How to Buy Crystals That Don’t Harm People or the Planet

Crystal is a broad term used to describe the thousands of inorganic minerals whose atoms arrange themselves in an orderly, repeating pattern. As with other forms of mining, digging them up has both environmental and human impacts that vary by region and on the type of mineral being mined.
In general, experts say that crystal mining isn’t as environmentally destructive as mining for metals like gold or copper. While commercial metal mines often span hundreds of acres and can stretch hundreds of feet below ground, crystal mines tend to be small by comparison. James Zigras, who heads up Avant Mining, the largest quartz crystal producer in the U.S., says that his biggest mines are one to two acres in size and that his deepest is “maybe 120 feet.”
The methods used to mine crystals also tend to be gentler than those used in metals mining—think shovels and chisels instead of dynamite—because the goal is to recover intact specimens. And while many metals must be refined using harsh chemicals and processes that generate air and water pollution, crystals are often just washed with water or oxalic acid.

However, miners must strip away vegetation to dig up crystals, and this habitat destruction can harm local biodiversity. Clearing land for mineral mining, Levin-Nally says, can also generate dust pollution that creates health and safety hazards for workers, or pollutes local waterways. And in some instances, crystals are unearthed from more toxic forms of mining, such as when large copper mines produce specimens of the green banded mineral malachite or when the brilliant red-to-orange mineral wulfenite crops up during lead mining.

Many of the harmful social impacts documented in other mining sectors like gold and diamonds—from hazardous working conditions to child labor—can occur in crystal mining too, especially in poorer countries producing large quantities of stones for mass consumption, like Madagascar.

Several mineral supply chains have even helped finance repressive military regimes or terrorist groups, like jade and rubies from Burma and lapis lazuli from Afghanistan.
The more widespread concern, industry insiders say, is whether mining communities are getting their fair share of the profits from what has become a billion-dollar business championed by celebrities and wellness influencers who promote crystals for spiritual well-being.
Rob Lavinsky, founder of the fine mineral dealership The Arkenstone, where specimens often sell for thousands of dollars, says that the rising value of collector’s quality crystals is helping to “flow a lot more money into these local communities” that mine them. But the benefits for those mining rose quartz trinkets that sell on Ebay for a few dollars are likely far smaller.

Would-be buyers won’t find any crystal vendors brandishing a sustainability label like Fair Trade. Facing little pressure from regulators or its consumer base, the industry simply hasn’t taken it upon itself to organize such schemes. But those seeking to purchase crystals with a lighter impact can still follow some rules-of-thumb.