Nature's Surprise - Miners Discover a Breathtaking Heart-Shaped Amethyst Geode in Uruguay

 In a remarkable discovery, miners in Uruguay unearthed an exceptional heart-shaped amethyst geode, a natural wonder crafted by Mother Earth herself. Unlike the thousands of heart-shaped gems created for Valentine's Day gifts, this amethyst geode required no carving or polishing—it was found in its exquisite form when miners broke it open.

Stunning Heart-Shaped Amethyst Geode Discovered by Miners in Uruguay. The New Treasure | Photo by: Uruguay Minerals

The remarkable quartz geode was uncovered during excavation at the Santa Rosa mine in the Catalan area in Artigas, at the border of Uruguay and Brazil. The challenging basalt terrain provided difficult working conditions, but the miners' perseverance was richly rewarded when they split open a rock, revealing beautiful purple hearts on each side. The find, described as a "pearl of great price" by Marcos Lorenzelli of Uruguay Minerals, marked a first-of-its-kind discovery for the company.

Despite uncertainties about finding anything of value in the new mine, the miners stumbled upon this once-in-a-lifetime gemstone. Uruguay Minerals received an impressive bid of $120,000 for the matching pair of rocks, with Lorenzelli estimating their weight to be over 150 pounds (80kg) due to the presence of basalt.

Amethyst, a purple variety of quartz, owes its violet hue to factors such as irradiation, impurities of iron, and other trace elements within the crystal lattice. The amethyst geode, characterized by a hollow rock with amethyst crystals lining the inner walls, undergoes a fascinating formation process. 

The cavities are created where there is or was lava close to the Earth's surface. Subsequently, these hollow spaces fill up with a silica-rich liquid containing trace amounts of iron. Over time, the liquid transforms into six-sided pyramids (rhombohedrons) of amethyst, resulting in the creation of amethyst geodes with a color spectrum ranging from light lilac to deep purple, dependent on the iron content in the liquid.

By Marcos Lorenzelli – Uruguay Minerals Instagram