mineral

Quartz Vein in Host Rock

Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) in matrix

Hardness 7 on Mohs scale; milky white to translucent crystalline quartz interior bounded by brown-yellow iron-stained host rock crust; vitreous to waxy luster; trigonal crystal system; no cleavage; specific gravity ~2.65.

Identified July 22, 2026More mineral →

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Physical properties

Formation & geological history

Formed via hydrothermal activity where hot, mineral-rich silica solutions flowed through fractures and fissures in existing host rock, precipitating quartz as the solution cooled and pressurized environments stabilized.

Uses & applications

Popular among rockhounds and mineral collectors; used as decorative specimens, in lapidary work, and historically as a source of quartz and associated metallic ores (such as gold or copper).

Geological facts

Quartz veins are often prime indicators of metallic mineralization in mining. Hot hydrothermal fluids that deposit quartz frequently carry economic metals like gold, silver, and copper into fractures.

Field identification & locations

Easily identified in the field by its distinct white quartz center sandwich-bound by weathered brownish host rock or iron oxide crusts. Quartz will easily scratch glass and steel. Widely distributed globally in igneous and metamorphic terrains.

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Potassium Feldspar (Orthoclase)

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Mineral

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Mineral/Rock