Quartz

specimen number:
2292432

location:
Anahi Mine, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

description:
An attractive example of what is known as amateur in, this a purple and yellow quartz. This example has been polished on almost all faces.

The Anahi mine is located in the Santa Cruz Department of southeastern Bolivia, situated within a region where dolomitic limestone and sandstone have been subjected to significant structural deformation. The geological formation contains hydrothermal veins where quartz crystals grew in specific geochemical environments. Ametrine, a naturally occurring bicolor variety of quartz, forms in these deposits due to the uneven distribution of iron impurities and varying temperature conditions during crystallization. The presence of both ferric iron in the purple amethyst zones and ferrous iron in the yellow citrine zones is stabilized by the natural radiation history of the site. Historically, the deposit has been known since the seventeenth century, according to legend linked to the marriage of a Spanish conquistador and a local Ayoreo princess named Anahi. While the site was largely forgotten for centuries, systematic mining operations began in the late twentieth century, transforming the area into the primary global source for gem-quality ametrine.

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