Quartzite is a hard non-foliated metamorphic rock that results from quartz sandstone’s alteration (metamorphism). Sandstone is transformed into quartzite through heating and pressure usually associated with tectonic compression in orogenic belts. Pure white quartzite Atlanta to gray, but quartzite is also often found in shades of pink and red due to varying amounts of iron oxide. Other colors, such as yellow, green, blue, and orange, are due to other mineral impurities. When sandstone is cemented on quartzite, the individual quartz grains crystallize together with the former cementing material to form an interlocking mosaic of quartz crystals. Small amounts of the former cementing materials, iron oxides, silica, carbonates, and clays, often migrate…