Other/historical names associated with this locality:
Boekenhoutshoek
This is the area where the well-known among mineral collectors South African "cactus" or "spirit" quartz comes from. Amethyst is the most widespread color variety, however, it also occurs in all sort of other colors as well (white, gray, mauve, reddish-purple, brown, yellow).
According to Cairncross (2023), the first specimen appeared sometime in 1986 when a collector from the Pretoria Gem and Mineral Club offered some deep purple amethyst specimens for sale. At the time, the locality was very vaguely given as "Magaliesberg" (some old labels may still list this name as the locality) which is now known not to be the case.
The quartz specimens are found in the Bushveld Complex rocks approximately 70 km northeast of Pretoria. The Bushveld Complex is a world famous polymetallic igneous complex, most well-known for its platinum and chrome deposits, which are the largest in the world. These are contained in ultramafic and mafic rocks that form the lower portions of the complex. However, the upper parts of the Bushveld Complex are composed of granites and felsic rocks that are subdivided into three unit from oldest to youngest, the volcanic Rooiberg Group, the Rashoop Granophyre Suite and finally the Lebowa Granite Suite which intrudes into both of the above. The granophyre of the Rashoop Granophyre Suite is the host rock to the quartz veins and quartz / amethyst crystals at Boekenhouthoek and Mathys Zyn Loop.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz
Chemical Elements
Mineral List
22 valid minerals. 2 erroneous literature entries.
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.
