Friday, January 31, 2014

Geo 730: Jan. 31, Day 396: Prospecting Lot

A pair of stitched photos showing the parking area at the former Hanna Nickle Mine west of Riddle, Oregon. To the far left, that pile of rocks is worthwhile picking through for two reasons. The eye-opener on this trip, for me, was realizing how exemplary and fresh the peridotite was. I've also stopped here briefly a couple times (in addition to the formal field trip/tour with Cy Fields, in about 1986) and have been able to reliably find little fragments of the ore "mineral." The reason for the quotes is that garnierite is a mish-mash of other minerals and amorphous solids. It has some fairly consistent physical properties- notably its green color- but its composition is not defined; it's not a true mineral.

Photo unmodified. May 9, 2013. FlashEarth Location. Indexed.

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