Green Quartz Cluster [Ilvaite on Hedenbergite] (2) : Mongolia

1.45"

This is a green quartz crystal cluster that was collected from the Huang Gang Mines of Inner Mongolia. The green color of the quartz can be attributed to Hedenbergite inclusions within the quartz.

Hedenbergite is a calcium iron (magnesium) silicate that often bears a range of green to brown coloration. The crystals are typically opaque and occur in stubby or prismatic aggregates. Inner Mongolia, Russia, and Greece all produce quartz crystals colored green by fibrous Hedenbergite inclusions. 

The surface sheen of Hedenbergite can be glassy, resinous, or dull. It has a range of different varieties and formations. It is classified as part of the pyroxene group of minerals. Hedenbergite is also found as an inclusion in Quartz crystals

A variety of Hedenbergite can be found in Sweden as well: green-black, blocky crystals come from the Nordmark Odal Field in Värmland County.

Hedenbergite was given its name in 1819 by Jöns Jakob Berzelius, a Swedish chemist. He named the mineral in honor of Anders Ludvig Hedenberg, a chemistry student and co-worker who originally discovered and described the mineral in Tunaberg, Sweden.