By Akarsh Ellore

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▪ One of the most common types of minerals found in the Earth's crust

▪ 12% of Earth's Crust

▪ Colorless in pure form

▪ Has a chemical and physical resistance to weathering

▪ Found in all three types of rocks

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▪ Impurities occur if traces of other substances, such as iron, form alongside with quartz

▪ Colored impurities resulted in some of these valuable variants:

▪ Amethyst – Light to a Dark Purple, most valuable

▪ Smokey Quartz – Light Brown to a Black Color

▪ Citrine –Yellow, Orange and Reddish-Brown

▪ Rose Quartz – Light Pink to a darker, deeper Pink

▪ Name "quartz" came from a German world, "Quarz"

▪ The term was first used by Georgius Agricola in 1530

▪ Exact origin of the word is unclear

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▪ People across various cultures and civilizations used quartz crystals for many different reasons

▪ Rose Quartz's early uses dated back to 7000 BC

▪ Assyrians crafted Rose Quartz jewelry around 800-600 BC

▪ Ancient Romans, Egyptians and Greeks believed it to have magical properties

▪ Egyptians believed Rose Quartz prevents aging

▪ Greeks believed that rock crystal quartz was water that was permanently frozen

▪ Cultured and Natural Quartz are used to regulate the flow of electricity

▪ Found in many electronics because of its piezoelectric effect

▪ Mainly found in computers, televisions and clocks

▪ Kitchen Countertops

▪ Fused Quartz is used in precision mirrors, used in telescopes and microscopes

▪ Quartz is also needed to make glass

▪ Sandstone, mainly composed of quartz, is needed to create stone and building blocks

▪ The many uses made quartz very valuable commodity for trade

▪ Manufactured, not mined

▪ Quartz that has been grown in laboratories

▪ The quartz has been created without any imperfections to improve efficiency

▪ No physical impurities that make it unable to be used in electronics

▪ Most common form of quartz in the industry

▪ Quartz has a piezoelectric effect

▪ Piezoelectric – the ability to produce a vibration based on mechanical stress or tension

▪ A quartz crystal can create a voltage based on this effect

▪ The thicker the crystal, the lower the frequency

▪ The frequency can create a radio signal for communication

▪ First discovered by French chemist Pierre Currie

▪ Arkansas in the US, and Brazil mine the most amount of natural quartz in the world

▪ China, Russia, and Japan are some of the world's primary producers of cultured quartz

▪ Many countries transport the mined quartz crystals through heavy cargo ships or trains to various destinations for further processing and sale

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND.

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND.

QUARTZ IN THE UNITED STATES

▪ Many deposits of quartz crystal was found in the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas

▪ Hernando de Soto noted many Native American arrowheads had quartz crystals, while traveling the area in 1541

▪ Arkansas settlers were said to have sold $1,000 worth of quartz crystals in the 1870s

▪ Only 5% of the quartz supply, under the Ouachita Mountains, has been mined

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▪ The war time conflicts created the necessity for radios, radars, chronometers and other instruments that needed electronic-grade quartz crystals

▪ Brazil was the only source of electronic-grade quartz crystals for the world

▪ German U-Boats threatened the Brazilian government, limiting their exports of the crystals

▪ The American government was in urgent need of electronic-grade quartz

▪ Miners rushed to Arkansas to help in the mining of quartz

▪ The government purchased 212,000 pounds of quartz crystal in 1943 for the war

▪ The United States and other countries decided to look towards other ways of getting electronic-grade quartz

▪ Scientists then decided to find and grow quartz crystals for electronics and other uses

▪ Cultured Quartz was created and grown and became the most used and valuable quartz crystal in the thriving industry

▪ The Quartz Page. (2009, May 26). Origin of Quartz. Retrieved from http://www.quartzpage.de/gen_ori.html▪ The source showed exactly where each rock forms and how it does. It provided key details on the location and

overall composition of the crust.

▪ Mineral Education Coalition. (2019). Quartz. Retrieved from https://mineralseducationcoalition.org/minerals-database/quartz/▪ This source really showed how a quartz crystal was grown and developed in a lab. The source also had lots of very

valuable information about its uses and the quartz industry.

▪ Quartz: The gemstone Quartz information and pictures. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.minerals.net/gemstone/quartz_gemstone.aspx▪ The source had lots of information about the different varieties of quartz crystals there are and how they are formed.

It also had information about the descriptions of a crystal and its physical details.

▪ Quartz Mining. (2019, March 19). Retrieved from https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/quartz-mining-1173/▪ The source had lots of very valuable information about the history of quartz in Arkansas and when it was first

discovered by European explorers and the Natives in the Ouachita Mountains region. It also had information about World War II and the problem that occurred because of it.

▪ New World Encyclopedia. (2019, June 17). Quartz. Retrieved from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Quartz

▪ It has lots of very key details on the history and occurrence of quartz in the Earth's crust. It also had very important details about each variety of quartz crystal.

▪ Quartz. (2019, September 12). Retrieved from https://www.encyclopedia.com/earth-and-environment/minerals-mining-and-metallurgy/mineralogy-and-crystallography/quartz▪ The article had lots of good information about piezoelectricity and how quartz has that effect. The source also had

good information about Cultured Quartz and how it was created.

▪ Arkansas Quartz: Origin and History. (2018, August 26). Retrieved from https://www.rockngem.com/arkansas-quartz-origin-and-history/

▪ The article has a very clear and deep understanding for the quartz mined from Arkansas. It includes the history of the quartz industry in Arkansas and important information about World War II.

▪ American Mineralogist. (1945). Geology of Quartz Deposits. Retrieved from http://www.minsocam.org/msa/collectors_corner/arc/quartzdep.htm

▪ This source had lots of information on the supply of quartz in various countries and places and how they are formed. The source showed a very deep understanding of the topics on quartz.

▪ American Museum of Natural History. (n.d.). Quartz | AMNH. Retrieved from https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/gems/quartz

▪ This was a very basic source, giving very basic information about quartz. It included some important details but overall, just a very basic article.

▪ Encyclopedia Britannica. (n.d.). quartz | Definition, Types, Uses, & Facts. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/science/quartz

▪ A very good article giving adequate information about quartz. It included lots of very important facts and details. The source knew some very important key points about quartz and the manufacturers of it.

▪ Quartz Mining. (2017, January 13). Retrieved from https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/quartz-mining-1173/

▪ It showed a very detailed history about quartz in Arkansas. It included key facts about the quartz industry in Arkansas and its origins in it. The source also had details about the shortage of quartz crystals during World War II.

▪ Silica Statistics and Information. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nmic/silica-statistics-and-information▪ The source had lots of evidence and data to show exactly how much quartz is mined, how much

it is taxed and other key details. It had very good information about quartz.