look at a book that has pictures of minerals to identify minerals "
And the book will have a whole lot of info like hardness, cleavage, crystals shape, etc.
My friend and I have a ton of diamonds and need you to be our friend!
We are in East Sonora, how does a meetup sound?
He, He, He - No thank you!
I had to try!
Hello Dear, how many the book cost?
and have it in Laos?
purchase through Amazon.
You had me at cleavage, but I'm staying because gee whiz.
Glad you enjoyed the video.
Just like broadway! Wardrobe change.
You know I dont film these all back to back.......
go to the GIA web site and see if they can answer the questions me I go to fall brook Ca talk to mike he works at the GIA and is the curator of the museum or talk to carl (works at the GIA) and ask questions there are places that will see if they can help you you might have to mail them a piece the museum
OK.
Or, take the GIA Colored Stone Gemology course so you can do it yourself! I did that many years ago, but have forgotten far too much, but I do still have all of the books to refer to. Has the GIA moved? I thought they were in Pasadena.
I do remember a couple more tests Chris can include on his list; refractive index and specific gravity.
@@soaringbob carlsbad Ca san diego county
Subscibed just because of your enthusiasm haha. your good to listen to. New rockie < AUSTALIA NSW MURRURUNDAI. have a look.
Thanks for the sub! Glad you enjoyed the video.
Ok so what about quartz rocks? I guess you need some ridiculously good magnifier?
No, a standard 10X loupe will do nicely.
Reddit.com/r/whatsthisrock. I have had several specimens properly identified here. A lot of knowledge floating around there.
OK.
Education in elementary school should be done with filtered TH-cam.
OK.
Bob barker is going to be pissed off after listening to you!!!!!
If you say so....
So basically there are no good layman's book because y'all dont really know for sure either without a bunch of different tools and machines.
weathered comes in all ranges.
Yeah but most of the books suck.
Gotta put in the effort to learn. It aint easy.