Mining Quartz?

Question

What mining techniques are used to extract Quartz?

And what are some hazards that have been associated with the mining of Quartz?

Answer 1

There are two main types of quartz mining. In developing countries like Brazil and Madagascar it is collected manually either from loose material on the ground or from shallow quartz veins with pickaxes and shovels. Brazilian miners are quite often farmers who collect quartz to supplement their income - they're known as Garimpieros. This is how most decorative quartz is mined. Some quartz for industrial use is mined this way and is called "lascas" and is arguably the best source in terms of quality.

However, most quartz for industrial applications now comes from large granitic bodies -quite often pegmatites- as these can contain a lot of free quartz. These are blasted out and then crushed, milled and purified to extract the quartz. Suitable deposits of this type are few and far between despite quartz being such a common mineral.

The hazards associated with quartz mining parallels those that are associated with other mining activities like coal or and ore