Serpentine

Serpentine commonly forms shapeless masses or sometimes the fibers that make the safe form of asbestos. Serpentine comes in multicolored green, gray, and black and has a distinctive dull to greasy luster and a greasy feel. Compared to other dark rocks, serpentine is soft (H = 3).

Here is a collection of serpentine samples. Note the range of colors from pale green to dark green to deep bluish black.

Click here to see a close-up showing the greasy luster and even the greasy feel.

Here is a pale green sample. The grooves are just that: grooves formed when rock movements sheared the sample. They are not asbestos fibers.
Here is a black sample. Note that you can see little flecks of deep green.
This is another sample that looks greasy when you look closely and feels greasy when you feel it.
This highly fractured piece (note the white veins) shows the nice bluish black color.
Here is a nice deep green example.

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