Quartz

specimen number:
2292249

location:
Guanajuato, Mexico

description:

Colorless to slightly amethystine partly gemmy and lustrous crystals of quartz forming an aesthetic cluster. In good condition all around. Note that the previous label as shown at the end of the video gives an erroneous locality.

The Guanajuato mining locality, situated in the state of Guanajuato in central Mexico, is a major historic silver and gold producing district. Geologically, the deposit consists of extensive epithermal vein systems, most notably the Veta Madre fault system, hosted within Mesozoic metamorphic rocks and overlying Cenozoic volcanic formations. Hydrothermal fluids circulating through these structural faults deposited rich silver and gold mineralization, including acanthite, electrum, and polybasite, within quartz and carbonate vein matrices. Mining operations began shortly after the discovery of silver by Spanish prospectors in 1548, with deep underground mines such as Valenciana, Rayas, and Cata dominating global silver production during the eighteenth century. Production continued through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries under various private and state consolidations, transitioning to modern corporate ownership and highly mechanized underground operations that remain active into the 2020s.

Questions about this specimen?
Send an email or call us: 314-341-1811.