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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Jul 09, 2013 04:26 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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Hi Joan and Mike. I always enjoy feedback! Thank you. Some of these crystals were removed from pockets that extended more than 2 meters into solid rock and we used an extension pole (used for painting) with a small rake at the end. Fortunately the crystals sat in yellow clay, which helped to protect them. The specimens from this area are just lightly washed with water, nothing else. Oxalic acid will ruin the lovely iron oxide coating.
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Riana in action. I discover and then put her to work (not that she minds!). |
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29002 Time(s) |
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This deep pocket extended for more than 2 meters into the rock and required a lot of hard work to clean out. |
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29041 Time(s) |
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The same pocket with quartz barely visible right at the back. |
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29026 Time(s) |
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Women take a little bit more care when removing crystals than men. |
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29081 Time(s) |
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_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Jul 13, 2013 12:09 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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A few more self collected specimens.
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 71 x 65 x 32 mm The capping on the terminations is a unknown mineral, perhaps coloured limestone. |
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28997 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 120 x 87 x 47 mm Quartz crystals, of this size, from our direct vicinity, are not common. This one is a floater. |
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28948 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 120 x 87 x 47 mm Same as above. |
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29021 Time(s) |
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Quartz with rutile Van Rhynsdorp, Western Cape South Africa. 84 x 61 x 41 mm This specimen is a very sad story! It had a good number of Rutile needles exposed and I dropped a pencil on it, damaging it badly. |
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29060 Time(s) |
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Quartz with rutile Van Ryn'sdorp, Western Cape South Africa. 84 x 61 x 41 mm Same as above. |
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28982 Time(s) |
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Quartz, Feldspar and Rutile. Van Rhynsdorp, Western Cape South Africa. 56 x 49 x 38 mm |
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28953 Time(s) |
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Quartz, Feldspar and Rutile. Van Ryn'sdorp, Western Cape South Africa. 56 x 49 x 38 mm Same as above. |
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28964 Time(s) |
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Quartz with feldspar and rutile Van Rhynsdorp, Western Cape South Africa. 56 x 49 x 38 mm Same as above. |
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28963 Time(s) |
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Quartz, feldspar, dolomite and rutile Van Ryn'sdorp, Western Cape South Africa. 94 x 69 x 64 mm |
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29003 Time(s) |
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Quartz, feldspar, dolomite and rutile Van Rhynsdorp, Western Cape South Africa. 94 x 69 x 64 mm Same as above. |
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28953 Time(s) |
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Quartz, feldspar, dolomite and rutile Van Ryn'sdorp, Western Cape South Africa. 94 x 69 x 64 mm Same as above. |
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28979 Time(s) |
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_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Aug 04, 2013 14:53 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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Here are a few photos from recent outings in our vicinity.
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A favorite hunting ground where we have found a number of quartz pockets. |
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28807 Time(s) |
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A pocket with the sticks (pointing to the inside) indicating where crystals are. |
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28810 Time(s) |
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A crystal as found from the above pocket. |
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28787 Time(s) |
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Another from the same pocket. |
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28802 Time(s) |
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Yet another from the same pocket. |
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28833 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 48 x 41 x 20 mm One of the above crystals after partial cleaning. |
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28829 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 48 x 41 x 20 mm The same as above. |
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28789 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 58 x 24 x 16 mm Another one of the above crystals after cleaning. |
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28772 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 58 x 24 x 16 mm The same floater as above. |
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28770 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 49 x 38 x 13 mm From the same pocket. |
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28770 Time(s) |
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_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Aug 04, 2013 15:11 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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Here are a few more pictures from the same area as mentioned above featuring Riana's find and a few others from that same area.
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Riana found a pocket a while ago and decided to continue her search which yielded some of the following crystals. |
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28737 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 68 x 19 x 15 mm |
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28727 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 57 x 17 x 14 mm |
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28752 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 45 x 07 x 05 mm |
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28705 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 31 x 11 x 10 mm |
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28750 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 56 x 15 x 12 mm A very clear and gemmy crystal. |
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28758 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 36 x 17 x 13 mm Another very clear crystal. |
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28743 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 30 x 13 x 09 mm Another very clear crystal with a nice diamond facet. |
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28805 Time(s) |
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Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 33 x 12 x 10 mm Double terminated crystal. |
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28705 Time(s) |
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_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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Don Lum
Joined: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 2869
Location: Arkansas
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Posted: Aug 04, 2013 16:08 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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Pierre and Riana,
Thanks for taking us to one of your favorite spots. It looks like you found some nice and good-sized quartz.
Regards,
Don
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Aug 05, 2013 03:37 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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Don Lum wrote: | Pierre and Riana,
Thanks for taking us to one of your favorite spots. It looks like you found some nice and good-sized quartz.
Regards,
Don |
Hi Don. Thank you for your comment. Even though we have been on similar outings many times, each new opportunity remains special to us.
_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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vic rzonca
Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 820
Location: MA
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Posted: Aug 05, 2013 06:40 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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What could be better? Beautiful day, nice quartz pockets, and someone to dig out the pockets, I mean great companions. Thanks for taking us along. Pierre, what is the country rock this quartz is found in?
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Aug 05, 2013 07:30 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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vic rzonca wrote: | What could be better? Beautiful day, nice quartz pockets, and someone to dig out the pockets, I mean great companions. Thanks for taking us along. Pierre, what is the country rock this quartz is found in? |
Interesting question Vic. This area has prolific quartz veins, some several meters wide, that run in between layers of mostly shale. I am adding a photo to show weathered quartz veins in the direct vicinity. To find these pockets is not as easy as it may seem, but, as you know, hard work from enthusiasts bring rewards.
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28625 Time(s) |
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_________________ Pierre Joubert
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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Posted: Aug 06, 2013 12:29 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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Thanks for posting these photo's of your collecting trip Pierre; Ceres looks a wonderful place to wander around.
Do you ever see anyone else about when you're collecting in these places? The countryside looks rather 'empty'.
Regards to yourself and Riana,
Mike
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Aug 06, 2013 13:08 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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Mike Wood wrote: | Thanks for posting these photo's of your collecting trip Pierre; Ceres looks a wonderful place to wander around.
Do you ever see anyone else about when you're collecting in these places? The countryside looks rather 'empty'.
Regards to yourself and Riana,
Mike |
Hi Mike. Thank you for the regards. I have only once encountered another crystal digger on my outings (in the Western Cape), and that was a manager that worked on an apple farm. There is a club that offers the odd outing but as for the rest, it is every man to himself. It seems to me that few have an interest to do a bit of trouble to find mineral specimens (or simply do not know where to start). We have taken a number of people with us on outings (free of charge), but even of these, few return. I suppose we South Africans are spoiled with an abundance of mineral specimens for sale (at very reasonable prices), so few will do the trouble to search for them. Maybe you, Vic and others like us are a bitter different?! Best regards from both us.
_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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Don Lum
Joined: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 2869
Location: Arkansas
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Posted: Aug 06, 2013 13:25 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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Hello Pierre,
Do you and Riana encounter any interesting or dangerous wildlife other than poisonous snakes on your outings?
Don
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vic rzonca
Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 820
Location: MA
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Posted: Aug 06, 2013 14:16 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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Pierre, in a satellite image of the terrane around Ceres, I see that it is more or less surrounded by black rock hills. To the west, north of where Rt. 46 breaks through the pass, there is a large dam and reservoir. I wonder if this is the area that Riana and you do your exploring?
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Aug 06, 2013 14:36 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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Don Lum wrote: | Hello Pierre,
Do you and Riana encounter any interesting or dangerous wildlife other than poisonous snakes on your outings?
Don |
Hi Don. Last week I had a close encounter with 2 huge bulls (I suppose the Spaniards will find this interesting).
Leopards are very common in our mountains although you hardly ever see them as they move just about exclusively at night. We have heard them 'coughing' while up in the mountains at nightime, sometimes very close. They fear man, so I do not worry to much about them; besides, Riana is better meat than this old tough piece! Hahaha
Best regards
_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Aug 06, 2013 14:47 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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vic rzonca wrote: | Pierre, in a satellite image of the terrane around Ceres, I see that it is more or less surrounded by black rock hills. To the west, north of where Rt. 46 breaks through the pass, there is a large dam and reservoir. I wonder if this is the area that Riana and you do your exploring? |
Hi Vic. The area you are referring to is just about all sandstone mountains. The reservoir is probably our town reservoir (see photo below). I have 'scanned' this area for quartz pockets, but with limited success. Some collecting areas are 30; 80; 120 km and even further. All these areas, I have discovered by myself (with the exception of Van Rhynsdorp). Stopping looking at Google and come visit us :-)
_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Aug 06, 2013 14:57 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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Sorry Vic, I forgot the photo of our town reservoir (about 3 km from our home). Here it is.
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The Arch dam - Ceres, Western Cape |
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28483 Time(s) |
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_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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Greg Lilly
Joined: 05 May 2013
Posts: 75
Location: Tauranga
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Posted: Aug 06, 2013 22:03 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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Pierre Joubert wrote: | ...I suppose we South Africans are spoiled with an abundance of mineral specimens for sale (at very reasonable prices), so few will do the trouble to search for them.... |
Hi Pierre,
I enjoy seeing the before and after photos and the photos of the collecting sites, thank you. We here in NZ have the opposite situation, few minerals ( NZ or overseas ) available for purchase and few good collecting sites so we collect whatever we can.
Its all good fun though:)
Thanks again Greg
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Aug 07, 2013 01:58 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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Greg Lilly wrote: | Pierre Joubert wrote: | ...I suppose we South Africans are spoiled with an abundance of mineral specimens for sale (at very reasonable prices), so few will do the trouble to search for them.... |
Hi Pierre,
I enjoy seeing the before and after photos and the photos of the collecting sites, thank you. We here in NZ have the opposite situation, few minerals ( NZ or overseas ) available for purchase and few good collecting sites so we collect whatever we can.
Its all good fun though:)
Thanks again Greg |
Thanks Greg. I still believe that those mountains in NZ have mind blowing quartzes. Do you know of anyone in New Zealand who are ardent quartz field collector/s? Perhaps, if such a person could be found, he/she could share their experiences with us.
_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Aug 21, 2013 16:08 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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Occasionally we find quartz crystals with interesting to fascinating inclusions. A few days ago I cleaned some material gathered some months ago and added a few other specimens from previous finds. I hope you can enjoy them as much as we did.
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa 25 x 24 x 16 mm |
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28097 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 33 x 13 x 10 mm |
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28160 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 33 x 13 x 10 mm Same as above. |
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28117 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 40 x 22 x 19 mm |
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28111 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 30 x 10 x 09 mm |
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28156 Time(s) |
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Quartz with a coating of manganese? Ceres, Western Cape, SA 34 x 17 x 12 mm |
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28151 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Villiersdorp, Western Cape, SA 32 x 14 x 10 mm |
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28147 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Villiersdorp, Western Cape, SA 23 x 09 x 08 mm |
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28137 Time(s) |
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_________________ Pierre Joubert
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Aug 21, 2013 16:32 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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A few more.
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Villiersdorp, Western Cape, SA 25 x 11 x 07 mm |
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28099 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 20 x 10 x 09 mm |
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28132 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 20 x 10 x 09 mm Same as above. |
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28081 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 19 x 13 x 12 mm |
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28121 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 19 x 13 x 12 mm Same as above. |
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28114 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 19 x 09 x 08 mm |
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28080 Time(s) |
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Quartz with chlorite Ceres, Western Cape, SA 24 x 13 x 10 mm |
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28112 Time(s) |
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Quartz with chlorite Ceres, Western Cape, SA Fov approx. 5 mm |
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28103 Time(s) |
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Chlorite in Quartz Ceres, Western Cape, SA Field of view, approx. 1mm |
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28089 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 27 x 13 x 12 mm |
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28086 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 27 x 13 x 12 mm Same as above. |
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28108 Time(s) |
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_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Aug 21, 2013 16:42 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa |
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The last few for tonight.
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Quartz with chlorite Ceres, Western Cape, SA 26 x 15 x 07 mm |
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28071 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 23 x 11 x 07 mm |
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28062 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 35 x 13 x 08 mm |
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28054 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 29 x 17 x 07 mm A little floater |
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28069 Time(s) |
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Quartz with unknown inclusions. Ceres, Western Cape, SA 29 x 17 x 07 mm The back side of the above specimen. |
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28093 Time(s) |
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_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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