Uvite with Quartz, Magnesite

specimen number:
2292219

location:
Brumado, Bahia, Brazil

description:
Classic Brazilian specimen consisting of a double terminated crystal of gemmy colorless quartz, this hosting lustrous gemmy green crystals of uvite to 0.8 cm in size. Colorless rhombohedral gemmy crystals of magnesite are present as well. This is in great condition all around. Collected in the 1990s. An attractive example for this species.

The Brumado mining district, located in the southern-central region of Bahia, Brazil, contains world-class magnesite and talc deposits centered around the historic Pedra Preta mine, renowned for producing exceptional mineral specimens like well crystallized red or green uvite, hematite, large rhombohedral magnesite crystals, plus many other species. Geologically, these deposits are hosted within the Paleoproterozoic-age Itacambira-Brumado complex, where intense hydrothermal alteration and metasomatism transformed ancient dolomitic limestones into massive beds of high-purity magnesite and high-grade talc along major fault zones. Industrial-scale quarrying and open-pit mining operations began in the late 1930s with the founding of Magnesita S.A. (now RHI Magnesita), which expanded rapidly to supply refractory materials for global steel industries. Highly mechanized corporate extraction has continued uninterrupted for nearly nine decades, maintaining robust, high-volume production of industrial minerals alongside the sporadic recovery of world-class collector specimens well into the 2020s.

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