Quartz / Topaz Hunt in Mason, TX

Recently spent 2 days at a friend's deer lease in Mason, TX, to scout the 900 plus acres for signs of Topaz.  This was a scouting trip, so we didn'the spend too much time in one location.  We found a bunch of promising material, ran specific gravity tests, and verified that it was only quartz.  We have pinpointed the best spots and will do some digging on next trip.  Of course we found the best material on the service road as we were leaving!  Big pieces of quartz, terminated crystals, and a big piece of quartz that has a crystal filled pocket.  It is also fitting that this road is an easement leading out of the property and not part of their lease!  I picked the following pieces up as we were opening and closing cattle gates.  The road was basically paved with this material and I am sure that it contains topaz.  Unfortunately, you can't stop and hunt those, so we'll have to do a little digging to get down to that material.  We also found a bunch of arrowheads and other tools, as well as some very colorful chart / flint, that I haven't had time to photograph.

Anyway.....here are a few of the pieces I picked up in a 5 minute period, while working the cattle gates.

This is the pocket quartz....there is a crystal terminated with 4 sides and from what I know, quartz terminates with 6 sides, so i'my hopefully that it could be topaz. The 1st picture shows heavy oxidation. The 2nd is after soaking in Iron Out. I will be moving to oxalic acid next.

This is a terminated piece of quartz that is heavily oxidized.


Various pieces of quartz....



More to follow....thanks for looking!