Detailed information
Species
Elbaite, Tourmaline
Dimensions
65 x 18 x 15
mm
Locality
Himalaya Mine, Mesa Grande San Diego County California, USA
Condition
No recorded repairs
A double terminated crystal of Elbaite Tourmaline from the Himalaya mine at Mesa Grande in San Diego County, California, USA. This well-formed Elbaite prism measures a good 6.5 cm, displaying gemmy, rose pink terminations with a central zone of pastel gooseberry green. Later generation, pale pink-purple Lepidolite mica crystals have developed over some of the prism faces. Himalaya mine began in around 1898 and was one of the largest producers of high quality tourmaline throughout most of the twentieth centaury in North America. It worked a lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) granitic pegmatite highly enriched in boron, the primary constituent of tourmalines. A gemmy and beautifully coloured, double terminated Elbaite crystal from the historic Himalaya mine.