I have seen a LOT of Aussie golds over the years and among them there are few I treasure more than specimens which show these strange, large crystallized casts, very rarely found amidst the common "nuggets". This is an unusual locality from which not much specimen gold is produced, and this specimen was in the F John Barlow collection (sold off in 1998). He was a notorious gold nut, with hundreds of specimens from worldwide localities, each aiming for a unique quality or feature. It has a huge octohedron measuring 2 cm across! This piece now is actually a thick cast of gold over an earlier (one wonders, brief?!) generation of the ancient octohedral gold crystal once at its core. Somehow, during the specimen's formation or a later remelting sequence, the form of the original octo was preserved as a hollow cast here. Nevertheless, the specimen is surprisingly hefty at 77 grams and is very robust. I find it particularly interesting to see the 2 cm octohedron perched NEXT TO a ropey, elongated, "tortured" outgrowth, making for a nice contrast.
Attribution: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0
You are free:
to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
to remix – to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
share alike – If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same or compatible license as the original.
This work is free and may be used by anyone for any purpose. If you wish to use this content, you do not need to request permission as long as you follow any licensing requirements mentioned on this page.
The Wikimedia Foundation has received an e-mail confirming that the copyright holder has approved publication under the terms mentioned on this page. This correspondence has been reviewed by a Volunteer Response Team (VRT) member and stored in our permission archive. The correspondence is available to trusted volunteers as ticket #2010022810018255.
== {{int:filedesc}} ==
{{Information
|Description=
{{en|1=Gold
:: Locality: Lake Carey, Western Australia, Australia ([http://www.mindat.org/loc-212048.html Locality at mindat.org])
:: Siz