About Crystals

The crystallisation of minerals is one of Mother Nature’s incredible creations. Millions of years ago, the earth was trembling, volcanos erupting and hot glowing molten rock flowed over the earths surface. As the lava started to cool, gas bubbles, cavities, vughs and other large open spaces were trapped beneath the crust which forms on the surface.

Inside these cavities molecules and atoms, developed by tremendous heat combined with the available minerals formed crystals. Small crystals formed when it cooled off quickly and large crystals when it cooled off slowly.

 

Geodes

When lava cooled off thousands of gas bubbles were trapped on their way to the surface and formed into geodes . A very complex process took place inside the gas bubble when it hardened; molecules and atoms created the glittering crystals inside and formed the agate on the outside. Main ingredients of geodes are quartz varieties.

All over the world, there are mining operations, small and large. In many third world countries, where the ore is not plentiful enough to attract the larger mining corporations, the smaller companies and families find it worthwhile to mine the crystallised specimens as a ‘by product’ from the lead, zinc and silver mines in particular. In some cases, entire families work in small mines, only removing the crystals, because they don’t have the money to purchase extractors and crushers to mine the ore. It is hard work as finance, modern mining equipment and proper mining facilities are far from reality.

 

Some larger mining companies with updated equipment can go deeper into the earths’ crust to extract the ore. Sometimes they break into cavities in the earth, these cavities are filled with the most spectacular and colourful crystallised minerals the eye has ever seen.

Salvaged from processing and carefully removed from the mine, these are the specimens which René and Nelleke Boissevain have been collecting since 1963. The biggest frustration to collectors of mineral specimens all over the world is the awful thought that the big mining multinationals (going as deep as 4km) throw everything into the big crushers, including rare and valuable crystal formations.

In the Southern parts of Brazil, close to the Uruguay border enormous basalt fields and mountains were formed by volcanic activity approximately 80 million years ago. This is where the Brazilians mine for Amethyst. Miners tunnel their way into the hard basalt using explosives, hammer and chisel and the occasional jackhammer to extract the spectacular Amethyst Geodes.

In 1992 The Crystal Caves were able to obtain 3 of the largest geodes ever removed from one of those mines.

In January 2007 the worlds largest Amethyst Geode was removed from the Galerias Santiños Mine in Uruguay and The Crystal Caves was again able to secure this 130 million old priceless geode.
The world largest Geode will soon be on display in the Crystal Caves for everyone to see & touch.
An amazing sight - brought to you from deep inside the earth -
feel the cool energy right at your fingertips!