Provenite

Berilo Branco claim

MineUnknownDraft data

18.9008° S, 41.4844° W · ± 10 km

Rose quartz from Minas Gerais, Brazil, with photos of specimens from this locality.

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Minerals found here

Rose quartz

On the same specimen

Same specimen Albite with Quartz

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show quartz with albite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Rose quartz at Berilo Branco claim

The original 'Sapucaia' occurrence of pink quartz crystals, typically pink crystals on a smoky quartz base.

Glassy rose quartz crystals on a large, sharply terminated smoky quartz crystal from Berilo Branco, 8.5 cm across.
Glassy rose quartz crystals on a large, sharply terminated smoky quartz crystal from Berilo Branco, 8.5 cm across.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Rose quartz crystals filling a vug in white albite and quartz, a 6.8 cm specimen from Berilo Branco.
Rose quartz crystals filling a vug in white albite and quartz, a 6.8 cm specimen from Berilo Branco.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Cabinet specimen of rose quartz with smoky quartz, 11.5 cm, sold under the Sapucaia mine label, the name under which Berilo Branco rose quartz was long known.
Cabinet specimen of rose quartz with smoky quartz, 11.5 cm, sold under the Sapucaia mine label, the name under which Berilo Branco rose quartz was long known.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
SiO₂
Morphology
Euhedral rose-pink quartz crystals, perched on smoky quartz
Typical size
Documented examples include a 39 by 20 cm specimen ('La Madona Rosa') and a 10.1 cm specimen
Associated minerals
Smoky quartzfeldspar
Trace elements
Al and P colour centres produced by irradiation (euhedral pink quartz, general for the variety)
History
A Mineralogical Record article describes Berilo Branco as the original Sapucaia rose quartz occurrence and as the first major discovery of rose quartz crystals; a cover specimen long attributed to the Sapucaia mine is said to come from here. A 5-inch specimen reached a winning bid of 550,000 dollars at auction.

Sources: SRC-145 SRC-123 SRC-125

About Rose quartz →

Geology of the locality

Setting
Pegmatite in the Sapucaia do Norte area; the claim is the original source of the 'Sapucaia' pink quartz crystals.
Host rock
Granitic pegmatite
Region
Minas Gerais
Country
Brazil

Coordinates are those of the nearby Sapucaia mine (Mindat), because no coordinates are published for the Berilo Branco claim itself, so only district-level accuracy is claimed.

Sources: SRC-145 SRC-146

Sources

  1. SRC-145 · Database
    Rose Quartz from Sapucaia do Norte, Galileia, Minas Gerais, BrazilMindat.org contributors · Mindat.org
  2. SRC-146 · Database
    Sapucaia mine, Sapucaia do Norte, Galileia, Minas Gerais, BrazilMindat.org contributors · Mindat.org
  3. SRC-123 · Database
    Rose Quartz: Mineral information, data and localitiesMindat.org contributors · Mindat.org
  4. SRC-125 · Article
    Rose Quartz: Journey Into the Nano-JungleFox, K.E.; McDonald, A.M. · 2023 · 37th International Gemmological Conference (IGC), Tokyo

Draft data from the Provenite workbook. Check entries against the cited sources before relying on them. Photos are open-licence images from Wikimedia Commons; the author and licence are given with each photo.