The mud normally contains a variety of saline minerals.
The SVMC technicians always try to find a good supply of the rarer pinacoidal
Hanksite for our field trip. Other common minerals are cubic Halite,
bladed Trona, octahedral Halite (with its double pyramid shape similar
to Sulfohalite), and Thenardite.
This collector found a nice cluster of barrel Hanksite during the 2004 show. It is only partially cleaned at this point. |
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Here is another large cluster of barrel Hanksite dug during the 2004 show. | Here are two large clusters of barrel Hanksite. These have a wide range of crystal sizes from as small an inch to three inches or more. these too were dug during the 2004 show. |
Here are four barrel Hanksite just dug from the mud. | Here are the same four crystals after a quick rinse in brine. Most of the remaining mud can be washed off with just a little more work. |
Here is an example of a nice pinacoidal Hanksite cluster. The pinacoidal Hanksite is also called the "flat" or "pancake" Hanksite. These were collected several years ago but because the mud is dug from a different area now, they have not been seen since the year 2000 show. |
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Some years largely single pinacoidal Hanksite crystals are found by the SVMC technicians. Other years, mostly clusters are found. |
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