• Two well-formed quartz points, very straight and attached at a slight angle to one another. The piece is off-white and appears near-opaque. They are covered in a grainy-appearing white crust, with small minerals spotting the surface.
  • Another angle of the piece, showing clusters of mineral growth with radial pattern near the tip and irregular mineral growth down the side. A cat has leaned in to sniff the piece.
  • The same side as the previous image, with a different angle of lighting highlighting the three dimensional mineral growth. The white crust has some cheese holes in it and is partially missing on the tip of the longer point. Underneath it is also matte white.
  • The side of the pair of points covered with mineral growth, and covered with tan mineral. There are several rough ball-like formations on the surface with bunchy radial growth.
  • Detail of the mineral growth on one side of the tip, showing thin blade-like growth typical of calcite. It is coated in the light brown mineral.
  • Detail of the tip of the shorter point and the surface of the white crust, a grainy texture with some larger white spheres on the surface.
  • Looking at the smaller of the two points, with the larger one behind it. The pair has a gradient from white at the tip to a tan brown at the base.
  • Another view of the side coated in mineral growth in different lighting, highlighting the beady texture of the tan mineral. There are a lot of blade-shaped minerals scatted on the surface and several radial clusters.
  • Detail of the base of the points, showing it is covered in small blade-like calcite crystals in clusters like clams. The side is coated in a light brown mineral with a fine botryoidal texture.
  • Detail of the radial mineral clusters near the tip of the point, which appear to be a hollow crust where the mineral has dissolved away. It has conical protrusions that are broken on the ends, showing it is hollow inside.
  • Detail of the broken end of the points, two intergrown hexagons. The interior of the points is glassy and colorless and there is a thin white crust on the outside
  • Scale image of the point on a measuring mat, showing it is almost 3 inches long, inclusive of angled broken base
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Inner Mongolian quartz point pair

Inner Mongolian quartz point pair

$25.00 USD
$25.00 USD
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Locale: HuangGangLiang mining district, Inner Mongolia, China

Approx point length: 2.5"

Approx weight: 36g

 

These quartz points are from HuangGangLiang, and commonly called Mongolian or Inner Mongolian quartz. This isn't your typically shiny quartz; this pair of straight points is completely coated in a grainy matte white mineral crust. Where the crust is broken off, exposed beneath is... more matte white! The piece appears dull but will glitter like sand under bright light.

On one side, the piece displays two well-formed quartz points. Broken ends reveal the first generation of growth was an icy clear colorless quartz. A second generation of growth occurred, depositing a thin sandy white crust on top. A light tan mineral grows in beady round spots coating the bottom half of the piece and the other side.

On the other side, the pair is covered with small minerals. Their form indicates they are calcite, though most are coated with the brown mineral. Some of the calcite is exposed and will fluoresce a weak peachy red under 365 nm UV light.

There are several roughly-spherical formations on the piece like spiky balls; they appear to be some sort of encrustation pseudomorph as broken tips show they are hollow inside.

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