1h ago
inVolunteering at a local quarry taught me that cleavage identification is overrated for beginners
A buddy of mine failed a mineral identification quiz because he mixed up cleavage and fracture. The TA had glossed over it, saying we'd pick it up later, but my friend mislabeled mica as having conchoidal fracture. He spent extra time in lab the next week practicing on calcite samples to get it right. That early confusion cost him points but made him meticulous about cleavage planes now.