Abstract:Quartzite jade consists of tiny grained quartz crystallites, and the yellow color is the major color. However, due to lack of conclusive evidence and spectroscopic data, the coloration for the yellow color is unclear, although previous studies suggested that the yellow colored quartzite jade could be related to a very small quantity of nano-sized minerals. In this paper, yellow and red colored quartzite jades were collected from Longling of Yunnan Province, Huoshan of Anhui Province and Hezhou of Guangxi, and the coloration-related spectroscopic data were firstly obtained using the UV-Vis spectroscopic technique with first order derivative. It is found that the yellow colored quartzite jade is caused by goethite with characteristic absorption bands centered on 545~535, and 435 nm, and that the red colored quartzite jade is caused by hematite with absorption bands centered on 595~555 nm. For the mixed yellowish-red or reddish-yellow colouration, the first-order derivatives of the UV-Vis spectra show absorption bands centred on 595~555, 545~535, and 435 nm, indicating that the coloration results from a combination of hematite and goethite.