A MINERALOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF ROSE QUARTZ AND BANDING IN QUARTZ FROM THE HOGG MINE, LaGrange, GEORGIA

Hogg Mine, located in LaGrange, Georgia, is home to a large pegmatite that was mined for beryllium from the 1940’s to 1960. It has recently been reopened to the public for mineral and gemstone collection. The minerals found in the mine include smokey quartz, rose quartz, kaolinite, beryl (specifically aquamarine), muscovite, and tourmaline. Throughout the mine a graphic granite texture is seen between kaolinite and smokey quartz, where previous feldspar has weathered to kaolin. Specimens of these minerals were collected and research is currently being performed on rose quartz and clear quartz with striations. White striations were found cross-cutting in different directions through some of the quartz specimens. This research focuses on those striations in an attempt to discover their origin. Are they growth lines, or fractures? Are the striations inclusions of some type, or are they an impurity in the quartz? Furthermore, we want to see if the striations are the asterism feature that is found on cut and polished gemstones of rose quartz from this location. Polished thin-sections have been made to examine the striations on a microscopic level. The thin-sections have been made to show different orientations of the striations. We labeled the different striation orientations X, Y, and Z. The orientations X and Y are on the same plane, however, in X the thin-section is parallel to the plane of the striations, and in Y the thin-section is perpendicular to the plane of the striations. The thin-section for orientation Z is adjacent to the plane that holds X and Y. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) elemental mapping provides a detailed understanding of the compositions of the striations and the rose quartz. An additional find in the rose quartz were “bubble” like features in some of the samples. Future research of the minerals found at Hogg Mine include an extensive research of beryl found in a quartz matrix.