WIN a Gold Nugget

[Rowdy]

Here's a chance for members to win a gold nugget, all you have to do is guess where the specimens pictured were found.

The specimens are called Devils Dices but I'm not sure what their scientific name is or what the material they consist of is.

The first person to guess the mining area where they were found will win the gold nugget that is at the bottom of the picture.

To be eligible you must have at least 15 contributory posts by the end of the competition and not be an Administrator or Moderator of this forum .

The competion will be closed at midnight on the 1st of September 2014.

Just to narrow down the area it was not found in Western Australia but was found in Australia.

If more than one person guesses the correct answer the first one will be the winner.

You can have more than one guess but all guesses are restricted to only one guess per post.

The moderators decision as to who the winner is will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Good luck and get those guesses going now.


[img src="i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp94/RowdyRowdyRowdy/610.jpg" src="http://" alt=" "]

[img src="i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp94/RowdyRowdyRowdy/001-5.jpg" src="http://" alt=" "]


I just added another picture of the Devils Dices and I apologize for the poor quality of the first photo.
The gold nugget is ONLY about 0.1 Grams
Rowdy

[stinkypete]

Temora, nsw

Limonite Iron Crystal

Hope thats right.

Lenny

[labrador]

I am also stuck with Limonite, before it leaching its sulphur to become Pyrite [ dare I say ] fool's gold
But I will chose Bathurst NSW
I hope we all win and we cut that little sucker up in even shares

[stinkypete]

2nd guess would have to be Mount Morgan, Qld, they were mined there some time ago, don,t know about now.

Lenny

[shivan]

What a very generous offer and a great guessing game
Devils dice and the cubes pictured would definitely be pyrite or iron sulphide, you can tell by the cubic crystals and striated faces. They would be that reddish colour due to rusting/oxidising but when fresh would have a metallic luster. Limonite looks a lot more like hematite and is more earthy.

Ill try Ararat VIC

[stinkypete]

Thhis is not a guess, but maybe some usefull info.

Limonite is named from the Greek word for meadow (λειμών), in allusion to its occurrence as bog iron ore in meadows and marshes. In its brown form it is sometimes called brown hematite or brown iron ore. In its bright yellow form it sometimes called lemon rock or yellow iron ore.

. Limonite is a heavy, yellowish brown ore of iron actually composed of a mixture of hydrated iron oxide minerals such as goethite. It readily replaces pyrite crystals (such as these, which were originally pyrite cubes) as well as other iron minerals such as hematite, magnetite or even iron-rich garnet.

This is a form of chemical weathering that defines Limonite as a common pseudomorph of other minerals, where the chemical composition of the crystal changes but it still retains its shape.

Or another place to find out more is... en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limonite

Cheers all, my very short stint in geology some years back before gold took precidence over me, hee hee hee.

[shivan]

Limonite can keep the shape of the pyrite it has decomposed from, however it would not keep the metallic luster that can be seen in the photo and would look more brown and earthy than red (though maybe that is just the photo). So i will stick with my guns and say pyrite. I guess the definitive answer could be found by a hardness test as limonite is softer than pyrite.

Doing my bachelor of geoscience at the moment but still have a long way to go.

[stinkypete]

Yeah your right mate, the photo is a little hard to tell, geoscience would be of great benifit to have in the prospecting game, i wish you well on that, you just might find some untouched area,s.

Lenny

[labrador]

All very interesting, and my next guess would be Captain's Flat, in NSW.
Rowdy, good thing you ruled out WA. That has narrowed it down
Lab

[stinkypete]

Thanks rowdy, thats alot better, you can see them stones now.
I think now i will stick to my guess,s, if i win, i will chop that nug up and share it with everybody who played.
Lol

Lenny

[Rowdy]

Aug 3, 2014 10:25:01 GMT 10 stinkypete said:

i will chop that nug up and share it with everybody who played.
Lol

Lenny

Good luck I hope you have an axe

[phillip]

gday ill have a crack at beechworth vic cheers

[Rowdy]

It has been brought to my attention that it may be interpreted that this competition is only open to those who post 15 posts within the thread of " Win a Gold Nugget".

This is not so, it is open to anyone who has contributed at least 15 posts by the end of the competition ANYWHERE on the site since they became a member as long as those posts are not bumping a thread to the top or just giving a post a thumbs up etc.
So get those guesses going and lets have a bit of fun.
Rowdy

[labrador]

There is a place in the Morson Valey on Arkarolla in the flinders ranges SA, and if you put a magnett on a string and drag it along the ground, with in a very short time it will be covered in Magnatite also refered to as Devels Dice, and they look like the ones in the photo. The exact spot is at a place called the Pinickles.
So I better add that to my gess list.
Sir douglass Morson in his day use to take geolagey students to Arkaroola to teach and study geolagey and the vast difrent minerials there.
If any one is right in to that sort of thing, I would highly recomend you rescherch and plan a visite
Lab

[imdaman55]

my guess would have to be mount isa

The existence of a mineral with a crystal form of another species. Pseudomorphism may occur by substitution, encrustation, or alteration. For example, limonite pseudomorphs after pyrite can be formed by leaching away the sulfur. It this case, the limonite preserves the cubic structure of pyrite.

Pyrite, also known as fool’s gold because it has tricked many into believing it was the real thing, is iron sulfide, an iron ore. Under the proper conditions, though, pyrite can become iron hydroxide, or limonite. Its external appearance remains essentially the same, but the composition has been altered. Pyrite cubes have become limonite cubes"