Ok, so CTMinerMike and I visited Old Mine Park in Connecticut today only to stumble upon an unusual finding. By the adit (Which is filled) there is a large vein of exposed marcasite wit some overhanging rock protecting the ground from intense saturation from the rain. There were dull to intense yellow crytalline crusts of Sulfates on the altered surface of the vein and We couldn't help to take a look. I had no idea what it was, so I grabbed the best pieces I could find and entered the description on Mindat after looking at it under the microscope.

It took me a while to narrow the results down, there were quite a few phosphates with close resemblance but it occured in a sulfurous environment, so I highly doubted that it was a phosphate.

Ferricopiapite is formed by the action of water on Marcasite and Limonite

3FeS2+2FeOOH+24H2O===E===> Fe+++5(SO4)6O(OH)*20H20

It is simple for this compound to form, 3 moles Ferric iron(II) is ionized by light or heat forming a total of 5 Ferrous iron to combine. Sulfur combines with oxygen and hydrogen to become H2SO4, 6 moles which passes over the fully ionized iron compounds and replacement occurs, 3 moles of hydrogen bonds with oxygen and forms water of crystallization that is part of Ferricopiapite's structure. Neat stuff if you're a chem geek like me!!!

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OK kids, let's get this straight, When I talk about rocks, I'm not talking about THOSE types of rocks....

I thought it was funny how the other rock hounds there knew all about ironminers.com and even our CT miners website, it seems like we are becoming famous! I wonder what they thought when they saw the ironminers.com logo on my jeep, before we started talking to them. It is strange how old mine plaza up the road looked (and smelled) just like phillips mine with all the sulfer and pyrite.

Yeah, I bet you they saw us because of the Mindat link, what collector these days doesn't use that website. Everything I know about minerals I learned from that site, it's indispensable and for an open-source service it's amazing. I got to get a big UV light so we can follow the ore veins at night. Those walls are full of scheelite, I just know it but it's hard to identify without the light since it's not particularly crystalline.. Oh... that bat was pretty cool too!

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OK kids, let's get this straight, When I talk about rocks, I'm not talking about THOSE types of rocks....

Yea, I have been wanting a portable UV light for a while now , Trumbull mine will be the perfect place to try it out!

The Sterling Hill Mine sells a variety of short wave UV lights, low end to super high end (a couple hundred dollars). You can buy a portable low end for prospecting on the field but when you take it home and add it to your fluorescent collection, you will want to really show it off with a 120 volt UV light. In fact, you will find some minerals fluoresce better in long wave and some in the mid range.

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"If you thought old, abandoned mines were only in the west, then you haven't been to IronMiners.com!"

I used to have a fairly low end lamp only to have it break but I've been planning on buying a fairly good quality light because I love rockhounding in Franklin but I don't have anything to look at my minerals when I bring them home and some of the stuff isn't too interesting without the light. I mean like Hardystonite and Esperite, without the light they look like nothing and if you want to brag that you have a bona fide Esperite, you need the SW UV light! And in addition to Tungsten minerals, we have a ton of fluorescent Uranium minerals in Connecticut which I love as well.

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OK kids, let's get this straight, When I talk about rocks, I'm not talking about THOSE types of rocks....