Free Mineral Identification Service Victoria

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Hawkear

Geoff Mostyn
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A fairly recurring subject in our forum is on identification of minerals. Sometimes we can as a group help but sometimes not and the specimen might need professional help to identify.
I spoke to a representative of Museums Victoria’s public information section and he said that they offer a free service for that purpose. They prefer that it be only for minerals located in Victoria and that minerals found in other states should be submitted for ID through a similar free service that each state operates. Staff in each state would have better experience and knowledge of their home state's geology.
He outlined the following steps we should take when submitting a specimen for identification.

1. A good image/s of the specimen should be emailed to [email protected]. Other information suggested is where it was found, the context such as on the surface, in underground workings or from an outcrop. Also suggested was as many of its properties as could be easily ascertained such as Mohs hardness, Specific gravity, Streak etc. Goldierocks has a good thread on tests that can be done to help identify minerals.

2. If they are unable to make an identification from the email information, they will contact the sender and may ask that the specimen be dropped in to the museum at 11 Nicholson St, Carlton, Vic, 3053, for further examination. Sending by mail should be avoided as there are security and safety issues associated with sending unidentified substances by mail.

3. He stressed that the specimen would remain the property of the finder but if it was particularly interesting they may ask if the sender would like to donate it to the museum’s collection or for further study.

4. The identification can take from one to two months depending on the museum’s staff resources.

5. They also offer other identification services such as for fossils.

6. Any further enquiries about the process can be made by phone to their public information section, phone 131102 or via their email [email protected]
 
For details of HOW to identify minerals (mentioned by Hawkear, search:

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/threads/series-on-identifying-minerals.24758/
Given that many minerals are successfully identified by people here - especially those of complete novices - it might be a good idea to still pass them by here first. This is because the museum has very limited staff. I started another blog "

Your Mineral Identification Questions

to try and keep such questions in one place so that those with mineral knowledge would see the enquiries and answer the questions - also so people could learn from other people's enquiries (unfortunately it seems to be little utilised).
 
Can vouch for the Museum's ID service, although they have a bit of a backlog at the moment they are working through. I reasonably regularly send in scrappy little things for ID, as they have access to x-ray diffraction analysis if it's something they think might be a bit fancy. Very few mines and occurrences in Victoria have been comprehensively investigated so it's not uncommon that it can turn out to be something new for the region. Some stuff I sent in (over a decade ago now) ended up in myself going back to uni and doing an honors project investigating the mineralogy in more detail, good fun!
 
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