Montmorillonite in Quartz

specimen number:
2354162

location:
White Queen Mine, San Diego Co., California, USA

description:
A loose cluster of lustrous translucent pinkish quartz crystals, the largest measuring to 6.5 cm in length. In great condition all around. Very little attached lepidolite matrix. The pink color is due to the inclusions of montmorillonite throughout the quartz crystals.

Located on Pala Mountain in San Diego County, California, the White Queen Mine is a famous lithium-bearing granitic pegmatite deposit that was originally located by mineral prospectors in the late nineteenth century and mined primarily for quartz and lithium ores during the early twentieth century. Formed during the Cretaceous Period within the Peninsular Ranges Batholith, the complex pegmatite dike underwent extensive hydrothermal altering that produced pocket zones packed with gem-quality minerals. The mine became renowned among collectors for producing some of the world's finest peach-pink morganite beryl, often sitting on beds of bright white cleavelandite albite, along with pink tourmaline, rose quartz, and dark blue aquamarine. While commercial mining was sporadic over the decades, private mineral collectors and specimen miners periodically worked the claim, turning the locality into a classic American classic specimen producer before collecting access became strictly limited.

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