mineral

Milky quartz

Quartz (silicon dioxide, SiO₂)

AI-generated identification · may be incorrect

Typically white to translucent with a vitreous-to-waxy luster; hardness 7 Mohs, no cleavage, conchoidal fracture, and hexagonal crystal structure. The rounded edges indicate tumbling or polishing.

Identified September 18, 2026More mineral →

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Physical properties

Typically white to translucent with a vitreous-to-waxy luster; hardness 7 Mohs, no cleavage, conchoidal fracture, and hexagonal crystal structure. The rounded edges indicate tumbling or polishing.

Formation & geological history

Forms when microscopic fluid inclusions, fractures, or defects cloud quartz in igneous, metamorphic, and hydrothermal environments. Quartz is common from Precambrian rocks to the present; the specimen’s exact age cannot be determined visually.

Uses & applications

Used as an inexpensive ornamental stone, lapidary material, countertop aggregate, glass and ceramic ingredient, and source material for industrial silica. Common tumbled specimens have modest collector value.

Geological facts

Milky quartz is the most common cloudy quartz variety; its whiteness results mainly from microscopic inclusions and structural irregularities rather than a separate mineral impurity.

Field identification & locations

Identify it by its white translucency, glassy appearance, hardness sufficient to scratch ordinary glass, lack of cleavage, and conchoidal fracture; it commonly occurs in quartz veins, granites, pegmatites, and metamorphic rocks worldwide.