NICKELINE
Specimen nic-1
$ 25.00Dims: 3.7 x 2.3 x 1.3" (9.4 x 5.8 x 3.3 cm)
Wt: 6.11 oz. (173.2 g)
Nickel Mine, Cottonwood Canyon, near ghost town of Bolivia, Churchill County, Nevada, U.S.A.
This hand specimen consists of an amorphous chunk of Nickeline that is partly encrusted with a layer of what is likely annabergite. The Nickeline has a black coloration and a dull luster, and is essentially amorphous, so a damage assessment is not really applicable. However, close examination will show that the black color is caused by a decomposition coating that is only slightly worn in a few spots, where a tiny glimpse of the almost pinkish-gray coloration and metallic luster are peeking through. It is completely opaque, of course, and cracked and partly separated at one time. The cracks were subsequently filled in with the "annabergite". Besides these two minerals, there is no other material present.