Quartz

specimen number:
9273016

location:
La Sorpresa Mine, Amatitlan, Guerrero, Mexico

description:

An outstanding matrix example for this famous locality. Absolute gem quality glassy and gemmy crystals of purple quartz, the variety known as amethyst, measuring to almost 4.0 cm in size is coming aesthetically off matrix. This is in super condition all around. The quality is outstanding for this famous locality.

The Sorpresa mine, situated near the village of Amatitlan within the Eduardo Neri Municipality of Guerrero, Mexico, is a small-scale, localized mining operation internationally famous for producing highly coveted, world-class mineral specimens of deeply colored purple amethyst crystals. Geologically, these spectacular quartz variations occur within pocket-bearing, low-temperature hydrothermal veins that cut through highly altered Cretaceous-age volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The mineralization is characterized by elongated, sharply zoned crystals displaying dramatic purple phantoms inside clear or milky quartz, occasionally exhibiting growth interference or light coverings of white cathedral-style quartz overgrowth. Historically, local prospectors and independent miners first uncovered these high-quality amethyst deposits during the mid-twentieth century, with specialized hand-mining and specimen extraction occurring in sporadic, labor-intensive campaigns primarily from the 1970s through the 1990s. While small-scale surface and underground digging has continued intermittently into the twenty-first century, overall production has faced heavy constraints in recent decades due to severe regional security issues and challenging access.

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