Posted by JRM on November 27, 2001 at 13:20:30:
In Reply to: It it Jadeite or Nephrite up in those waters? posted by mike on November 27, 2001 at 11:41:27:
Heck if I know (g). The stuff pickers call jade pretty much runs the gammut of the clinopyroxenes. In truth, just about any hard green silicate is called jade somewhere.
I'm not much of an ornamental mineral guy. My emphasis was field applications and mapping, mostly in the Mojave. And let me tell you, those skills are in high demand (not!!!!). Probably why I make my living as a profesional geek.
I do know that there's a lot of green stained quartz bits around there that gets mistaken for jade. And I do know that the best stuff is usually found after a major storm, and the serious hardcore pickers get in the water. Somewhere at home I have a packet explaining exactly why we stopped there (geologically speaking), but that prof was boring so I never paid attention.
JRM