8.8" Spectacular, Mango Quartz Crystal Cluster - Cabiche, Colombia

Mango quartz is a variety of quartz characterized by long, slender crystals that terminate in yellow tips similar to the bright yellow of mango flesh. This material is fairly new to the mineralogical world: testing on the fibrous yellow inclusions is thus far inconclusive, though the top contenders are humboldtine and halloysite. Both minerals tend to react negatively to oxalic acid and make cleaning and conclusive analysis quite difficult.

This mineral has quite the tumultuous history, steeped in mystery and rumors of secret mines, lost treasure, and Ronald Reagan's war on drugs. Mango quartz was originally discovered in Colombia in the 1980s by Victor Caranza, Colombia's largest emerald exporter, who held back most of the mined material for his personal collection. Hearsay suggests that after he had extracted what he wanted, he filled in the mine shaft so he could corner the market. When Reagan started to crack down on South American drug lords, Caranza was swept up in the raids. While his ties to the criminal underworld were never officially confirmed, his volume of exported material and wealthy clientele made him suspect to the United States government. Since Caranza's incarceration and eventual death in 2013, mango quartz had disappeared from the market. To this day, Caranza's private collection is lost to the world.

It wasn't until 2017 when local farmers stumbled upon the road that lead to the mango quartz mine, where they uncovered a new cavity filled with this mineral. Since then mango quartz has taken the mineral world by storm. Everyone wants a piece of this truly unique mineral!