Spectacular agateMicrocrystalline silica manifests as a plethora of varied and beautiful forms, in a
Spectacular agateMicrocrystalline silica manifests as a plethora of varied and beautiful forms, in almost every colour of the rainbow (though those really bright blues, greens and pinks are dyed), with some examples noted worldwide among rock collectors, such as the lovely bright Fairburn pieces (see https://bit.ly/2refaq2). Other examples include the jaspers, where rusty red and yellow iron bearing muds have been incorporated into the felted microcrystalline structure (see https://bit.ly/2KklhQK for a beautiful example hand crafted into an axe by our Neanderthalian cousins).Here we have an 11x7cm piece that I saw labelled by the owner as Fire Hypnosis Agate, which came from Soledade in the Brazilian province of Rio Grande de Sul. While not a mining area in itself, it is the city where much of the south’s amethyst and agate are gathered, processed and prepared for export, including much of the material from neighbouring Uruguay (see https://bit.ly/2IjsGPl for info on Artigas amethyst).The town features some of the globe’s largest mineral showrooms, and it sounds like a serious danger to my wallet should I ever make it for a visit, particularly since my taste runs to the weird and unusual (and often unfortunately expensive) in rocks. Many of the slabs, slices and geodes in your collections that you see in shows and local crystal shops have passed through this town, which interfaces between myriads of small miners and the global trade.LozImage credit: Daniel Mario Birck/GoldMB Mineralshttps://bit.ly/2jSVaVLhttps://www.mindat.org/loc-233594.html__ -- source link
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