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How to Get Rutile Out of Rutilated Quartz

Gemologists craft rutilated quartz into stunning pieces of jewelry, such as rings and broaches. Slim, golden, rutile rods sit frozen in 3-D space, appearing to float within a transparent sea of quartz. It's a treasure to find such pieces. More commonly, rutile occurs in sediment sands eroded from metamorphic and, to a lesser extent, igneous rocks. Natural weathering and erosive processes loosen and separate quartz and rutile from these rocks over time. If you want to break up a chunk of rutilated quartz, use a hand-crank or mechanical crusher to quickly simulate nature's abrasive powers. The result will yield single rods of the valuable titanium dioxide metal.

Things You'll Need

Safety goggles
Protective clothing
Rock crusher
Geologist loops or magnifying lens

Instructions

- 1
  Don safety goggles and protective clothing such as a heavy lab coat, or thick fabric, rock-crushing bib. Quartz has sharp edges when it breaks, and it's best to avoid getting fragments in your eyes.
- 2
  Get a lever-pressure type, mechanical rock crusher and center your rutilated quartz samples on the crushing tray. Apply mechanical force by lowering the lever onto the tray to break up the rutilated quartz samples. Allow enough force to break up the quartz surrounding the rutile rods.
- 3
  Lift the pressure lever to inspect the crushed rock. Look for spots and areas along the length of rutile rods to see where quartz is still attached.
- 4
  Rotate and reposition the quartz rocks for further abrasion. Target areas that were not affected on the first go-round by placing them face-up on the plate.
- 5
  Repeat turning rocks and pulverizing them until all visible signs of quartz are gone. Use geologist loops or a magnifying glass to closely inspect your progress. Continue crushing until all that's left on the tray are the pure rods of golden rutile.

Rocks & Minerals