Snakeskin Jasper -Tumblestone

Description

SNAKESKIN JASPER TUMBLESTONE

Snakeskin Jasper is a red and white banded iron formation located on Turee Creek Station in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The deposit is around 160 km south west of the town of Newman. This area is part of the Weeli Wooli Formation, which has an age around 2.5 billion years old. The region is one of the biggest producers of high grade iron ore in the world.

The stone occurs as seams in alternating layers of low grade hematite and jaspilite. Banded Iron Formations are created in oxygen rich environments, when iron sediments are deposited into large bodies of calm water from underground vents. The heavy iron settles to the bottom in alternating layers, building up over millions of years. Over time, local and regional metamorphism can cause the layers to be uplifted, folded and intruded, creating unusual banding and other features.

The name Snakeskin Jasper comes from the snakeskin like pattern in the white bands of the stone.

Snakeskin Jasper takes a beautiful, high polish and is most often used in carvings, jewellery and ornaments.