How to remove crystals from rock?

[formosa]

i have some pictures but need 5 posts before i can upload, so i will post them when i get to 5.

basically I live in Taiwan and we have a lot of cool minerals here. I just got back into geology a little, nothing serious. I found this pocket of quartz crystals while hiking up a valley. we are lucky in a sense we have incredibly high frequency of earthquakes coupled with intense rainfall/winds and huge deforestation and human environmental problems. nothing good unless you want to find rocks and minerals without equipment, then all those things become quite handy...

So i found a nice pocket of clear quartz. i know its common but the location and the idea of doing this with my daughter has made them a (personal) precious gem, so its like that. I want to try and remove them as best i can but its literally a hole in the middle of a large solid rock. not sure what kind of rock, normally we find veins in slate like rock, but this isnt like that. the pocket is about 20-50cm in diameter and goes into the rock at least 50cm. so theres lots of crystals in there, the biggest im guessing at about 8-10cm long.

I only assume theremust be more to it than just whacking it carefully with a hammer. because quartz seems so brittle, at least here, i am worried if i go whacking around it they will shatter. i would love to keep some large flat pieces with many crystals, but ultimately i ant to keep the large pointy crystals intact. any tips or links i can read into?

 

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[formosa]

pictures:

 

[DDancer]

The host rock looks rather dense so attacking it is probably not going to work. The approach I would us would be to use a sharp narrow chisel and pointed punch at the junction between the quartz and the host rock as that will be the weakest point. Another approach is to use a woodend dowel, oak or walnut... dense wood, along the side of individual crystals to knock them over. Screw drivers to pry if you can get cracks to form.
You may or may not get any plates but its worth a try. For individual crystals again carefully tap the base's. A better place to look for plates and individual crystals will be in the loam and rocks around the base of the deposite. Mother nature will most likely have done the work for you.
Its very seldom that one would find such a deposite and its nice to see. Odd that no one has gotten into it yet.

 

[meMiner]

Nice looking vug. I sometimes use a wooden stick (paint stirrer) and push crystals to see if I can find any that are loose and will just pop out without damaging them. Once you get one, the neighbors are sometimes easy to remove. Another method if you want to remove the whole plate of crystal is to drill the rock in a line with a cordless drill (multiple deep holes) and then use a chisel to fracture the rock between the holes. Sometimes this will allow you to remove the top and then bottom plate. Let us know what you try and how it works out for you. Good luck.

 

[Eu_citzen]

I'd also do as DD says, chisels and hammer. If really troublesome you may have to cause the rock to fracture, doing so a bit above the quartz vein. I usually use a sledgehammer for that. However, a cordless drill as placergold suggested is perhaps the easier method.