2" Sparkly, Blue-Green Quartz Chalcedony Formation - Peru

This is a fascinating formation of quartz chalcedony that was collected from the Lily Mine in Peru. The chalcedony formed in a copper-rich environment, which explains the faint blue-green color.

Quartz is the name given to silicon dioxide (SiO2) and is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust. Quartz crystals generally grow in silica-rich environments--usually igneous rocks or hydrothermal environments like geothermal waters--at temperatures between 100°C and 450°C, and usually under very high pressure. In either case, crystals will precipitate as temperatures cool, just as ice gradually forms when water freezes. Quartz veins are formed when open fissures are filled with hot water during the closing stages of mountain formation: these veins can be hundreds of millions of years old.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Quartz Chalcedony
LOCATION
Lily Mine, Pisco Umay, Ica Department, Peru
SIZE
2" wide
CATEGORY
ITEM
#98174