Hi Rasdan thanks that was the info i was after...incidentaly i have looked into Realgar and aparently it is an unstable mineral it eventualy alters to a diffrent mineral called pararealgar and after that to powder[it is recomended to keep it in the dark and out of direct sunlight as this causes the colour to fade]...i wonder if the specimen you had was mined and stored long enough for it to alter and lose some of its colour...i have no ideah if this afects the arsenic content or mabe im thinking that mabe they let it alter on purpose as this would make it easier to crush and powder.
Anyway im going to order some and give it a try and ill post my results.
smashy
