How to Find Rose Quartz in the Ground

Gloves protect hands from scratches.

Quartz is a very common mineral for mineral collectors or rockhounds to collect. Due to its many varieties, quartz is one of the most abundant minerals found in the earth's crust. Quartz is made up of silicon and oxygen (SiO2). Rose quartz is a light pink- to deeper red-hued variety of quartz. (Other varieties of quartz that most people are familiar with include amethyst, adventurine, citrine, smokey quartz, tigereye, and rock crystal.) This article will explain how to find rose quartz by two methods, surface scratching or digging for a pocket or vein.

Things You'll Need

• Collecting bag Magnifying glass Shovel Water Buckets Screen bottom box Gloves Old clothes Wire rake Rock rake Pry bar Rock hammer Flashlight Hat Sunscreen Wagon, tote or backpack Journal Writing utensil

Instructions

Surface Scratching for Rose Quartz

1. Find an area with quartz potential using the surface scratching method. These include:
   Fields that have been tilled for the purposes of rock finding at mining parks and attractions.
   Areas where there is a lot of plate movement and shifting leaving veins exposed and minerals uncovered, like in the Northwest United States.
   Old stream beds or current streams or creeks where water has washed the soil in such a way as to leave layers of earth with minerals exposed.
   Exposed earth underneath newly fallen trees.

2. Scratch over the area using a rake or hands to uncover minerals. Collect the minerals that stand out from the sand or mud. Place minerals in a collecting bag, a plastic bag, screen bottom box or bucket.

3. Dig out any areas that seem to be pockets holding minerals. Place the dirt in a bucket to allow you to carry it to an area where you can spread it out and sift through it.

4. Place finds that have the potential to be rose quartz into a wire bottom box and dip the box in water, allowing you to clean and sift through it. Rose quartz and rock quartz will have a shinier and more translucent appearance when wet than rocks.

Digging for Rose Quartz

1. Mark off an area to be dug out to find rose quartz. In a gem mining field, this might be a particular spot where you intend to dig up the earth by six to eight feet. In a mountainous area or an area where minerals are exposed due to water erosion or shifts in the earth, a segment can be selected to be dug out.

2. Dig the earth out using a shovel. Pile the dirt in one or two spots so that you or a partner can search the contents either by hand or using a screen bottom box before it is completely discarded. Minerals found in holes tend to occur after the several different layers have been dug out.

3. Dig around a potential pocket or geode if you find one. The pocket or geode will usually be harder than the previous dirt. Use a flashlight to look at the layers of dirt deep in hole when you are trying to find a pocket.

4. Use your hands to try to pull out the pocket without breaking any crystals off. Or dig under or to the side of the quartz to free it.

5. Place finds that have the potential to be rose quartz into a wire bottom box and dip the box in water, allowing you to clean and sift through it. Rose quartz and rock quartz have a shiny, translucent appearance when wet.

Tips & Warnings

• If a wire bottom box is not available, just use your hands in a bucket filled with water to rinse off your finds. Keep a record of spots that you have searched so that you can locate them later, whether to search more or to avoid. Clean potential finds over a bucket or a flat surface where quartz or rocks can be easily retrieved in case they are accidentally dropped. Clay is especially slippery when wet.

• Use gloves when handling rose quartz crystals. They are sharp enough to cause a very painful cut that could easily get infected or require stitches.

References

• Digging Quartz Crystals
• Dictionary of Mining and Minerals on Google Books; Quartz on p439

Resources

• Gemstones on the Soles of Our Shoes: Northwest Science & Technology 2002
• Great Ways to Display Rose Quartz