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Hi all, figure I'll start a thread for everyone to show off their finds. No rock too dirty or mineral too ugly! I'll kick off with a super common mineral which gets overlooked and tends not to make it into a lot of displays, andalusite.
It can (not always though) give a reasonably bright greenish yellow fluorescence under shortwave UV (longwave torches won't get it going unfortunately). Sometimes the andalusite is altered to clays and mica and it won't fluoresce either. Andalusite can be a major component of metasedimentary rocks so it's pretty easy to find, this hand specimen is from Victor Harbor SA. I've collected andalusite schists from the Vic high country that go pretty hard as well. No idea why it doesn't get talked about more.
It can (not always though) give a reasonably bright greenish yellow fluorescence under shortwave UV (longwave torches won't get it going unfortunately). Sometimes the andalusite is altered to clays and mica and it won't fluoresce either. Andalusite can be a major component of metasedimentary rocks so it's pretty easy to find, this hand specimen is from Victor Harbor SA. I've collected andalusite schists from the Vic high country that go pretty hard as well. No idea why it doesn't get talked about more.