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old hand
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old hand
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Evenkite - the mineral with the lowest SG that stales is aware of.
Mercury - mineral and native element - NOT the 'heaviest' of either. Any statement to the contrary is a stales furphy.
Gold - also a mineral and native element - also NOT the heaviest of either.
Osmium - an element (Os) - but not a mineral and not found in the elemental state in nature.
Iridium - Confusing. An element (Ir) - but not found in its elemental form in nature. A different beast, 'Iridium' (formerly known as Osmiridium) is a mineral with the formula (Ir,Os,Ro) - ie it's an alloy of three metallic elements, iridium, osmium and rhodium. Iridium (the mineral) IS the heaviest mineral that stales is aware of - having now been brought into line.
In the mineral world one always uses a leading capital letter when spelling the mineral species - thus usage would be: ....the heaviest of minerals is Iridium, which consists of iridium, osmium and rhodium.
Any other contenders or do we now have it?
stales
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I've been there  . Ijen is in a very isolated part of East Java. I went there about 12 years ago to have a look at the volcano. To get there you go by bus to a town whose name I've forgotten now, and then hitch a ride in the back of a truck going to the Ijen coffee plantation. They don't let down the tail gate of the truck, you clamber in over it (I do not clamber easily). If I remember rightly we had a burst tyre on the way -- everybody clambers out while they fix the tyre and then clambers back in. There's a plantation guest house where you can stay for a couple of nights, with a few warungs (small shops)round about where you can buy bottled water, instant noodles, and snacks. Boiled peanuts are very popular. (You mean you eat them raw! Doesn't it give you a stomachache?)Excuse me a moment while I go and have a look at my photos. In the morning I went by ojek (motorcycle taxi) to the base of the mining camp. Kawah Ijen means Ijen Crater. It's in the foothills of a volcano called Merapi (very popular name for volcanoes -- just means firy). I had some good views of the volcano belching out smoke. The path to the crater goes up a steep ridge and then down into the crater itself. The vegetation either side of the path is mainly scrubland and conifers of one sort or another( pinus in Indonesian). I was reasonably fit in those days but I was definitely panting by the time I'd ambled my way up to the top -- and all I was carrying was a small backpack with a bottle of water and some sunscreen. It took me about an hour to get up but the miners trot up and down the path much faster than I was going and with a pikulan (long piece of wood with a big panier at each end) full of sulphur rocks (I don't know the specific gravity of sulphur but I'm sure they were pretty heavy). They certainly didn't seem to be showing any ill effects from this. In the crater itself they chip out the exposed sulphur rocks from the surface of the ground. There's a grey-green lake at the bottom of the lake which I didn't want to get too close to as it was giving off an unhealthy-looking steam. The water running down the sides of the crater was quite hot and smelt horrible, though it's recommended for skin complaints and the complexion, apparently. I did try washing my face in it, but can't say whether it had much effect! Smoke comes out of the ground in places and if the wind happens to be in the wrong direction you can get a lung full which is not very pleasant -- eyes and nose streaming and a terrible smell of something that has gone badly wrong with the drains. PS. Having been to Ijen makes me a veteran according to Anu. Bingley
Bingley
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Hearty congratulations, veteran Bingley! 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I, too, have climbed a volcano. This was two years ago in Costa Rica. Volcán Arenal is an active volcano. When we arrived in the town, the top portion of the volcano was obscured by clouds. That afternoon we took an excursion(the only way I would reccomend climbing an active volcano) that led us through the forest and up the mountain. It started calmly enough. A nice walk through the forest. Then we reached a point where the path began to get steeper and slicker, due to obsidian-like sand. The final stretch was boulder-hopping at its finest. Each boulder had a rough, ground glass quality that would skin you alive if you slipped and fell. Quite the incentive to step carefully. Did I mention it was dark by then? When we reached the farthest point recommended for climbing, we were politely asked to not risk the Red Cross rescue teams that would have to go in and retrieve our bodies if we wished to get a closer look. The cloud cover was still holding and we could hear boulders smashing down the mountain. Occasionally the clouds would lift and we could see the lava shooting toward the sky. All in all, it was quite impressive. Our tour ended at the resort at the bottom of the mountain that had pools fed by hot springs and a swim up bar. Best way I know to ease the overworked muscles. Anyone contemplating a trip to Costa Rica should try it. I give it A 92.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Cool, Bingley! Thanks for the great first-hand account! From the accounts in the article and accompanying photos all I can say is that those miners are some mighty brave souls...and all for less than $2 a day! And using a sulphur mining process that was outdated in the 19th century!  And congrats on your other "elevation"!
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old hand
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old hand
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Congratulations on reaching two dizzying pinnacles Bingley!
stales
PS - Thanx for the link to the Smithsonian article. The comment that those guys appear to be suffering no ill effects despite ten years working in the crater seems far fetched. Without proper filtration equipment the SO2 vapours they inhale will condense as sulfuric acid in their trachea and lungs. Having been exposed to only a couple of whiffs of sulfur dioxide from the old smelter at Kalgoorlie I can say first hand it's an unpleasant, let alone highly dangerous pastime. Asthmatics are particularly susceptible - likely to have a major attack within seconds.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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stales:
Mercury does NOT appear in nature in its elemental form. It is so volatile in reaction that it turns into a compound (which is a molecule consisting of two or more different atoms) when "in the wild". The most common form is I believe cinnabar, one mercury atom coupled with one sulfur atom. It also oxidizes, and that's one thing Terra has is plenty of oxygen (even up here.)
TEd
TEd
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old hand
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old hand
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Ted - sorry to have to contradict you - but....
Native Mercury is rare - but it is found at several places as Mercury, not Cinnibar. It occurs as tiny blobs embedded in crevices and pores of the rock and does not roll around unless tampered with. Locations include:
(1) The best specimens are found in association with Cinnibar at Almaden, Ciudad Real, Spain.
(2) The Almaden and New Almaden mines in Santa Clara county, California.
(3) The Socrates Mine, Sonoma County, California.
(4) At Idria, San Benito County, California.
(5) In Arkansas and Texas
(6) In Czechoslovakia
I stated earlier that it was the only liquid mineral at standard temperatures and pressures. Technically this is incorrect as Water also fills this bill. It belongs in the Oxides group - being an oxide of hydrogen.
stales
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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From the dense-as-iridium land of DubDub:
Stales, thanks for providing those pockets of Mercury. But you lost me when you made your point about mercury and water. Water's not a mineral, however, is it, so your point that mercury is the only liquid would appear to still stand on its liquideous little legs, huh? When you mentioned the oxides group, that was where you lost me in the discussion about minerals...
Thanks for your patience,
Rocky
PS: The Socrates Mine in Sonoma County, California, inspired me to ask still another question.
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old hand
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old hand
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ww
I got the following info from a commercial site and would be happy to provide its URL via PM - just let me know. Under the definition provided, water IS a mineral.
"A mineral, by definition, is any naturally occurring, inorganic substance, often additionally characterized by an exact crystal structure. Its chemical structure can be exact, or can vary within limits. Elements that occur naturally are also considered minerals.
All minerals belong to a chemical group, which represents their affiliation with certain elements or compounds. The classified chemical groups are known as: Elements, Sulfides, Oxides, Halides, Carbonates, Nitrates, Borates, Sulfates, Chromates, Phosphates, Arsenates, Vanadates, Tungstates, molybdates, and Silicates. Some of these chemical groups have sub-categories, which may be categorized in some mineral references as separate groups.
All minerals belong to various crystal structure groups, classified according to the way the atoms of the mineral are arranged. Minerals also have distinctive properties, such as color, hardness, crystal habit, specific gravity, luster, fracture, and tenacity. Many of these properties can vary among a single mineral, within limits. Many minerals exhibit certain properties that others do not, such as fluorescence and radioactivity.
Minerals are an economic commodity; they are mined because of the need for a valuable element they contain or an intrinsic property they may have. Other minerals are mined for their beauty and rareness, thus giving many specimens an accepted worldwide value. There are about 3,000 different types of minerals, and new ones are constantly discovered. Most of them are not known to professional mineral collectors, because they are rare, have no economic purpose, and for the most part do not make good specimens."
I note also that there's a school of thought that seeks to use a separate category - "minaraloids". The definition given is that these substances are amorphous, inorganic that lack crystal structure. Along with Mercury, this group includes Water, Opal and Obsidian. I'm a traditionalist and prefer the KISS approach - mercury and water are minerals to me.
In classification terms Quartz is a trap for new players. Because people know it consists of silicon and oxygen they often mistake it for a silicate. In fact it also is an oxide - of silicon
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