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[Firmo Espinar]

Hi Pierre.

I´m sure that these Muzo´s examples are coming from emerald mining tunnels.

I have some from different localities:

• Municipio Suaita, Santander Department: the crystals come from quartz outcrops or mining operations.
• Municipio La Belleza, Santander: the quartz crystals come from quartz outcrops.
• Municipio Bolívar, Santander: the crystals also come mainly from quartz outcrops, but this is a very extensive municipality and some specimens could come from gold mines.
• Municipio Buriticá, Antioquia Department: my quartz crystals come from gold mining sites. These crystals are the junk of the gold tunnels and the miners don´t take care. You´ll see when i unpack them.
• Municipio Segovia, Antioquia Departament: although the quartz crystals i have come from a gold mining sites, these clusters are clean an usually well terminated.


I add a curious link where you can see some of the colombian methods to get crystals, unlawful in this case. Sorry, it is in spanish but you could surely understand.

Colombian Cop capture band called “The Quartzes” : They used homemade explosives.

The Municipio Florián is neighbour the La Belleza and it´s nearby Bolívar, the south of the Santander Department.

Regards.

[Pierre Joubert]

[Fiebre Verde]

[Firmo Espinar]

I can´t believe it but I've forgotten the classic locality of Peñas Blancas. Thanks Gérard.

Peñas Blancas near Muzo, in Boyacá Department, is a big emerald mining site also lately known by the green core translucent fluorites.

I have, in my view, a special and nice quartz from this mine.

[Firmo Espinar]

Quartz from Muzo, Boyacá Department, Colombia. (Nº-18).

Cluster with two main crystals that looks like bride and groom.

[Firmo Espinar]

Calcite from Útica, Gualivá, Cundinamarca Department, Colombia.

I saw with the dealer´s torch a marked orange fluorescence in this Calcite specimen, but at my home with the 395nm torch i´ve obtained a pink reaction.

[Firmo Espinar]

Quartz and Anatase from La Belleza, Vélez, Santander Department, Colombia. (Nº-38).

Transparent Quartz crystal with a white phantom showing the pyramidal internal faces, a largest face and a big pale yellow Anatase as inclusión forming an eight faced tetragonal bi-pyramid.

[Firmo Espinar]

Quartz from Bolívar, Vélez, Santander Department, Colombia. (Nº-39).

Couple of crossed translucent Quartz crystals. The main has inclusions and a fracture like a shiny cloud.
In the label the weight: 210 gr.

[Firmo Espinar]

Quartz from Muzo, Boyacá Department, Colombia. (Nº-26).

A flat transparent Quartz with two points and smaller crystals, all well terminated.

[Firmo Espinar]

Quartz from Muzo, Boyacá Department, Colombia. (Nº-23).

Doubly terminated crystal with many divergent sons in the chipped point.

[Firmo Espinar]

Quartz from Muzo, Boyacá Department, Colombia. (Nº-11).

Wide and Slim Quartz crystal with four termination points.

[Firmo Espinar]

Pyrite from Muzo, Boyacá Department, Colombia.

Shiny and golden floating Pyrite with some cubes and caverns.

[Firmo Espinar]

Quartz from Muzo, Boyacá Department, Colombia. (Nº-13).

Clear single crystal with right and clean edges and white internal drawings.

[Firmo Espinar]

Fluorite from La Viesca Mine, La Collada, Siero, Asturias, Spain.

Group of translucent Fluorite cubes showing a violet color with some geometric darker color zoning.

[Firmo Espinar]

Quartz from Muzo, Boyacá Department, Colombia. (Nº-21).

Doubly terminated Quartz crystal with a great white core.

[Firmo Espinar]

Quartz from Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Transparent Quartz point with chalcedony inclusions.

[Firmo Espinar]

Quartz from San Cristobal, Suaita, Santander Department, Colombia. (Nº-31).

Single Quartz crystal cloudy at the base with smoke at the middle and clear at the top.

[Firmo Espinar]

Hematite from Tadaout, Taouz, Er Rachida, Drâa-Tafilalet, Morocco.

Brilliant botryoidal Hematite with cold touch and heavy weight (236 gr).
In the cut we observe concentric growths of different colours, and radial fibrous growths of hematite.

These pieces have been cleaned in origin with sand which eliminates the surface oxide layer to let us see these spherical forms of good size. Curious Moroccan novelty found in 2018.

[Firmo Espinar]

Quartz from Muzo, Boyacá Department, Colombia. (Nº-27).

Crystal with two crossed doubly terminated, the bigger with some phantoms in a point.

[Firmo Espinar]

Quartz from Muzo, Boyacá Department, Colombia. (Nº-20).

Slim and flat Quartz point with internal drawings.