Stevens Koziol
Field Geology
Due 9-18-2014
Mineral Name
Quartz
Images
(if mineral has a number a
Amethyst
variances, multiple pictures are
necessary)
Citrine
Also known as:
Agate
(a banded form of the mineral chalcedony)
Chemical formula
Chalcedony, Amethyst, Citrine, and Agate but to name a few. There are more variety
names given to quartz than any other mineral.
SiO2
Mineral family/class
Silicates; Tectosilicates; Silica Group
Crystal system
Hexagonal
Cleavage
Indiscernible
Fracture
Concoidal
Color(s)
Colorless, white, purple, pink, brown, and black. Also gray, green, orange, yellow,
blue, and red. Sometimes multicolored or banded.
Hardness (#)
7
Specific gravity
Luster
2.6 – 2.7
Vitreous. Transparent, colorless
Streak (color)
White
Locality/occurrence/
Countries it’s found in
Quartz occurs in almost every single mineral environment. It is associated with all
three rock types: Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic
Defining characteristics Hardness and crystal forms
History – human
discovery and uses
One of the most well known minerals on Earth, occurs in basically all mineral
environments and is an important constituent of many rocks.
The use of quartz by humans can be traced back to prehistoric times, there are
evidences of its use in making tools, religious objects in many countries and most
continents.
The hardness of quartz makes it particularly useful as an abrasive. It is a primary
component in glass making. Its resistance to heat and chemical makes it useful as
foundry sand. Its resistance to being crushed makes it useful in hydraulic fracking as a
component of the mixtures pumps into well.
The colorful and polished varieties are used as gemstones.
World Reserves
Very high purity quartz for advanced high-tech applications is currently
sourced from just a few locations around the world.
Sources
J. Götze and R. Möckel (eds.), Quartz: Deposits, Mineralogy and Analytics, Springer Geology, DOI: 10.1007/978-3642-22161-3_2, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012
"Quartz - A Ubiquitous Mineral with an Enormous Number of Uses." Mineral. Geology.com. Web. 12 Sept. 2014.
< http://geology.com/minerals/quartz.shtml>
Quartz Various Images. N.d.
The Mineral & Gemstone Kingdom - The Mineral Quartz. Minerals.net. Web. 12 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.minerals.net/mineral/quartz.aspx>.