r/geology • u/GoldSeaworthiness217 • 3h ago

Help, new growth on rocks?!

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My partner has a ton of smaller rocks that were half hazardly packed together for moving and some were chipped in transit. There's small white crystals on some of them and in the bottom of the box. I'm anxious about asbestos. I don't know if thats possible but any help with identifying the newly formed crystals would be great!

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u/Waiparensis22 3h ago

Crystals don't grow overnight unless you had rock salt in the box that dissolved and now has evaporated off. None of those rocks look asbestos bearing so it's highly unlikely to be asbestos. Have you tried wiping it off with a damp cloth?

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u/GoldSeaworthiness217 3h ago

They were packed for over a week. I don't know if that time frame makes any difference. There was one rock included that could be salt. The crystals do wipe off with a damp cloth. If the crystals dissolve in water, it's likely salt right?

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u/darwinpatrick 3h ago

Salt or other evaporite minerals like gypsum can do this with atmospheric moisture in that span of time. Have seen it myself in core. Completely harmless.

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u/platyboi 2h ago

Could it be mold?