Quartzine
A variety of 'Chalcedony' [Quartz]
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About Quartzine
Formula:
SiO2
Colour:
colorless, pale gray-white
Lustre:
Waxy
Hardness:
6½ - 7
Specific Gravity:
2.6 - 2.65
Name:
Named in 1892 by Auguste Michel-Lévy and Ernest Charles Philippe Auguste Munier-Chalmas for its similarity to quartz, but for its having an opposite optical character. Dana (1899) placed the mineral with lutécine.
Quartzine is a fibrous variety of chalcedony. It is also called "length-slow chalcedony" and is usually intergrown with another, more common type of fibrous chalcedony, "length-fast chalcedony", that comprises most of the different varieties of chalcedony. Length-fast chalcedony is more common than quartzine.
Quartzine "fibers" are made of tiny quartz crystals that are stacked along the c-axis (the long axis of the crystals).
It is not possible to identify quartzine with the naked eye, one needs a polarizing microscope to do that (which is also the reason for the odd names "length-slow" and "length-fast chalcedony" that refer to a special optical property of the chalcedony fibers). However, the peculiar patterns seen in some chalcedony specimen, most notably so-called "feather agates", are caused by the intergrowth of quartzine with "ordinary" length-fast chalcedony (see photo).
Quartzine and length-fast chalcedony give similar extinction patterns in thin sections, in both cases spherulites show a cross-shaped pattern. Although length-fast chalcedony generally looks more fibrous and quartzine more patchy, the safe way to distinguish them is by using a λ-compensator.
The photo to the left shows a small spherulite of length-fast chalcedony that is surrounded by a ring of quartzine, which in turn is embedded in length-fast chalcedony. In spherulitic growth, quartzine shows the yellow color in the upper left and lower right quadrant, rotated by 90 degrees with respect to length-fast chalcedony.
Top: crossed polarizers
Bottom: crossed polarizers with λ-compensator.
Field of view 980”m.
Quartzine "fibers" are made of tiny quartz crystals that are stacked along the c-axis (the long axis of the crystals).
It is not possible to identify quartzine with the naked eye, one needs a polarizing microscope to do that (which is also the reason for the odd names "length-slow" and "length-fast chalcedony" that refer to a special optical property of the chalcedony fibers). However, the peculiar patterns seen in some chalcedony specimen, most notably so-called "feather agates", are caused by the intergrowth of quartzine with "ordinary" length-fast chalcedony (see photo).
Quartzine in Polarizing Microscope
The photo to the left shows a small spherulite of length-fast chalcedony that is surrounded by a ring of quartzine, which in turn is embedded in length-fast chalcedony. In spherulitic growth, quartzine shows the yellow color in the upper left and lower right quadrant, rotated by 90 degrees with respect to length-fast chalcedony.
Top: crossed polarizers
Bottom: crossed polarizers with λ-compensator.
Field of view 980”m.
Unique Identifiers
Mindat ID:
3338 (as Quartzine)
3337 (as Quartz)
3337 (as Quartz)
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:3338:7 (as Quartzine)
mindat:1:1:3337:0 (as Quartz)
mindat:1:1:3337:0 (as Quartz)
Similar Names
| Quartzite | A rock classification type |
Physical Properties of Quartzine
Waxy
Transparency:
Translucent
Comment:
Vitreous when polished
Colour:
Colorless, pale gray-white
Comment:
all colors depending on embedded impurities
Streak:
White/colorless
Hardness:
6½ - 7 on Mohs scale
Tenacity:
Brittle
Fracture:
Conchoidal, Sub-Conchoidal
Density:
2.6 - 2.65 g/cm3 (Measured)
Comment:
varies with type and amount of impurities
Chemistry of Quartzine
Mindat Formula:
SiO2
Elements listed:
Synonyms of Quartzine
Common Associates
Associations Based on Photo Data:
| 35 photos of Quartzine associated with Calcite | CaCO3 |
| 28 photos of Quartzine associated with Quartz | SiO2 |
| 26 photos of Quartzine associated with 'Plumosite' | |
| 19 photos of Quartzine associated with 'Chalcedony' | SiO2 |
| 17 photos of Quartzine associated with Pyrite | FeS2 |
| 17 photos of Quartzine associated with Sphalerite | ZnS |
| 15 photos of Quartzine associated with Stibnite | Sb2S3 |
| 13 photos of Quartzine associated with Galena | PbS |
| 12 photos of Quartzine associated with Pyrrhotite | Fe1-xS |
| 11 photos of Quartzine associated with Bournonite | PbCuSbS3 |
Other Information
Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Internet Links for Quartzine
mindat.org URL:
https://www.mindat.org/min-3338.html
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References for Quartzine
Reference List:
Localities for Quartzine
Showing 19 localities.
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The Locality List
- This locality has map coordinates listed.
- This locality has estimated coordinates.
â - Click for references and further information on this occurrence.
? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.
- Good crystals or important locality for species.
- World class for species or very significant.
(TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species.
(FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties).
All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.
Australia | |
| Thiry et al. (1991) |
Brazil | |
| Costa et al. (2016) |
| Amir Akhavan Collection |
Bulgaria | |
| ... | |
Chile | |
| Richter et al. (2015) |
Hungary | |
| |
| Society of Economic Geologists Student Chapter University of Miskolc (2018) |
| |
Latvia | |
| Dmitry Vorobjov's collection |
New Zealand | |
| ... |
Russia | |
| Pekin et al. (2010) +1 other reference | |
| Pekin et al. (2010) +1 other reference | |
| Godovikov et al. (1987) |
| Feklichev et al. (1998) |
Serbia | |
| MiladinoviÄ et al. (2024) |
Spain | |
| Alonso-Zarza et al. (2002) |
Ukraine | |
| Dvoichenko P.A. The minerals of Crimea (1914) |
USA | |
| Amir Akhavan Collection |
|
Barros Cassal, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil