Sterling Hill Mine Fluorescent Minerals

[@MySqueakyfoot]

One of my favorite places to go in the late 70's. Still have quite a collectionthat were gathered in and around the area. Locals sold them road side on small stands for a few dollars.

[@rockhoundingwithjasperblue]

Excellent video! Just getting started into the Fluorescents. It’s just a Fascinating part of Rockhounding. Thank you so much for the awesome tour of your adventures. It’s so cool to be on the other side o the country and be able to go along with you on such an adventure. Thank you. 💎

[@crystalminerrocks6122]

So glad you enjoyed it. Mother Earth truly has treasures! I love it when my guests say WOW when I light these babies up~!

[@yzScott]

I live about 2 miles from the Stirling Hill mine. I'll be collecting in the Buckwheat pit tomorrow night (again).

[@crystalminerrocks6122]

what's the Buckwheat Pit?

[@yzScott]

@@crystalminerrocks6122 It's the tailings pile from the Franklin mine. It's just a mile or two from the Stirling mine and is a sister ore body. The Franklin mine was worked out and closed in the 1950s. The Franklin Mineral Museum is on the site. They turn over the tailings pile with earth moving equipment occasionally. That happened last month. They stay open after dark the first Saturday of each month. That is tomorrow.

[@crystalminerrocks6122]

@@yzScott wow. sounds like a fun event. Hope you find some unique pieces.👌👌

[@JohnsonArmsProps]

This is easily the most in-depth video of their tour and I really appreciate that. I won't be getting up to New Jersey anytime soon so this allowed me to live vicariously through your trip

[@TheRogueRockhound]

Looks like a fun trip man, great premiere. Definitely hope to see more like this ^^

[@crystalminerrocks6122]

Thank you sir... the magic will continue!

[@MsHappyTurtle]

It was so fun seeing you! Can’t wait till our next adventure!!

[@crystalminerrocks6122]

@@MsHappyTurtle For Sure... till the next one❤❤👏👏👏👏

[@dustinfindsrocks]

Beautiful stuff Anthony 👍🏽 the calcite with wilamite is amazing! Great video

[@crystalminerrocks6122]

Thanks and yes, it never gets old looking at👍👍 them

[@SassSafras]

Nice one ant!! I really gotta start working on a flourescent display. Have tons of minerals to go in it, just have not made one yet. Altho I have orpiment and realgar in my regular collection in air tight uv resistant displays, I would need to find a separate space for those if I plan on making a uv case. Couple other things I need to protect from the light. So I'll need to figure out how I'm going to do that in the one room I have to mess with. Guess I need one of those magic wands . 😉

[@SassSafras]

Do u have a certain place u buy your lights? For the cabinet lighting I mean. If ya want to figure out those minerals for sure, your best bet is to find a spot on the stone u do not see on the best display side. With your light on it circle it with pencil or if your brave marker. With your uv light off now u will be able to isolate that mineral and check the crystal structure with a loupe or microscope. Once u know if it's like isometric (flourite) tetragonal(wulfonite) orthorombic (tanzanite) ect... then it's hardness test. U can buy picks on Amazon that make that part super easy. Start with the softest (usually a 3 same as fingernail) and try to scratch the part u outlined. Once it scratches write down that number along with the crystal form of the granule. Next would be the hardest part. .. if it's not harder than a 6 or7, now you'd want to take a sharp small chisel, nail, knife blade, whatever to break an pry out that one little piece you circled and scratched to see the fracture or cleavage. Once you note that, you can move on to the streak test, and finally acid test using Muratic. Unfortunately identifying a flourescent speck inside of a rock is destructive. But.. if u do it like I said with only one little area circled and your careful, you will be able to tell the difference between your greens blues and reds. Hope it helps.. I'd personally do it on a piece that isn't your best one lol. Also sure u know most of this, and if u go to mindat you can find any minerals properties there as well. Really enjoyed the sterling tour! Stay well my friend!

[@crystalminerrocks6122]

@@SassSafras Thankyou Glenna for the input. Yes, I am aware of most testing methods. Unfortunately, a lab chemical analysis is the only way I think one will ever know the true mineral name. once extracted from the matrix, these thing are only grams and not enough to do anything with for the traditional testing. I have come to be happy enought in narrowing the possible names to 2-3 for the ones that I believe that I have. You can find me in the facebook group if you want more info on where I get my lights and stuff. Thanks again for your support

[@Muonium1]

It's unhealthy how obsessed I am with fluorescence and phosphorescence 😁. Still trying to decide between Engenious Designs or FS Hunters for the 255nm I want... Everyone's into the Stokes shift though, but what about the anti-stokes upconversion?!? It MUST be happening in some of these samples. Have you ever observed this with say an IR laser?

[@crystalminerrocks6122]

Hi. These wonderous minerals are fun to play with and can really excite people's minds. I don't have an IR laser to sample this. I am unfamiliar to the Stokes/Raman effect and did a quick reference look up. Thanks for pointing that out. so much to learn. 👏👏👍👍But that's the fun, right

[@Muonium1]

@@crystalminerrocks6122 Hey, yeah I was actually on this exact same tour you did here I think a few days before you were there. I was nearby in Fairless Hills PA on 10/30 for the "Ultraviolation" fluorescent mineral show and sale - you can see pictures on google maps if you search for "Fairless Hills First United church". I've never been before and so I blew way more money on mundane looking rocks than ever haha. So what I'm referring to here would be a separate effect to Raman scattering. I mean Raman must obviously be happening, and I'm sure all these samples you have would produce nice and uniquely identifying spectra (one of the ways you can identify a mineral authoritatively), but I'm talking about anti-stokes fluorescence or sometimes called phosphorescence upconversion. You may have seen something called a laser viewing card that is coated with something like erbium doped yttrium niobate that glows green when an infrared beam from an led or laser diode is shown on it. That's the phenomenon I bet is happening somewhere in some of these highly fluorescent rocks. Did you by any chance find any chlorophane at the Sterling mine? I've always wanted to see it and someone at the show in PA said that they saw it there! It's apparently so thermoluminescent that simply holding it in the hand after its been freshly dug up is enough to cause it to glow. I've always wanted to see this phenomenon.

[@crystalminerrocks6122]

@@Muonium1 Will have to check thru the loot to see if I have any that might match up to Chlorophane. Yes, amazing how these ugly ducking rocks will just fool people. LOL. Will have to try the IR laser stuff when I get a chance. Thanks

[@كلنايجمعناالإسلام]

عندي حجر تتوهج في اليل با للون الأخضر هل لها قمية ؟

[@crystalminerrocks6122]

I don't understand the question about having a Top?

[@كلنايجمعناالإسلام]

@@crystalminerrocks6122 I told you I have a stone that glows in the dark green.

[@كلنايجمعناالإسلام]

@@crystalminerrocks6122 I wanted to know if it had value or just an ordinary stone.

[@crystalminerrocks6122]

@@كلنايجمعناالإسلام sorry, I am unable to to make that determination.

[@كلنايجمعناالإسلام]

@@crystalminerrocks6122 If you want me to send you her picture.

[@diggingappalachia954]

I have a really hard time getting anything to show up on camera

[@crystalminerrocks6122]

Yeah, I am an amateur at doing fluorescent pics. Took me a long time with the cel phone camera. Not nearly perfect. After a lot of reading, looks like a digital or manual SLR is the only way to go to deal with the lighting issue. But I am not at that point yet. It took me a super long time to make this video as I had to do many many pics to just a good one. LOL Thanks for watching.

[@diggingappalachia954]

I think you did a really nice job 👍