Quartz

specimen number:
2292108

location:
Irai, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

description:
Attractive cluster of light purple crystallized quartz. Complete all around and in great condition. These are often referred to amethyst flowers.

The Irai mining district, located in the northern region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, is a prolific mineral-producing area known for its large amethyst geodes and complex calcite specimens. Geologically, the deposit is situated within the extensive Cretaceous-aged Parana Basin basalt flows belonging to the Serra Geral Formation. The minerals formed within massive vesicular cavities, or gas bubbles, trapped inside the cooling volcanic lava, where late-stage, silica-rich fluids slowly deposited layers of agate, amethyst, and subsequent generations of distinct calcite crystals. Artisanal and small-scale commercial mining, utilizing a network of horizontal tunnels driven directly into the basalt hillsides, expanded significantly during the mid-twentieth century, particularly from the 1950s onward. While the volume of commercial extraction has fluctuated over the decades, independent mining operations and specimen recovery continue actively into the twenty-first century.

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