Walk to Abandoned Quarry. Carnelians, Jaspers, and Natrolites Found (20 Images)

Recently, I came across a beautiful mineralogical post by @rt395 and learnt he has an Etsy shop selling minerals. And I thought, "I want to do this, too!" Maybe one day in the future. I don't plan to open a store yet - there are no grounds for this, but my amateur mineralogical itch, which I contracted in childhood, has awakened. While in Tskaltubo, Georgia, I found information that there was an abandoned stone quarry nearby, and decided that it was worth going there and checking it out.

Gvishtibi village, 3 km from Tskaltubo resort, Kutaisi region, Georgia. Analcime; natrolite; one of the large stone quarries was abandoned “due to the abundance of zeolites... ...The abundance of zeolites, their perfect crystallization, unusually beautiful colors create a first-class mineralogical material that could honorably find its own place among large mineralogical collections” (Gvakharia GV, 1952) - source

I was aware that much could change since 1952 but I felt inspired like if treasure was awaiting for me just in several kilometers away. On the Google.Maps, I searched for anything that resembled abandoned quarries and I found it:

Quarries in Gvishtibi village, near Tskaltubo, Imereti, Georgia on the Google.Maps

These lakes on the map are former quarries filled with water, I realized.

I thought about a mode of transport and decided that walking would be the best - just 5 km one way from Tskaltubo.

On the afternoon of January 11, I set out on my journey. I crossed Gvishtibi village and headed to a cemetery on a hill. The road turned into a dirt one, I passed a pine wood, and came to a vast field on a slope.

Gvishtibi, Imereti Region, Georgia.

Climbing up along the road, what awaits beyond the crest of the hill?

The first, lowest ex-quarry filled with water.

I couldn't help thinking that the place is good for sunbathing and, probably, swimming (if there are no whirlpools, undercurrents, etc. there) Look at this cute beach:

A charming tiny island with a tree there:

The view was nice but I doubted that it was possible to easily find minerals there - everything has long been under water. And I headed to the next quarry.

Green meadow and one of the ridges of the Caucasus Mountains.

A look back at the village Gvishtibi:

There was almost no water in the next quarry so I went down to its bottom to see if there were mineralogical treasures there.

There, I did not meet either a man or a dog. Characteristic footprints indicated that cows sometimes wandered there.

It was great to be alone in such a vast space.

I was looking at the ground and on the surface of rocks in search of something curious.

Spherical formations. What can it be?..

I broke a few stones and found in one of them quartz crystals:

At last, I spotted a mineral that resembled natrolite promised by the website that inspired me to visit these quarries:

These natrolites grew in the sheer rock and were present in stones at its base. There, I regretted that I hadn't taken a hammer with me.

I left the quarry and headed downhill when suddenly I discovered something interesting among the stones lying on the dirt road - it was jasper!

Most likely, the road was covered with a stone from a nearby stream:

On the road near it, I found more ornamental stones.

A mixture of yellow jasper and chalcedony. If you cut and polish it, it will come out very beautiful. It's enough big to make several cabashons. Here's what it looks like from the other side:

Jasper + agate, amazing, isn't it?!

Red and yellow jasper with a slight admixture of chalcedony and with an outgrowth of quartz on top. A less interesting stone, nevertheless it is not bad:

Carnelian, a mixture of orange and red:

I found a few more red jaspers, a small piece of translucent white chalcedony (left in the image below), and a tiny shard of carnelian (right):

I examined the banks of the stream but there was no pebble beach nearby - the stream was too small, and its banks were earthen (and there were a lot of pebbles in it). It was evening, the village dogs were barking in the distance. I found a stick to use as a staff in case I run into dogs, and headed back. It was a nice walk!

I took these images with a Nikkor 70-300mm on a full-frame DSLR Nikon D750 in Gvishtibi village, Imereti Region, Georgia on January 11, 2023.

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