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Quartz Mines

Gemstone Mine

The chemical formula of quartz is SiO₂. Silicium is a metal, which is used for all kinds of electronic units, LEDs and so forth.

Quartz is the most common mineral in the continental crust of Earth. It is rather hard, harder than steel or regular glass. It is generally transparent and resistant against most chemical, especially acids. It is very usefull to store dangerous chemical in. And it is found in virtually thousands of different forms, colours and structures. Some varieties shows rare optical effects and other forms are so common, they form the sand dunes of huge deserts.

Quartz is generally a part of many rocks. A rock composed of different chemical substances tends to decompose when it is weathered. The least resistant component is gone first, destabilizing the whole structure. Quartz is generally the most resistant component, so it will remain when all other components are soluted by the water and transorted away. Forces of erosion make sand of the quartz, which is ofted sedimented again. Glued together by quartz it forms a quartz sandstone called quartzite, which is probably the most durable of all rocks.

However, there is still a common way of soluting quartz, but this tends to happen underground, not on the surface. Thermal groundwater with a certain Eh-pH chemistry is able to solute quartz and transport it. Often the Eh-pH values change and the quartz is deposited somewhere else. As thermal waters often form convection cells, the water slowly but continually flows collecting certain minerals on its way and transporting them to a certains point of its course. Typically the place of deposition is some kind of subterranean space. Common are gas bubble in Lava, which form round hole of all shapes. Other spaces are all kinds of clefts, often they are filled with material the same speed they are opened by tectonic forces.

A common thing with quartz is the deposition of all varieties if minerals, like rock crystal, cairngorm, rose quartz, citrine or amethyst. In connection with water it become opaque and is called agate or chalcedony. A rare and expensive form is opal.

This site is about mines and caves, not about mineral. Nevertheless they are connected. There are no special quartz mines, although is is used in huge amounts for the production of electronic parts. The quartz for this use is simply collected by quarrying quartz sand. But there are a few really interesting exceptions. There are gemstone mines in which semi precious quartz minerals are mined and there are even some caves in quartzite.

There are various mining activities for quartz all over the world. It generally has nothing to do with industrial use, but with the search for semiprecious gemstones or mineral hunting. Sometimes the quartz is mined for the production of glass. During Prehistoric mines there were flintstone mines for the production of tools. There is one exception listed below, called Gerstenegg. This geode was so beautifull, it was never mined but is now shown as a tourist sight.

Arctic Amethyst |

Quarzsandbergwerk im Krähstel |

Coober Pedy |

Kristallkluft Gerstenegg |

Kingsgate Mines |

Sandbalmhöhle |

Gemstone Mines in the Steinkaulenberg

Quartz Mines

Gemstone Mine

See also