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Quartz is, therefore, classified structurally as a framework silicate mineral and compositionally as an oxide mineral. Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust, behind feldspar. [10] Quartz exists in two forms, the normal α-quartz and the high-temperature β-quartz, both of which are chiral. The transformation ...
Cristobalite (/ k r ɪ ˈ s t oʊ b ə ˌ l aɪ t /) is a mineral polymorph of silica that is formed at very high temperatures. It has the same chemical formula as quartz, Si O 2, but a distinct crystal structure. Both quartz and cristobalite are polymorphs with all the members of the quartz group, which also include coesite, tridymite and ...
Prasiolite (also known as green quartz, green amethyst or vermarine) is a green variety of quartz. Since 1950, almost all natural prasiolite has come from a small Brazilian mine, [ citation needed ] but it has also been mined in the Lower Silesia region of Poland .
Smoky quartz is a brownish grey, translucent variety of quartz that ranges in clarity from almost complete transparency to an almost-opaque brownish-gray or black crystals. [6] The color of smoky quartz is produced when natural radiation, emitted from the surrounding rock, activates color centers around aluminum impurities within the ...
Amethyst crystals – a purple quartz Apophyllite crystals sitting right beside a cluster of peachy bowtie stilbite Aquamarine variety of beryl with tourmaline on orthoclase Arsenopyrite from Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico Aurichalcite needles spraying out within a protected pocket lined by bladed calcite crystals Austinite from the Ojuela Mine, Mapimí, Durango, Mexico Ametrine ...
Quartz crystals with masses measured in thousands of pounds [5] and micas over 10 meters (33 ft) across and 4 meters (13 ft) thick have been found. [8] Spodumene crystals over 12 meters (40 ft) long have been found in the Black Hills of South Dakota , and beryl crystals 8.2 meters (27 ft) long and 1.8 meters (6 ft) in diameter have been found ...
Quartzite can have a grainy, glassy, sandpaper-like surface. Quartzite is a hard, non-foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone. [1] [2] Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts.
Quartzolite or silexite is an intrusive igneous rock, in which the mineral quartz is more than 90% of the rock's felsic mineral content, with feldspar at up to 10%. [ 1 ] : 135 [ 2 ] Typically, quartz forms more than 60% of the rock, [ 3 ] the rest being mostly feldspar although minor amounts of mica or amphibole may also be present. [ 2 ]