Home > American Minerals – January 11 > MS2000 Hematite on Quartz
Hematite on Quartz
- Upper New Street quarry
- Paterson
- Passaic County
- New Jersey
- U.S.A.
- 4.3 × 3.5 × 2.6 cm – Miniature specimen (fits into a 5 cm cube)
Hematite and quartz are among the most common and longest known mineral species. Hematite takes its name form the Greek root for blood, as its powdered form is blood red.
In the traprocks of New Jersey, special conditions allowed quartz crystals to selectively attract hematite to some faces. Quartz is piezoelectric, which creates a polarity in the crystal. Hematite is attracted to some faces and not others. On close inspection, the quartz faces have a geometric mosaic coating of hematite; this indicates twinning in the quartz crystal, which is not evident in its external faces. While the quartz crystals are small, these is an excellent examples of twinning in quartz, made apparent by naturally formed hematite pigment.
Price: $100
Item code: MS2000
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