So you've mined Colin's bucket and have yourself a new collection of rocks, but you're not quite sure on a few of your new finds? Well don't you worry we have put together this list of stones and some facts about them to help you identify and learn whilst doing so.
We would love to see the photos and videos of you mining your buckets along with your collections. You can tag us on Facebook @ Rock and Gemstone Shop and Instagram at @rotoruarockshop or even hashtag #ColinsMiningBucket. Here are some of our daughter Ella-May product testing and having a whale of a time.
QUARTZ DROP STONE
Appearance: Orange in colour with a river worn texture. Often shaped like a small ball.
The color is due to red iron attaching itself to the quartz.
MOOKITE JASPER
Appearance: Can be Yellow, White, or Maroon but often a mix of these colours.
Found only in Western Australia.
PETRIFIED WOOD
Appearance: Often brown in colour with a wood grain pattern.
Petrified wood is millions of years old, making each piece incredibly antique and unique.
AMETHYST
Appearance: Purple in colour and usually smooth to the touch
Amethyst is a variety of quartz and can be found all over the world. Amethyst is also the birthstone for February.
NOREENA JASPER
Appearance: Mostly red with yellow veins and grey patches.
Found in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
AMAZONITE
Appearance: Pale blue-green in colour.
Due to its feldspar content amazonite can sometimes include a beautiful flash. Said to be named after the Amazon women warriors.
TOURMALINE IN MOONSTONE
Appearance: Black in a white stone.
Deposits for Moonstone and deposts for Tourmaline have both been found in India, Madagascar, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and the US. However, most of the combination stone on the market comes from India.
TOURMALINE IN PREHNITE
Appearance: Black in a green stone.
It was named in honor of Colonel Hendrik Von Prehn, the Dutch mineralogist credited with its discovery in the 1700's in South Africa.
ZEBRA STONE
Appearance: Usually black and white in colour but can include red and sometime is grey also.
It was first discovered in Kunnanurra, in Western Australia.
GREEN FUSCHITE
Appearance: Green in colour but often sparkles
It was named after the German chemist and mineralogist Johann Nepomuk von Fuchs hence is pronounced fook-site.
PEACH MOONSTONE
Appearance: Peach in colour
Ancient Romans believed that these moonstones were formed by the solidification of rays of the moon.
PYRITE
Appearance: Gold in colour and made up of cubic formations
More commonly known as 'Fools Gold" Pyrite's name comes from the Greek word pyr, meaning “fire,” because pyrite emits sparks when struck by metal.
SERPENTINE
Appearance: apple-green to black and is often mottled with light and dark colored areas. Its surfaces often have a shiny or wax-like appearance and a slightly soapy feel.
Serpentine was once the state stone of California.
UNAKITE
Appearance: green and pink in colour with black, white or gray veining.
Unakite is a form of granite that is made up of pink feldspar, green epidote, and clear quartz.
CALCITE
Appearance: green and pink in colour with black, white or gray veining.
Found in over 300 different shapes, calcite has more different shapes than any other mineral
CHEVRON AMETHYST
Appearance: purple in colour with white bands throughout
Chevron Amethyst is a combination of milky white quartz crystal and amethyst (purple quartz).
SARDONYX
Appearance: yellow/brown in colour smooth to the touch
Sardonyx was first discovered by the Greeks and they named it deriving from ‘sard’ and ‘onyx’.
VESUVIANITE
Appearance: green and brown in colour
It was first discovered within included blocks or adjacent to lavas on Mount Vesuvius, hence its name.
WHITE HOWLITE
Appearance: white with grey veining
Howlite is a porous stone that can absorb dye well, which is why it's often used to imitate other gems
TREE AGATE
Appearance: Predominantly white with green tree like patterning
Was first spotted the stone along the shores of the Achates River (now Dirillo River) in Sicily, Italy sometime between the 4th and 3rd century B.C.
SODALITE
Appearance: blue with white stripping
First discovered by Europeans in 1811 in the Ilimaussaq intrusive complex in Greenland,
LAVA STONE
Appearance: black with porous holes covering its surface
Lava stones are formed when volcanoes erupt, much like obsidian stones. The lava shoots out of a volcano and runs down its side.
BANDED AGATE
Appearance: colours vary, often there are bands of colour visable
Agates are one of the most common minerals found in rock formations.
BLOODSTONE
Appearance: green with red spotting.
The stone was believed to have the ability to turn the sun red and bring on lightning and thunder.
RED JASPER
Appearance: red in colour
Red jasper is a microcrystalline variety of quartz with big, grainy crystals instead of the fibrous layers displayed by agate or chalcedony.
RHODONITE
Appearance: pink and black in colour
The word Rhodonite is derived from the Greek word “rhodon”, which means “rose”.
DALMATIAN JASPER
Appearance: yellow/brown with a dark spotted pattern
Dalmatian jasper, is typically found and mined in Chihuahua, Mexico.
LARVIKITE
Appearance: grey/silver with black patterning throughout
One characteristic of this stone is its blue sheen or labradorescence, caused by the presence of interlocking feldspar crystals within the structure of the stone
PICTURE STONE
Appearance: brown tones often in bands and varying patterns
Forms in extremely ancient volcanic ash beds that date back to the Upper Cretaceous period, around 100 million years ago.
MOSS AGATE
Appearance: mainly with green with white moss like patterns
European farmers would dangle Moss Agate from tree branches and the horns of their cattle because they thought this good luck charm would bring an abundant harvest.
CARNELIAN
Appearance: orange, red and brown hues, usually banded in appearance
Its history dates back 4,500 years, at which time Ancient Sumerians and Ancient Egyptians fashioned it into body ornaments.