Pink Soapstone?

[Ron Kelley]

The rock dealer called this Australian Pink Opal: It is not.
I can tell that it is a natural rock
and very similar to the soapstone that I have worked with.
I think this is a soapstone but has anyone ever seen pink soapstone?
I decided to make a Ladies Pendant.

[Lindenmeier-Man]

Exotic !

[willjo]

Nice work and would be nice to know for sure what rock it is.

[Artifascination]

It is surprising but many opal pieces are mistaken for chert because it has VERY similar physical characteristics. Some pieces are next to impossible to determine without magnification. Honestly chert, flint, chalcedony, agate, jasper, and opal are just names determined by the crystalline structure and the type of rock it forms with.

[Ron Kelley]

Do you know what soapstone is? This material is nothing like chert or the other stones you mention. This is not opal.

[clovisoid]

Ron knaps, so I’m sure he has a pretty good feel for cryptocrystaline materials that he can break into sharp edges.

This piece looks so soft that you’d crush it vs fracturing it with a pressure flaker.

[Artifascination]

• Opal is a hydrated silicon dioxide. It is often of a Neogenic origin. In fact it is not a mineral (it is a mineraloid) and it is generally not considered a variety of chert, although some varieties of opal (opal-C and opal-CT) are microcrystalline and contain much less water (sometime none). Often people without petrological training confuse opal with chert due to similar visible and physical characteristics.

[redrocks]

Cool Ron . If you take the scrap to a cheese grater . Would you get powder.. like you told me when I found my first piece of soapstone?

[Ron Kelley]

Hey Red, this stuff is so soft that I buffed it with a paper towel. It sands down quickly and when sanded the powder is like talcum powder.

[clovisoid]

I’ve seen some resin treated gypsum that people use for carving elephants and other tourist items. They call it opal, jade, onyx or whatever else sounds more valuable than resin treated rock.

There are some pink halite (salt) and pink soap stone deposits, but normally you see a lot more variation in the material.

[Ron Kelley]

Thanks Joshua, Another part of the stone is not homogeneous like this part.

[Ron Kelley]

And you are right Joshua, This material will not flake, That's why I ground out a pendant.

[Hoss]

I have seen pink steatite

[Artifascination]

I have a few steatite specimens but that piece doesn’t look like any soapstone that I personally have lol. I also have some raw common opal that has a similar talc as your piece on one end and morphs into multiple crystalline structures similar to Chert at the other side of the same piece. Opal has many forms and can mix with many different minerals to form all different textures and colors from common trash grade (chalky opaque) to gem quality with sparkling iridescent fire in the same piece but it is all still considered opal. I was not saying that your piece is or isn’t soapstone or opal because that’s impossible without a microscope. I was just implying that different types of common opal can fool many and it could possibly be an opal although you ruled it out in your question of what this material is to begin with. If you purchased it from a reputable rock dealer then I would figure they would know but if it come from some common internet schemer then it’s probably a resin mixture. Good luck.

[Ron Kelley]

OK I'll take a couple of scope shots and post them here.

[Ron Kelley]

Well my scope shots are probably of little help but the regular camera shot might be more telling. I used the darker part of the stone to make the pendant. Thanks for your help guys.

[CMD]

Soapstone, or more properly, steatite, is mostly talc. To the best of my limited knowledge, most pink soapstone originates from China.

https://www.ehow.com/how_5978938_identify-soapstone.html

https://www.greatart.co.uk/pink-soapstone.html

https://www.stonecontact.com/products-540229/pink-soapstone-block-for-carving

[Ron Kelley]

Thanks Charlie, Your links were very helpful. I am now convinced that it is pink Soapstone.

[Hoss]

That raw piece actually reminds me of those Himlayan salt lamps. Have you tried licking it?

[Ron Kelley]

Hey Matt, Gave it the lick test. LOL
Nope it's not salty.

[Hoss]

check this out Ron http://www.galleries.com/scripts/ite...es+Talc+TAL-10

[Ron Kelley]

Thanks Matt, That's cool so it can be found right here in Texas.