Minerals: Quartz with Goethite & Secondary Copper Minerals
Locality: M'Sissia, Drâa-Tafilalet Region, Morocco
Dimensions: 75mm x 65mm x 42mm
Weight: 125.6g

This is a substantial old stock quartz from M'Sissia, a historic Moroccan locality known for iron rich quartz associated with secondary copper mineralisation. The brighter greens and blues associated with some of the better known specimens from this pocket are much more restrained here, although traces of secondary copper minerals can still be found across the piece and add small flashes of colour amongst the iron coatings.

The strength of this specimen iS in the form. It is an incredibly complex, matrix free cluster made up of multiple interlocking quartz crystals, with several showing double termination. At 75mm across it has serious presence, and the cluster feels dense, sculptural and beautifully layered from almost every angle.

The goethite and iron coatings carry a gorgeous range of colour through the specimen, moving through burnt orange, deep rust and chocolate brown. That patina is especially effective across the crystal terminations and recessed areas, where the texture becomes much richer than the photographs manage to capture.

Tiny areas of secondary copper mineralisation appear amongst the iron rich coating, while the interlocking quartz structure creates pockets, ridges and repeated terminations throughout. It is a wonderfully tactile piece, and one that will appeal particularly to collectors who appreciate historic Moroccan localities and iron and copper mineral associations.