Classification of Quartz Textures in Epithermal Veins

A classification of quartz textures in epithermal veins is developed from a review of the

available descriptive literature and observation of approximately 400 specimens and 150 thin
sections from more than 20 epithermal deposits and prospects. Thirteen quartz textures are
defined (Fig. 1) on the basis of mutual geometrical relations among individual crystals, or
crystal aggregates, and/or the internal features of individual grains. Most of the textures
described are readily identified in hand specimens. A few, however, can only be viewed under
the microscope. The majority of textural terms used in this classification are adopted from
existing terminology with some modification where necessary.

Fig. 1. Classification of quartz textures

This study deals only with low quartz (Phillips and Griffen, 1981). Based on the size of
individual grains it can be subdivided into: (macro) crystalline, microcrystalline, and crypto
crystalline (Bates and Jackson, 1987). Chalcedony refers to cryptocrystalline quartz, either with
fibrous or granular habit (Phillips and Griffen, 1981). These terms will be applied in the
following description for some quartz textures.

Massive
This is a general term that refers to quartz veins which have a more or less homogeneous
appearance over wide areas and display an absence of banding, shear fractures, or similar
features.

Crustiform
The term crustiform is analogous to crustification banding described by Adams (1920),
Lindgren (1933), and Shaub (1934). This texture involves successive, narrow (up to a few
centimeters), and subparallel bands which are distinguished by differences in texture, mineral
proportions, and/or color. Commonly, banding is symmetrically developed from both walls of a
fissure (Fig. 2a).
Cockade: This is a sub type of crustiform texture, as described previously by Taber in
Adams (1920) and Spurr (1926). In breccias, concentric crustiform bands surrounding isolated
fragments of wall rocks or early vein materials produce cockade texture.

Colloform
This term was first proposed by Rogers (1917). In general, where the external surface of a
mineral or mineral aggregate shows combined spherical, botryoidal, reniform, and mammillary
forms, it is called colloform. For silica minerals, this texture is a characteristic feature of
chalcedonic aggregates in fine rhythmic bands (Fig. 2b). Under the microscope, chalcedony in
colloform banding often has a micro fibrous habit with sharp re-entrant angles between
adjacent contacting spheroids.

Moss
This texture has features similar to the "microbotryoidal gel structure" described by Adams
(1920). In hand specimens, silica aggregates display a heterogeneous turbid appearance,
similar to moss vegetation (Fig. 2c). Under the microscope, groups of spheres (usually ranging
from 0.1-1 mm in diam) are highlighted by the distribution of impurities within aggregates of
silica minerals (Fig. 2d). Some spherical impurities also show an internal concentric or radiating
pat tern. Moss texture may gradate to colloform texture if the spheres become interconnected.

Comb
Comb texture refers to groups of parallel or subparallel quartz crystals which are oriented
perpendicular to vein walls, thus resembling the teeth of a comb (Fig. 2e). Normally crystals
display a uniform grain size and have euhedral terminations at their free ends. This texture is
frequently described in the literature, including Adams (1920), Schieferdecker (1959), and
Boyle (1979).

Zonal
Zonal texture displays alternating clear and milky zones within individual quartz crystals (Fig.
2f). Milky zones are usually crowded with fluid or solid inclusions and are always parallel to
crystal growth faces.
Fig. 2. Quartz textures I. a. Crustiform: alternating fine bands consisting of pink adularia,
microcrystalline quartz, comb quartz, and chlorite, developed from both walls of a fissure. b.
Colloform-crustiform: classic examples of colloform (botryoidal) and crustiform (alternating)
bands considered characteristic of epithermal veins. c. Moss: silica aggregates display a
heterogeneous turbid appearance, similar to moss vegetation. d. Moss: groups of spheres
highlighted by the distribution of impurities within aggregates of silica minerals. e. Comb:
groups of parallel or subparallel quartz crystals oriented perpendicular to vein wall, resembling
the teeth of a comb. f. Zonal: within individual quartz crystals, there are alternating clear and
inclusion crowded zones.

Mosaic
Aggregates of microcrystalline or crystalline quartz crystals have highly irregular and
interpenetrating grain boundaries (Fig. 3a). Inhand specimens, the sample usually has a
vitreous and tightly packed appearance. This texture is equivalent to a jigsaw texture which is
one of most common micro textures in jasperoid (Lovering, 1972) and is also noted in some epi
thermal deposits (Saunders, 1990).

Feathery
Under the microscope with crossed polars, individual quartz crystals display a splintery or
feathery appearance seen only as slight optical differences in maximum extinction positions.
This texture is usually well developed on the margins of quartz crystals with a clear euhedral
core (Fig. 3b) or as patches throughout quartz crystals (Fig. 3c). The term "feathery'' is adopted
from Adams (1920), and a similar texture has been reported by Sander and Black (1988), who
called it "plumose."

Flamboyant
This texture has been described by Adams (1920) and Sander and Black (1988). The chief
characteristic of this tex ture is the radial or flamboyant extinction of individual quartz crystals
with a more or less rounded crystal outline. Similar to the feathery texture, it can either be
developed in the rim of a quartz crystal with a clear euhedral core (Fig. 3d), or throughout the
crystal (Fig. 3e).

Ghost sphere
This texture commonly occurs within microcrystalline quartz as cloudy spheres highlighted by
the distribution of impurities (Fig. 3f). Ghost-sphere texture may be regarded as a special moss
texture, because both textures have the same feature- spherical distribution of impurities within
silica phases such as amorphous silica, chalcedony, or quartz. However, if the host is quartz,
ghost-sphere texture is used to characterize the internal feature of quartz crystals. Ghost
sphere texture may gradate to mosaic texture where the impurities are gradually eliminated
and crystal boundaries become interpenetrating. Some quartz crystals with ghost-sphere
texture display radial extinction and therefore share the characteristic features of the
flamboyant texture.

Fig. 3. Quartz textures II. a. Mosaic: aggregates of microcrystalline quartz crystals with highly
irregular and interpenetrating grain boundaries. b. Feathery 1: a feathery appearance in the
rims of the crystals with euhedral cores, seen only as slight optical differences in maximum
extinction positions. In another position (e.g., bottom center) the quartz crystal displays a very
similar interference color between the euhedral core and rims. c. Feathery 2: a feathery
appearance seen as patches throughout quartz crystals. d. Flamboyant 1: radial or flamboyant
extinction of individual quartz crystals with more or less rounded crystal outline. In this sample,
the flamboyant texture is well developed in the rims of crystalline quartz crystals with euhedral
cores. e. Flamboyant 2: flamboyant extinctions seen throughout the crystals with rounded
surface in bands. f. Ghost sphere: solid and/or fluid inclusion defined spheres within
microcrystalline quartz crystals.
Pseudobladed
Aggregates of quartz or chalcedony may be arranged in a bladed or platy form. Three subtypes
are defined on the basis of the morphology of the aggregate of blades.
Lattice bladed: This texture is comparable with the "pseudomorphic lamellar, platy, or tabular"
quartz texture de scribed by Lindgren (1899), Schrader (1912), and Morgan (1925). It displays
a network of intersecting silica blades with polyhedral cavities partly filled with comb quartz
crystals (Fig. 4a). In thin sections, each blade consists of a series of parallel seams separated
by quartz crystals or crystallites which have grown symmetrically about the seams and
perpendicular to them (Fig. 4b).
Ghost bladed: Blades are identified on the polished sur faces of hand specimens by
concentrations of impurities. Commonly blades are dispersed randomly within quartz
aggregates and lack cavities between the blades (Fig. 4c). Under the microscope, the blades
are differentiated from the matrix by differences in grain size, shape, and/or outlines of
impurities (Fig. 4d). The thick silica blades usually have a ragged shape with a set of parallel
partings.
Parallel bladed: Silica blades are parallel within a group but adjacent groups may have different
orientations. The out line of groups defines an overall granular pattern in hand specimens (Fig.
4e). The microscopic feature of the parallel texture is essentially similar to that of lattice-bladed
texture: each group comprises a set of parallel seams, separated either by rectangular quartz
crystals (Fig. 4f), or by prismatic crystals and/or crystallites growing perpendicular to the
seams. Adams (1920) described a texture called "lamellar quartz" which has features very
similar to the parallel-bladed texture.

Fig. 4. Quartz textures III. a. Lattice bladed: a network of intersecting silica blades with
polyhedral cavities. b. Lattice bladed: in thin section, each blade consists of a series of parallel
seams separated by quartz crystals or crystallites which have grown symmetrically about the
seams and perpendicular to them. c. Ghost bladed: blades are identified on the polished
surface of the hand specimens by the concentration of impurities. This texture commonly
occurs in crustiform bands and lacks the cavities between blades. d. Ghost bladed: aggregates
of quartz crystals with superimposed bladed texture identified by outlines of impurities and finer
grain size. e. Parallel bladed: silica blades are parallel within each group but adjacent groups
have different orientations. f. Parallel bladed: each group is composed of a set of parallel-
oriented quartz crystals which have more or less rectangular shapes.

Pseudoacicular
The pseudoacicular texture was first described by Lindgren and Bancroft (1914) from the
Republic district, Washington, and was also reported by Adams (1920) and Schrader (1923). In
hand specimens, aggregates of silica minerals, commonly associated with adularia or its
weathering products (sericite or kaolinite), display a radial acicular appearance (Fig. 5a). Under
the microscope, this is indicated by linear arrange ments of fine-grained, sometimes roughly
rectangular, quartz crystals and/or by a linear distribution of adularia or its weathering products
(Fig. 5b).

Saccharoidal
In this texture, loosely packed vitreous to milky fine-grained quartz aggregates have the
appearance of sugar in hand specimens (Fig. 5c). Under the microscope, abundant elongated
subhedral crystals, some with double terminations, are randomly distributed in a matrix of
smaller, anhedral grains (Fig. 5d). Locally there is an alignment of elongate crystals giving the
impression of a crude mesh or network. This is the "retiform structure" described by Lindgren
(1901), Adams (1920), and "reticulated texture" described by Lovering (1972).

Fig. 5. Quartz textures IV. a. Pseudoacicular: aggregates of silica minerals, commonly

associated with adularia or its weathered products (kaolinite or illite), display a radial acicular
appearance, caused by differences in color and/or relief in hand specimens. b.
Pseudoacicular: acicular appearance is indicated under the microscope by linear arrangement
of fine-grained quartz crystals and linear distribution of clay minerals. c. Saccharoidal: loosely
packed fine-grained quartz aggregate, having a sugary appearance in hand specimens. d.
Saccharoidal: under the microscope, slender subhedral crystals are randomly distributed in a
matrix of smaller, anhedral grains. Locally there is alignment of elongated crystals giving the
impression of a crude mesh texture.
Discussion on the textural classification

The term "texture" is used for the general physical appearance or character of a rock, including
the size and shape of, and the mutual relations among, its component minerals. Saccharoidal
and mosaic textures typically belong to this category. The term "structure" is generally used for
the larger features of a rock and is determined by the spatial arrangement of its mineral
aggregates which differ from one another in shape, size, composition, and texture. This is best
represented by crustiform structure. However, the two terms are often used interchangeably,
and some textures may parallel major structural features. For instance, colloform and comb
can be used as both textures and structures. Many people today prefer to group texture and
structure together in regard to the general features of a rock or vein (Lovering, 1972; Craig and
Vaughan, 1981; Augustithis, 1982; MacKenzie et al., 1982). This concept has been applied in
the present study.

Since the criteria for this classification are defined by various parameters (such as the
morphology of mineral aggregates, the internal feature of an individual crystal), a certain
specimen could be described in several textural terms by using different criteria. For example,
comb texture describes groups of quartz crystals sharing the same orientation; how ever,
individual crystals in comb texture could also display zonal texture or feathery texture.
Crustiform texture refers to the banded arrangement of mineral aggregates which differ from
one other in texture and composition, it naturally includes many other textures within each
band. The way to deal with this problem is to name all textures observed, so that the
characteristic of the sample can be illustrated entirely.

Reference :
Dong, G., Morrison, G.W., and Jaireth, S., 1995. Quartz Textures in epithermal veins,
Queensland – classification, origin, and implication. Economic Geology, v.90, p. 1841-1856

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