Quartz

specimen number:
2292395

location:
Tole, Wanna,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

description:
A grouping of colorless gemmy faden quartz crystals. In good condition.

Tole, situated near the town of Wana in the South Waziristan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, lies within a complex tectonic zone shaped by the ongoing collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates. Geologically, the region is characterized by deformed sedimentary and low-grade metamorphic rocks, particularly shales and schists, which have been heavily fractured and faulted by mountain-building forces. Historically, the area remained isolated due to its rugged mountainous terrain, but starting in the late twentieth century, local mining and prospecting began to reveal extensive underground alpine-type fissures. While the region is remote and has historically seen limited industrial mining, it has gained international recognition among mineralogists as a major source of specialized quartz specimens extracted from these tectonic fractures.

Faden quartz is a specific growth form of quartz characterized by a visible, milky-white threadlike line (called a "faden," from the German word for thread) running through the center of the crystal. It forms in host rock fissures that are slowly and continuously pulled apart by tectonic forces. As the fissure opens, existing quartz crystals bridging the gap are repeatedly ruptured. In a silica-rich hydrothermal solution, these microscopic fractures heal almost immediately, but the rapid, repetitive cycle of cracking and healing traps tiny cavities of water and gas bubbles along the fracture line. This continuous process of breaking and re-crystallizing leaves behind the characteristic white string of fluid inclusions, around which the rest of the quartz crystal continues to grow outward, typically producing a flattened, platy shape.

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