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65-537: The bar often is formed as a result of sediment deposited in the delta region of a river or – as is the case in Miquelon – by a tombolo . The English term comes from the French language, where the word is pronounced [ba.ʁa.ʃwa] . The term comes from a Basque word, barratxoa , meaning little bar . The popular derivation from the French barre à choir is without historical merit. In Newfoundland English ,

130-473: A druse (a layer of crystals lining a void), of which quartz geodes are particularly fine examples. The crystals are attached at one end to the enclosing rock, and only one termination pyramid is present. However, doubly terminated crystals do occur where they develop freely without attachment, for instance, within gypsum . α-quartz crystallizes in the trigonal crystal system, space group P 3 1 21 or P 3 2 21 (space group 152 or 154 resp.) depending on

195-448: A framework silicate mineral and compositionally as an oxide mineral . Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth 's continental crust , behind feldspar . Quartz exists in two forms, the normal α-quartz and the high-temperature β-quartz, both of which are chiral . The transformation from α-quartz to β-quartz takes place abruptly at 573 °C (846 K; 1,063 °F). Since

260-560: A pressure cooker . However, the quality and size of the crystals that were produced by these early efforts were poor. Elemental impurity incorporation strongly influences the ability to process and utilize quartz. Naturally occurring quartz crystals of extremely high purity, necessary for the crucibles and other equipment used for growing silicon wafers in the semiconductor industry, are expensive and rare. These high-purity quartz are defined as containing less than 50 ppm of impurity elements. A major mining location for high purity quartz

325-640: A burial context, such as Newgrange or Carrowmore in Ireland . Quartz was also used in Prehistoric Ireland , as well as many other countries, for stone tools ; both vein quartz and rock crystal were knapped as part of the lithic technology of the prehistoric peoples. While jade has been since earliest times the most prized semi-precious stone for carving in East Asia and Pre-Columbian America, in Europe and

390-647: A country have become erodible. For example, on the Madagascar high central plateau , which constitutes approximately ten percent of that country's land area, most of the land area is devegetated, and gullies have eroded into the underlying soil to form distinctive gulleys called lavakas . These are typically 40 meters (130 ft) wide, 80 meters (260 ft) long and 15 meters (49 ft) deep. Some areas have as many as 150 lavakas/square kilometer, and lavakas may account for 84% of all sediments carried off by rivers. This siltation results in discoloration of rivers to

455-465: A dark red brown color and leads to fish kills. In addition, sedimentation of river basins implies sediment management and siltation costs.The cost of removing an estimated 135 million m of accumulated sediments due to water erosion only is likely exceeding 2.3 billion euro (€) annually in the EU and UK, with large regional differences between countries. Erosion is also an issue in areas of modern farming, where

520-482: A defining constituent of granite and other felsic igneous rocks . It is very common in sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and shale . It is a common constituent of schist , gneiss , quartzite and other metamorphic rocks . Quartz has the lowest potential for weathering in the Goldich dissolution series and consequently it is very common as a residual mineral in stream sediments and residual soils . Generally

585-432: A grain, such as pits, fractures, ridges, and scratches. These are most commonly evaluated on quartz grains, because these retain their surface markings for long periods of time. Surface texture varies from polished to frosted, and can reveal the history of transport of the grain; for example, frosted grains are particularly characteristic of aeolian sediments, transported by wind. Evaluation of these features often requires

650-584: A high presence of quartz suggests a " mature " rock, since it indicates the rock has been heavily reworked and quartz was the primary mineral that endured heavy weathering. While the majority of quartz crystallizes from molten magma , quartz also chemically precipitates from hot hydrothermal veins as gangue , sometimes with ore minerals like gold, silver and copper. Large crystals of quartz are found in magmatic pegmatites . Well-formed crystals may reach several meters in length and weigh hundreds of kilograms. The largest documented single crystal of quartz

715-458: A higher density and viscosity . In typical rivers the largest carried sediment is of sand and gravel size, but larger floods can carry cobbles and even boulders . Wind results in the transportation of fine sediment and the formation of sand dune fields and soils from airborne dust. Glaciers carry a wide range of sediment sizes, and deposit it in moraines . The overall balance between sediment in transport and sediment being deposited on

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780-426: A hydrodynamic sorting process within the marine environment leading to a seaward fining of sediment grain size. One cause of high sediment loads is slash and burn and shifting cultivation of tropical forests. When the ground surface is stripped of vegetation and then seared of all living organisms, the upper soils are vulnerable to both wind and water erosion. In a number of regions of the earth, entire sectors of

845-470: A result, can cause exposed sediment to become more susceptible to erosion and delivery to the marine environment during rainfall events. Sediment can negatively affect corals in many ways, such as by physically smothering them, abrading their surfaces, causing corals to expend energy during sediment removal, and causing algal blooms that can ultimately lead to less space on the seafloor where juvenile corals (polyps) can settle. When sediments are introduced into

910-557: A small Brazilian mine, but it is also seen in Lower Silesia in Poland . Naturally occurring prasiolite is also found in the Thunder Bay area of Canada . Quartz crystals have piezoelectric properties; they develop an electric potential upon the application of mechanical stress . Quartz's piezoelectric properties were discovered by Jacques and Pierre Curie in 1880. Quartz is

975-437: A submicroscopic distribution of colloidal ferric hydroxide impurities. Natural citrines are rare; most commercial citrines are heat-treated amethysts or smoky quartzes . However, a heat-treated amethyst will have small lines in the crystal, as opposed to a natural citrine's cloudy or smoky appearance. It is nearly impossible to differentiate between cut citrine and yellow topaz visually, but they differ in hardness . Brazil

1040-669: A superstition that it would bring prosperity. Citrine was first appreciated as a golden-yellow gemstone in Greece between 300 and 150 BC, during the Hellenistic Age . Yellow quartz was used prior to that to decorate jewelry and tools but it was not highly sought after. Milk quartz or milky quartz is the most common variety of crystalline quartz. The white color is caused by minute fluid inclusions of gas, liquid, or both, trapped during crystal formation, making it of little value for optical and quality gemstone applications. Rose quartz

1105-538: Is a form of quartz that ranges from a bright vivid violet to a dark or dull lavender shade. The world's largest deposits of amethysts can be found in Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Russia, France, Namibia, and Morocco. Sometimes amethyst and citrine are found growing in the same crystal. It is then referred to as ametrine . Amethyst derives its color from traces of iron in its structure. Blue quartz contains inclusions of fibrous magnesio-riebeckite or crocidolite . Inclusions of

1170-419: Is a monoclinic polymorph. Lechatelierite is an amorphous silica glass SiO 2 which is formed by lightning strikes in quartz sand . As quartz is a form of silica, it is a possible cause for concern in various workplaces. Cutting, grinding, chipping, sanding, drilling, and polishing natural and manufactured stone products can release hazardous levels of very small, crystalline silica dust particles into

1235-456: Is a primary identifier for the macrocrystalline varieties. Pure quartz, traditionally called rock crystal or clear quartz, is colorless and transparent or translucent and has often been used for hardstone carvings , such as the Lothair Crystal . Common colored varieties include citrine, rose quartz, amethyst, smoky quartz, milky quartz, and others. These color differentiations arise from

1300-400: Is a type of quartz that exhibits a pale pink to rose red hue. The color is usually considered as due to trace amounts of titanium , iron , or manganese in the material. Some rose quartz contains microscopic rutile needles that produce asterism in transmitted light. Recent X-ray diffraction studies suggest that the color is due to thin microscopic fibers of possibly dumortierite within

1365-541: Is expected to be delivered to the outlet of the river. The sediment transfer and deposition can be modelled with sediment distribution models such as WaTEM/SEDEM. In Europe, according to WaTEM/SEDEM model estimates the Sediment Delivery Ratio is about 15%. Watershed development near coral reefs is a primary cause of sediment-related coral stress. The stripping of natural vegetation in the watershed for development exposes soil to increased wind and rainfall and, as

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1430-581: Is measured on a log base 2 scale, called the "Phi" scale, which classifies particles by size from "colloid" to "boulder". The shape of particles can be defined in terms of three parameters. The form is the overall shape of the particle, with common descriptions being spherical, platy, or rodlike. The roundness is a measure of how sharp grain corners are. This varies from well-rounded grains with smooth corners and edges to poorly rounded grains with sharp corners and edges. Finally, surface texture describes small-scale features such as scratches, pits, or ridges on

1495-514: Is often twinned , synthetic quartz is produced for use in industry. Large, flawless, single crystals are synthesized in an autoclave via the hydrothermal process . Like other crystals, quartz may be coated with metal vapors to give it an attractive sheen. Quartz is the most common material identified as the mystical substance maban in Australian Aboriginal mythology . It is found regularly in passage tomb cemeteries in Europe in

1560-690: Is the mineral defining the value of 7 on the Mohs scale of hardness , a qualitative scratch method for determining the hardness of a material to abrasion. The word "quartz" is derived from the German word Quarz , which had the same form in the first half of the 14th century in Middle High German and in East Central German and which came from the Polish dialect term twardy , which corresponds to

1625-702: Is the Spruce Pine Gem Mine in Spruce Pine, North Carolina , United States. Quartz may also be found in Caldoveiro Peak , in Asturias , Spain. By the 1930s, the electronics industry had become dependent on quartz crystals. The only source of suitable crystals was Brazil; however, World War II disrupted the supplies from Brazil, so nations attempted to synthesize quartz on a commercial scale. German mineralogist Richard Nacken (1884–1971) achieved some success during

1690-471: Is the leading producer of citrine, with much of its production coming from the state of Rio Grande do Sul . The name is derived from the Latin word citrina which means "yellow" and is also the origin of the word " citron ". Sometimes citrine and amethyst can be found together in the same crystal, which is then referred to as ametrine . Citrine has been referred to as the "merchant's stone" or "money stone", due to

1755-412: Is used for very accurate measurements of very small mass changes in the quartz crystal microbalance and in thin-film thickness monitors . Almost all the industrial demand for quartz crystal (used primarily in electronics) is met with synthetic quartz produced by the hydrothermal process. However, synthetic crystals are less prized for use as gemstones. The popularity of crystal healing has increased

1820-576: The Czech term tvrdý ("hard"). Some sources, however, attribute the word's origin to the Saxon word Querkluftertz , meaning cross-vein ore . The Ancient Greeks referred to quartz as κρύσταλλος ( krustallos ) derived from the Ancient Greek κρύος ( kruos ) meaning "icy cold", because some philosophers (including Theophrastus ) understood the mineral to be a form of supercooled ice. Today,

1885-524: The hexagonal crystal system above 573 °C (846 K; 1,063 °F). The ideal crystal shape is a six-sided prism terminating with six-sided pyramid-like rhombohedrons at each end. In nature, quartz crystals are often twinned (with twin right-handed and left-handed quartz crystals), distorted, or so intergrown with adjacent crystals of quartz or other minerals as to only show part of this shape, or to lack obvious crystal faces altogether and appear massive . Well-formed crystals typically form as

1950-550: The seafloor in the South Pacific Gyre (SPG) ("the deadest spot in the ocean"), and could be the longest-living life forms ever found. Quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide ). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO 4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra , with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical formula of SiO 2 . Quartz is, therefore, classified structurally as

2015-602: The 1930s and 1940s. After the war, many laboratories attempted to grow large quartz crystals. In the United States, the U.S. Army Signal Corps contracted with Bell Laboratories and with the Brush Development Company of Cleveland, Ohio to synthesize crystals following Nacken's lead. (Prior to World War II, Brush Development produced piezoelectric crystals for record players.) By 1948, Brush Development had grown crystals that were 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) in diameter,

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2080-453: The Earth's crust exposed to high temperatures, thereby damaging materials containing quartz and degrading their physical and mechanical properties. Although many of the varietal names historically arose from the color of the mineral, current scientific naming schemes refer primarily to the microstructure of the mineral. Color is a secondary identifier for the cryptocrystalline minerals, although it

2145-460: The Middle East the different varieties of quartz were the most commonly used for the various types of jewelry and hardstone carving , including engraved gems and cameo gems , rock crystal vases , and extravagant vessels. The tradition continued to produce objects that were very highly valued until the mid-19th century, when it largely fell from fashion except in jewelry. Cameo technique exploits

2210-441: The air that workers breathe. Crystalline silica of respirable size is a recognized human carcinogen and may lead to other diseases of the lungs such as silicosis and pulmonary fibrosis . Not all varieties of quartz are naturally occurring. Some clear quartz crystals can be treated using heat or gamma-irradiation to induce color where it would not otherwise have occurred naturally. Susceptibility to such treatments depends on

2275-407: The bands of color in onyx and other varieties. Efforts to synthesize quartz began in the mid-nineteenth century as scientists attempted to create minerals under laboratory conditions that mimicked the conditions in which the minerals formed in nature: German geologist Karl Emil von Schafhäutl (1803–1890) was the first person to synthesize quartz when in 1845 he created microscopic quartz crystals in

2340-596: The bed is given by the Exner equation . This expression states that the rate of increase in bed elevation due to deposition is proportional to the amount of sediment that falls out of the flow. This equation is important in that changes in the power of the flow change the ability of the flow to carry sediment, and this is reflected in the patterns of erosion and deposition observed throughout a stream. This can be localized, and simply due to small obstacles; examples are scour holes behind boulders, where flow accelerates, and deposition on

2405-579: The body of water. Terrigenous material is often supplied by nearby rivers and streams or reworked marine sediment (e.g. sand ). In the mid-ocean, the exoskeletons of dead organisms are primarily responsible for sediment accumulation. Deposited sediments are the source of sedimentary rocks , which can contain fossils of the inhabitants of the body of water that were, upon death, covered by accumulating sediment. Lake bed sediments that have not solidified into rock can be used to determine past climatic conditions. The major areas for deposition of sediments in

2470-444: The chirality. Above 573 °C (846 K; 1,063 °F), α-quartz in P 3 1 21 becomes the more symmetric hexagonal P 6 4 22 (space group 181), and α-quartz in P 3 2 21 goes to space group P 6 2 22 (no. 180). These space groups are truly chiral (they each belong to the 11 enantiomorphous pairs). Both α-quartz and β-quartz are examples of chiral crystal structures composed of achiral building blocks (SiO 4 tetrahedra in

2535-417: The coastal regions of the ocean, the proportion of land, marine, and organic-derived sediment that characterizes the seafloor near sources of sediment output is altered. In addition, because the source of sediment (i.e., land, ocean, or organically) is often correlated with how coarse or fine sediment grain sizes that characterize an area are on average, grain size distribution of sediment will shift according to

2600-466: The crystal structure. Prase is a green variety of quartz. The green color is caused by inclusions of amphibole . Prasiolite , also known as vermarine , is a variety of quartz that is green in color. The green is caused by iron ions. It is a rare mineral in nature and is typically found with amethyst; most "prasiolite" is not natural – it has been artificially produced by heating of amethyst. Since 1950 , almost all natural prasiolite has come from

2665-433: The crystals. Tridymite and cristobalite are high-temperature polymorphs of SiO 2 that occur in high-silica volcanic rocks. Coesite is a denser polymorph of SiO 2 found in some meteorite impact sites and in metamorphic rocks formed at pressures greater than those typical of the Earth's crust. Stishovite is a yet denser and higher-pressure polymorph of SiO 2 found in some meteorite impact sites. Moganite

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2730-422: The edges and corners of particle are. Complex mathematical formulas have been devised for its precise measurement, but these are difficult to apply, and most geologists estimate roundness from comparison charts. Common descriptive terms range from very angular to angular to subangular to subrounded to rounded to very rounded, with increasing degree of roundness. Surface texture describes the small-scale features of

2795-510: The flow. In geography and geology , fluvial sediment processes or fluvial sediment transport are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by sediments. It can result in the formation of ripples and dunes , in fractal -shaped patterns of erosion, in complex patterns of natural river systems, and in the development of floodplains and the occurrence of flash floods . Sediment moved by water can be larger than sediment moved by air because water has both

2860-857: The force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand and silt can be carried in suspension in river water and on reaching the sea bed deposited by sedimentation ; if buried, they may eventually become sandstone and siltstone ( sedimentary rocks ) through lithification . Sediments are most often transported by water ( fluvial processes ), but also wind ( aeolian processes ) and glaciers . Beach sands and river channel deposits are examples of fluvial transport and deposition , though sediment also often settles out of slow-moving or standing water in lakes and oceans. Desert sand dunes and loess are examples of aeolian transport and deposition. Glacial moraine deposits and till are ice-transported sediments. Sediment can be classified based on its grain size , grain shape, and composition. Sediment size

2925-442: The hands. This idea persisted until at least the 17th century. He also knew of the ability of quartz to split light into a spectrum . In the 17th century, Nicolas Steno 's study of quartz paved the way for modern crystallography . He discovered that regardless of a quartz crystal's size or shape, its long prism faces always joined at a perfect 60° angle. Quartz belongs to the trigonal crystal system at room temperature, and to

2990-437: The impurities of phosphate and aluminium that formed crystalline rose quartz, unlike the iron and microscopic dumortierite fibers that formed rose quartz. Smoky quartz is a gray, translucent version of quartz. It ranges in clarity from almost complete transparency to a brownish-gray crystal that is almost opaque. Some can also be black. The translucency results from natural irradiation acting on minute traces of aluminum in

3055-539: The inside of meander bends. Erosion and deposition can also be regional; erosion can occur due to dam removal and base level fall. Deposition can occur due to dam emplacement that causes the river to pool and deposit its entire load, or due to base level rise. Seas, oceans, and lakes accumulate sediment over time. The sediment can consist of terrigenous material, which originates on land, but may be deposited in either terrestrial, marine, or lacustrine (lake) environments, or of sediments (often biological) originating in

3120-452: The largest at that time. By the 1950s, hydrothermal synthesis techniques were producing synthetic quartz crystals on an industrial scale, and today virtually all the quartz crystal used in the modern electronics industry is synthetic. An early use of the piezoelectricity of quartz crystals was in phonograph pickups. One of the most common piezoelectric uses of quartz today is as a crystal oscillator . The quartz oscillator or resonator

3185-506: The location from which the quartz was mined. Prasiolite, an olive colored material, is produced by heat treatment; natural prasiolite has also been observed in Lower Silesia in Poland. Although citrine occurs naturally, the majority is the result of heat-treating amethyst or smoky quartz. Carnelian has been heat-treated to deepen its color since prehistoric times. Because natural quartz

3250-406: The long, intermediate, and short axis lengths of the particle. The form ψ l {\displaystyle \psi _{l}} varies from 1 for a perfectly spherical particle to very small values for a platelike or rodlike particle. An alternate measure was proposed by Sneed and Folk: which, again, varies from 0 to 1 with increasing sphericity. Roundness describes how sharp

3315-435: The marine environment include: One other depositional environment which is a mixture of fluvial and marine is the turbidite system, which is a major source of sediment to the deep sedimentary and abyssal basins as well as the deep oceanic trenches . Any depression in a marine environment where sediments accumulate over time is known as a sediment trap . The null point theory explains how sediment deposition undergoes

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3380-421: The mineral dumortierite within quartz pieces often result in silky-appearing splotches with a blue hue. Shades of purple or gray sometimes also are present. "Dumortierite quartz" (sometimes called "blue quartz") will sometimes feature contrasting light and dark color zones across the material. "Blue quartz" is a minor gemstone. Citrine is a variety of quartz whose color ranges from pale yellow to brown due to

3445-494: The presence of impurities which change the molecular orbitals, causing some electronic transitions to take place in the visible spectrum causing colors. The most important distinction between types of quartz is that of macrocrystalline (individual crystals visible to the unaided eye) and the microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline varieties ( aggregates of crystals visible only under high magnification). The cryptocrystalline varieties are either translucent or mostly opaque, while

3510-403: The present case). The transformation between α- and β-quartz only involves a comparatively minor rotation of the tetrahedra with respect to one another, without a change in the way they are linked. However, there is a significant change in volume during this transition, and this can result in significant microfracturing in ceramics during firing, in ornamental stone after a fire and in rocks of

3575-504: The quartz. Additionally, there is a rare type of pink quartz (also frequently called crystalline rose quartz) with color that is thought to be caused by trace amounts of phosphate or aluminium . The color in crystals is apparently photosensitive and subject to fading. The first crystals were found in a pegmatite found near Rumford , Maine , US, and in Minas Gerais , Brazil. The crystals found are more transparent and euhedral, due to

3640-491: The relative input of land (typically fine), marine (typically coarse), and organically-derived (variable with age) sediment. These alterations in marine sediment characterize the amount of sediment suspended in the water column at any given time and sediment-related coral stress. In July 2020, marine biologists reported that aerobic microorganisms (mainly), in " quasi-suspended animation ", were found in organically-poor sediments, up to 101.5 million years old, 250 feet below

3705-473: The removal of native vegetation for the cultivation and harvesting of a single type of crop has left the soil unsupported. Many of these regions are near rivers and drainages. Loss of soil due to erosion removes useful farmland, adds to sediment loads, and can help transport anthropogenic fertilizers into the river system, which leads to eutrophication . The Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR) is fraction of gross erosion (interill, rill, gully and stream erosion) that

3770-445: The surface of the grain. Form (also called sphericity ) is determined by measuring the size of the particle on its major axes. William C. Krumbein proposed formulas for converting these numbers to a single measure of form, such as where D L {\displaystyle D_{L}} , D I {\displaystyle D_{I}} , and D S {\displaystyle D_{S}} are

3835-508: The term rock crystal is sometimes used as an alternative name for transparent coarsely crystalline quartz. Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder believed quartz to be water ice , permanently frozen after great lengths of time. He supported this idea by saying that quartz is found near glaciers in the Alps, but not on volcanic mountains, and that large quartz crystals were fashioned into spheres to cool

3900-438: The transformation is accompanied by a significant change in volume, it can easily induce microfracturing of ceramics or rocks passing through this temperature threshold. There are many different varieties of quartz, several of which are classified as gemstones . Since antiquity, varieties of quartz have been the most commonly used minerals in the making of jewelry and hardstone carvings , especially in Europe and Asia. Quartz

3965-414: The transparent varieties tend to be macrocrystalline. Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica consisting of fine intergrowths of both quartz, and its monoclinic polymorph moganite . Other opaque gemstone varieties of quartz, or mixed rocks including quartz, often including contrasting bands or patterns of color, are agate , carnelian or sard, onyx , heliotrope , and jasper . Amethyst

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4030-494: The use of a scanning electron microscope . Composition of sediment can be measured in terms of: This leads to an ambiguity in which clay can be used as both a size-range and a composition (see clay minerals ). Sediment is transported based on the strength of the flow that carries it and its own size, volume, density, and shape. Stronger flows will increase the lift and drag on the particle, causing it to rise, while larger or denser particles will be more likely to fall through

4095-438: The word has become pronounced as barshwa . This article related to topography is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This hydrology article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion , and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by

4160-420: Was first developed by Walter Guyton Cady in 1921. George Washington Pierce designed and patented quartz crystal oscillators in 1923. The quartz clock is a familiar device using the mineral. Warren Marrison created the first quartz oscillator clock based on the work of Cady and Pierce in 1927. The resonant frequency of a quartz crystal oscillator is changed by mechanically loading it, and this principle

4225-541: Was found near Itapore , Goiaz , Brazil; it measured approximately 6.1 m × 1.5 m × 1.5 m (20 ft × 5 ft × 5 ft) and weighed over 39,900 kg (88,000 lb). Quartz is extracted from open pit mines . Miners occasionally use explosives to expose deep pockets of quartz. More frequently, bulldozers and backhoes are used to remove soil and clay and expose quartz veins, which are then worked using hand tools. Care must be taken to avoid sudden temperature changes that may damage

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