Specifications
Descrizione
Locality: Baia Mare mining district, Maramureș County, Romania
The Baia Mare district lies in the Gutâi Mountains of northern Romania, part of the volcanic arc on the inner side of the Carpathians. Volcanic activity built these mountains between about 15.4 and 7 million years ago, and the hydrothermal fluids linked to it left hundreds of gold-silver and lead-zinc veins. The Main Vein of the Baia Sprie mine, 8 km long, is the longest ore vein in Europe.
Smoky quartz gets its colour from aluminium. In all smoky quartz a little aluminium takes the place of silicon, but the colour only appears once the crystal has been irradiated. Natural radiation over geological time removes an electron from an oxygen atom next to an aluminium ion, creating a colour centre that absorbs light and gives the typical smoky brown. With enough aluminium and intense radiation the quartz turns completely black, the variety called morion, and heating removes the colour.
Mining around Baia Mare is documented with certainty from the 13th and 14th centuries, and the late 15th century brought a first boom in gold and silver mining. More than 20 mines were still working the district's veins until 2007, and two of its deposits, Cavnic and Baia Sprie, are classed as world-class.
This one of a kind Smoky Quartz with Pyrite mineral specimen from Romania features a dense, dramatic cluster of smoky grey to dark brown quartz points rising from a darker mineralized matrix. The crystals show sharp terminated habits with a glassy lustre, ranging from semi-transparent tips to deeper smoky interiors. Small sparkling pyrite accents are scattered throughout the specimen, adding metallic flashes against the moody quartz cluster and giving the piece a striking, rugged display presence.
Smoky Quartz is a natural variety of quartz coloured by trace elements and natural irradiation within the Earth over long periods of time. Romania is well known for attractive mineral specimens from the historic mining districts of the Maramures region, including areas such as Baia Mare, Cavnic, and Herja, where quartz, pyrite, sphalerite, galena, and other sulphide minerals are commonly associated.
In crystal traditions, smoky quartz is associated with grounding and protection, and pyrite with confidence and motivation.
Chemical Composition: SiO2
Quantity: 1pc
With this product, you will get the actual stone in the photograph.