8.1" Large, Quartz Crystal Cluster - Madagascar

These clusters are natural and not heat treated or unnaturally coated. The orange color is due to a combination of Iron, Hematite and Manganese coating the surface of the crystals but may also be present as inclusions within the crystals themselves. A likely cause is a high iron content in the soil where these crystals are found.

Silicon Dioxide, also known as SiO2 or Quartz, is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust. Quartz crystals generally grow in silica-rich, hot watery solutions called hydrothermal environments, at temperatures between 100°C and 450°C, and usually under very high pressure. Quartz veins are formed when open fissures are filled with hot water during the closing stages of mountains forming, and can be hundreds of millions of years old.