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Tips on Collecting, Preparing, and Transporting Amethystine Quartz Matrix Specimens from Brushy Mt./Mule Creek, N.M.

The Brushy Mt./Mule Creek amethystine quartz crystal locale produces some spectacular matrix specimens (check out my YouTube video here). The problem is; it is quite difficult to recover specimens without having the crystals fall free from the pocket wall. Of necessity a collector must fracture the bedrock in search of the pockets that contain the crystals. Breaking the rock requires heavy blows from sledge hammers, wedging, etc. Mother Nature made some gorgeous quartz scepter crystals at Brushy Mt., but many are very weakly attached to the matrix. Often, as I split bedrock at this locale, I have opened pockets filled with beautiful amethystine quartz crystals, many of which are laying free in the vug. The loose crystals are very nice in themselves, but to a mineral collector, a cabinet specimen with crystals still attached to the wall rock is more desireable. I have tried many techniques to preserve Brushy Mt. specimens for transportation back home; everything from filling the pockets with urethane or latex spray foams (very difficult to later remove cured foams), to applying white glue (e.g. Elmer's Glue) to the crystal-to-wall-rock contacts (easier to remove). When I find crystals loose in a pocket, I simply glue them in place with some white glue and a plug of tissue paper. When home, I soak the whole chunk of matrix in water. After several days in water, the white glue softens and can be washed away with a gentle flow of water and a little proding with a dental pick. Once the glue is gone, I can reconstruct the crystal assemblage, as best possible, at my leisure. Often, by careful examination of the lose crystals and matrix, the collector can determine exactly where the crystals fell free, and how it should be reassembled. As a purist, I only reattach crystals to their original pocket wall position, or their crystal pocket neighbors. This repair work is something like working on a jigsaw puzzle. Reattaching the crystals is done with either white glue (easily removed with water) or cyanoacrylate (more permanent). When I sell or trade a repaired specimen I note the restoration on the web page description, and inform the recipient of the treatment used on that piece.

The quartz crystals from Brushy Mt. may be found in pristine pockets that contain no fine mud or caliche-like mineral deposits. These pockets are "tight." Mineral-laden surface water has not been able to penetrate the vug and deposit a mineral coating on the quartz crystals. The quartz crystals from these "tight" pockets are usually perfect in all respects; no chips on their tips or edges, of best amethystine color, clean bright crystal faces. When ground water has been able to invade a pocket, the vug may be filled with fine mud, and the quartz crystals may be coated with scale-like mineral deposits. Specimens from those types of pockets are much more difficult to clean and, if necessary, to reassemble. It takes considerable time and effort to find the right combination of cleaning solutions and demineralizers to remove the mud, lime and carbonate coatings, iron stains, etc. A web search will identify many sources of information on how to remove iron and mineral coatings from quartz crystals.

Okay, you want one of my specimens, how can I ship it to you without damage? Mineral dealers are routinely faced with this problem. In the past I have shipped delicate kyanite specimens by packing them in a box completely filled with granular laundry detergent (or sugar). Upon receipt, the customer opens the box, carefully pours off the detergent and rinses away any residual detergent particles. For more fragile specimens, such as some Brushy Mt. matrix pieces, I coat them with a clear hobbyist soap base (melts like wax). Upon receipt, the customer immerses the whole specimen in a water bath (double boiler on a stove) and slowly raises the water temperature to near boiling. The soap melts and dissolves in the hot water (~90 degrees C; not boiling). The water is poured off, the specimen rinsed with hot tap water, and allowed to dry. A fragile Brushy Mt. amethystine quartz scepter crystal daintily perched on matrix is now ready for display. I have not yet used the melted soap base for stabilizing fragile mineral specimens while in the field, but am anxious to give it a try.

If you think you might enjoy collecting some of these unusual Brushy Mt. quartz scepter crystals, and you are plannning a trip to the area; give me a call. I am always happy to talk to fellow collectors and provide whatever information I can.