How to know if shungite is real?
The easiest and most common way is to check the conductivity. Real shungite stone contains a large number of unique forms of carbon, which gives it the ability to conduct electric current. This method is the easiest at home. But what if other minerals can also conduct electricity? For example, this is a famous rock – Hematite.
Please look at these pictures. Which picture contains of shungite fake?
These are two completely different types of minerals. Likewise both conduct electricity and are black in color. The picture on the left are the stones of classic shungite. On the right picture are hematite stones.
Russian Shungite rocks are depicted here in the form of tumbled, just like hematite stones. However, it is obvious that the brilliance of hematite stone is stronger than that of Russian black rock. Both are black in color, but hematite conducts electricity because it is essentially iron ore. Russian carbon rocks does not contain metals, but conducts current as well as metal conductors, we study this phenomenon of Karelian black rock a lot.
Brilliant elite shungite
One of the most common forgeries is the Hematite rock. This silvery rock is very similar in appearance to the Elite shungite from Russia. Above all, these shungite fake rock as well as elite stones type 1 from Russia can have a gray color and a shiny surface. This is what these hematite samples look like.
In the picture below you can see a sample of genuine elite shungite stone. This is a very rare variety of Karelian c60 rocks with the highest carbon content. As you can see all these patterns are very similar to each other.
What is Hematite?
Hematite is the rock black or gray. This mineral as well as Russian stone has electrical conductivity, but has a completely different chemical composition. To clarify, classic black rock 30% consists of a unique form of carbon. Hematite is 70% iron and 30% oxide. Here is its chemical formula – Fe2O3. Hematite is a common iron ore that is used for smelting iron and other industrial applications. Some of the largest and most famous deposits of Hematite are in Ukraine, as well as Brazil, Austria and other countries.
In addition, there is a huge number of shungite-Containing rocks. These are rocks that are similar to Karelian carbon rocks, but in their chemical composition is an extremely small amount of unique carbon or it is close to zero. For example, it is a field in Kazakhstan. It is worth remembering that genuine Russian Shungite rocks is extracted only in one region on earth is the Republic of Karelia.
What other ways of checking shungite fake?
To accurately establish the authenticity of any mineral requires special laboratory conditions and expensive chemical tests. Most people, including intermediaries, do not think and do not suspect of fakes. In addition, not all people have the opportunity to use the services of scientific laboratories to study the authenticity of their samples of minerals.
You can view your sample visually. You can’t understand it if you focus only on the photos. Take your sample in your hand. A “classic” real shungite have a black color, it is somewhat similar to coal. On its untreated surface Pyrite and Quartz inclusions are clearly visible and distinguishable.
These minerals have a Golden and whitish color. On the polished surface, these inclusions are poorly visible. But they can still be seen if you look at the surface of Russian shungite stone at a certain angle and lighting. This Untreated mineral can stain your hands, but if it is well washed in water, it leaves almost no traces.
Elite Silver stone type 1
Elite Shungite (or noble) stone has a light gray (but not bright silver) color and smooth surface. It has a homogeneous structure. It is nice and smooth to the touch. Reflects light and is similar to glass. Some areas are so flat that they look like a mirror. Perfectly conducts electric current.
If you check the conductivity of a special device, the resistance of the electric current tends to zero. Because it’s almost pure carbon at about 98%. This is a relatively expensive and rare mineral, the probability of forgery above.
More about the surface of elite 98% carbon Russian mineral
As you know, real elite shungite has a shiny surface, a diamond-metallic shine — in the photo under the number {1}. Very rare nuggets of elite stones have two smooth and parallel surfaces with a strong shine — in the photo under the number {2}.
Also, in some places on such surfaces, there are small hills, from which thin cracks radiate out in a ray-like manner — in the photo under the number {3}.
Note that in other pieces, there are diverging arcuate and fan-shaped cracks on these surfaces. In turn, they cross other cracks perpendicularly and in parallel — in the photo under the number {4}.
In addition, you may notice that in the same pieces on the surfaces, a slightly wavy surface of the conchoidal fracture is noticeable. For example, you will notice this in the photo under the number {5}. And additionally, the surface of the stone can be covered with strokes, which makes it appear more matte. For example, this can be seen in the photo under the number {6}.
Color of streak.
In particular, the color of the streak of the mineral is black, with a metallic sheen. You can find out the color of the streak by rubbing the mineral with a harder sample until a powder appears. Or rub the mineral with a white porcelain rough surface. You can find this surface on the back of your white cup or plate.
Therefore, the color of this powder is the color of the streak. We show such a swatch with the streak color under the number {7} in the first photo. In conclusion, samples of elite silver stones have numerous cracks. These cracks can contain oxides of quartz, calcite and iron.
Finally, we suggest looking at other images of elite type 1 Russian stones in our section of the site.
Shungite Fake: Iron Ore and Magnetite.
Magnetite is a black mineral widely distributed on Earth, it is a natural iron oxide. It, like hematite, looks similar to a Karelian elite silver 98% carbon stone. Certainly, this is due to a similar black color and metallic sheen, as well as a conchoidal fracture.
Magnetite conducts an electric current. However, the most important difference of magnetite is that it has pronounced magnetic properties and will be highly magnetized. On the contrary, Karelian silver stone is not magnetized. But he conducts electric current, since it consists of a special allotropic form of carbon.
For example in Russia, magnetite is mined in the Kursk magnetic anomaly, in the Middle Urals (the city of Magnitogorsk), as well as on the Kola Peninsula. In addition, there is magntite in other countries, for example, Azerbaijan, USA, Canada, South Africa, Norway and so on. While the only place on Earth where there is a shungite rock deposit is the Republic of Karelia (Russia).
Above all, samples of iron ore and brown ironstone ore may have the same appearance as in the photo above. And it happens that unscrupulous sellers sell iron ore under the guise of silver elite stone.
Obsidian (volcanic glass).
Likewise, a mineral that looks like a elite Russian silver stone is also quite popular – this is obsidian (volcanic glass). Here the similarity is based on the high reflective surface of the minerals, as well as a typical conchoid fracture. However, obsidian has a glass luster, and the noble type 1 stone has a strong diamond-metallic luster. In addition, obsidian does not conduct electric current.
What is Colombian elite shungite?
Colombian elite shungite – is it genuine elite shungite or fake? We were informed by our customers, that Colombian elite Colombian mineral has been sold on the Internet since about 2022. Sellers write that the country of origin of this stone is Colombia, South America.
In fact, no one has any information about shungite mines in Colombia. If they were there, it would undoubtedly be a big sensation. However, we still tried to find traces of Colombian elite mineral in this large research about this fake of shungite. In addition, we tried to find in Colombia or nearby those rocks that are so similar to Russian rael elite shungite in appearance that they can be easily confused. That’s how we stumbled upon Gilsonite from Colombia and USA.
However, the very name colombian shungite or Colombian Elite stone is a non-existent made-up phrase. Original elite c60 rock can only be Karelian, this is the official geological position.
The only place on the planet Earth where a genuine elite stones of the first type with a carbon content of up to 98% and up to 99% and with a content of fullerenes was found is the Republic of Karelia in Russia. A real shungite rock deposit of the first type was discovered by geologists in the village of Shunga, so this mineral was called same name. This is a documented scientific fact, as well as the official name of this Russian mineral.
Why is the so-called shungite from Colombia not an real elite shungite?
This so-called Colombian elite shungite is not elite shungite because we do not know its real chemical composition and physical properties. But most importantly, this supposedly Colombian rock does not conduct electricity in the same way as original elite Russian stone does. This means the fact that the so-called Colombian rock is not an elite shungite stone.
After all, authentic elite silver stone from Russia has practically zero resistance to electric current and therefore it conducts current almost like a metal. Therefore, the original elite type 1 Russian stone has the most important diagnostic feature – it is electrical conductivity. If you measure the resistance of a sample on a multimeter, then the resistance of real elite shungite tends to zero. The resistivity index for elite type 1 stone is 2,18 ∙ 10-4 Ohm∙m, that is, it is approximately 0,000218 Ohm∙m. Also, real elite shungite has a conductivity value equal to 4762 Sim/m.
Measurement of resistance to electric current for real elite shungite and fake shungite from Colombia.
In this video, we are making current resistance measurements first for a plug that is made of metal. As we saw, the resistance of the metal to electric current was zero. In the same way, we measured the resistance to current for a sample of real elite shungite, which also has zero resistance to electric current.
Next, we measured the resistance to electric current for a sample that was purchased from sellers called “elite rock from Colombia”, they also call it Raquerite. As a result of measurements of this sample, we did not see the numbers zero, but we saw numbers minimum from 13,8 to 15 and to 189, and we also saw even larger numbers of resistance.
What resistance to electric current does a sample of fake shungite have?
These figures do not mean that the sample resistance is 15 ohms. After all, we measured the resistance in the sensitivity range of 200K, so the multimeter switch is set to 200K. The letter K means in the SI system the range of values 103 or 1000 Ohm.
Thus, in order to understand what resistance this sample of supposedly “gray color stone from Colombia” has, we need to multiply the number 15 by 200 and by 1000: 15*200,000 = 3,000,000 ohms. This is the minimum value that we took for a visual calculation.
So, we have seen that this sample of so-called “elite shungite from Colombia” has a resistance to electric current of at least 3 million ohms. While for real shungite this figure is 0. This means that this sample has nothing to do with Real Russian c60 stone, it can be anything – anthracite or a solid hydrocarbon, but it is not Russian shungite.
The main diagnostic characteristic of real shungite is electrical conductivity.
Moreover, even a black variety of real shungite of third type with a carbon content of about 30% also conducts electricity well, like elite silver stone first type. In connection with this quality, scientists realized that real Russian c60 stone is able to protect against the effects of dangerous high-frequency waves.
But this sample of allegedly gray color rock from Colombia, which supposedly has up to 99% carbon (not confirmed), fails to have the same high electrical conductivity. It also has such a resistance to current, which is millions of times greater than that of real shungite.
We will make all measurements on the multimeter publicly available, and we will also calculate other physical and chemical characteristics of this sample of supposedly Colombian rock. However, a conductivity test is sufficient to verify the authenticity of the sample. We are simply driven by curiosity, so we will conduct all available experiments.
Allegedly elite shugite from Colombia has a faint luster.
For example, in this photo we photographed a sample of real elite shungite and a sample of fake shungite, which is called elite Colombia stone. This photo was taken in low natural light.
Here you can see for yourself that one sample reflects light so much that it even looks white, because there is a flare. This is how a smaller original sample of elite stones shines. This specimen also has an orange pyrite coating on its surface.
But next to it on the right is a sample with a dimmer shine, which also has a brown tint. This shade is not typical for authentic real elite shungite. Perhaps this brown shade tells us that we have some kind of asphalten of a young age or anthracite.
The so-called elite stone from Colombia is more fragile and lighter than the real elite shungite.
In fact, a sample of the so-called elite stone from Colombia turned out to be more fragile than elite Russian stone. And it crumbles easily.
And another important moment, when we held this sample of supposedly Colombian stone in our hands, we realized that it is much lighter than samples of elite type 1 stone of the same volume. This suggests that the specific gravity of this fake shungite is less than that of the real one.
This fact corresponds to our measurements, the specific gravity of this sample of so-called elite Colombian rock was approximately 1.44 gr/cm3. This figure is less and does not fall within the real elite shungite, which has a specific gravity of 1.7-2 gr/cm3.
Thus, we see that a sample of the so-called Colombia stone does not conduct current like original shungite, it does not shine so brightly and it is more fragile and lighter than authentic elite Karelian silver stone.
Therefore, even without the results of a chemical study of this sample, it is already clear to us now that these are completely different objects. And this so-called elite stone from Colombia is not Russian elite shungite in any way.
The so-called elite stone from Colombia has all the features of anthracite.
Judging by the indicators of very low electrical conductivity and light specific gravity, this so-called Colombian stone is anthracite.
This is true, because anthracite is not uncommon in the mid-east of the United States, we are talking about Pennsylvania. And moreover, in the same Colombia there are anthracite mines, for example, Santander. All this anthracite coal looks very similar to real shungite 98% carbon. For example, you can find on forums discussing the findings of a shiny stone, in which American residents of the US coal region immediately recognize anthracite.
Shungite Fake: Anthracite
We were asked a question about a strange product that has a ribbed surface in the photos. This is anthracite. This mineral also has a silver color and is widely used as a fake of shungite. The differences are very clearly visible on these photographs.
The danger is that anthracite conducts electricity, but does so rather weakly. That is, its conductivity is much worse than that of real stones from Russia.
Also, this anthracite has a finely ribbed, layered, including multidirectional structure of thin layers that were once superimposed on each other and then petrified. Anthracite is a sedimentary rock, it is the most ancient coal.
This anthracite has a finely ribbed, layered, including multidirectional structure of thin layers that were once superimposed on each other and then petrified. Anthracite is a sedimentary rock, it is the most ancient coal.
Also, elite Russian stone type 1 does not have such a structure. Because the real elite shungite in the process of formation resembled something similar to a liquid gel-like structure, which filled the cracks in the c60 rocks in Karelia. Elite silver rock type 1 is not a sedimentary rock, it is a special very rare mineral.
Also pay attention to the brilliance, the brilliance of elite stone type 1 from Russia is very strong, geologists call it diamond brilliance. And anthracite has a slightly different luster, it is weaker, semi-metallic, in addition, it is these samples that even have some kind of oily luster.
Shungite fake: Why can you trust us?
Above all, we are not intermediaries and are located directly in Karelia. You will receive from us real shungite directly from its field. Therefore, this eliminates the risk of getting a fake shungite from intermediaries from other countries or regions of Russia, where there are many similar rocks. They look like real Russian rock only in appearance, they can be black or shiny like anthracite or asphaltene.
We make all our products only from 100% real shungite stone from Karelia. Besides, we personally control the entire production process from the supply of raw stone materials to the final product.
In addition, we cooperate with one of the largest companies to protect transactions on the Internet. Above all, this is PayPal company, every transaction on our website is protected.
Please remember that not all gold that glitters. Most importantly, other carbon-containing rocks or Hematites (they are often given for genuine but it is a shungite fake) are very cheap, but do not have unique abilities, are useless for health and are used only in industry. Such products can be found in different countries, USA, Ukraine, Poland, Russia, China, etc.