It is all well and fine to discuss NW American sources of jasper. But let's remember that the beads being discussed are from NW Africa.

All quartz has essentially the same hardness. There is not 'softer' nor 'harder' quartz (whether massively crystalline or microcrystalline). What makes jasper different is the structure of the microcrystals. These are interwoven in such a way that the material is more-tough than other varieties. This is one important reason that, in antiquity (in India) chert was used for making drill-bits for making beads. But they have the same hardness.

Regarding the "dying" of chalcedony, here is one of many dialogues I posted on this topic. I hope this clarifies why it is important to not say "dyed stone" when this is not factually correct:

http://beadcollector.net/cgi-bin/anyboard.cgi?fvp=/openforum/&cmd=iYz&aK=51301&iZz=51301&gV=0&kQz=&aO=1&iWz=0