Quartz, Calcite

This smoky quartz crystal from the Grant Quarry is partly hoppered, skeletal, and lustrous. What makes this specimen special is a plate of calcite prisms growing on two faces. It appears that this patch of calcite was intentionally left on, possibly indicating that the crystal was more covered when first collected. The deposit, similar to the "Herkimer Diamond" type of occurrence, produces intriguing crystals like this one. This is a great combination specimen for the locality!

The Grant Quarry is part of the Beekmantown Formation, which appears in several locations from Saratoga Springs, NY, through Herkimer, NY, St-Clothilde, Quebec, St-Eustache, Quebec, to Greely, Ontario. Mineral specimens from these areas are predominantly old material.