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info@hurricaneridgearts.com 1-360-565-8301
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AMETHYST (SiO2)
Our amethyst comes from the caves of Artigas Province in Uruguay and in southwestern Brazil. These caves were originally huge gas bubbles (some as large as big rooms) in ancient volcanic flows. As the lava cooled and hardened, cracks in the bubbles developed, the gas leaked out, and water leaked in. Where the water entered into these caverns, its drips would form stalactites.These stalactites started out as mineral deposits that hardened over time into agate. (Continued below...)
But then a funny thing happened. This part of the planet is well known for its geodes and quartz deposits. The conditions in the caverns were perfect for the formation and growth of crystals. Some of these crystals remained white (what we know as quartz). But many of them grew a dark purple color...amethyst! Walls, ceilings, and floor of these subterranean bubbles came to be carpeted with deep purple crystals. And the stalactities were no exception. The outsides of these agate spikes formed a layer of crystals, some of white quartz, some of amethyst, and some a combination of the two. Many even formed layers of citrine (yellow quartz) beneath the amethyst.
Miners in Brazil and Uruguay carefully remove these beautiful stalactites, thousands of years in the making. They then slice the stalactites as you might
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 Mine in Artigas
a loaf of bread, but these slices are much thinner...on the order of a quarter to three-eighths of an inch in thickness. The cross-sections are then polished, and that produces the beautiful disks we acquire.
(More on amethyst...)
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