Elbaite

specimen number:
1712725

location:
Cruzeiro Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil

description:

An attractive gemmy crystal of elbaite. In great condition. This weighs 0.57 g.

The Cruzeiro mine, located near Sao Jose da Safira in the eastern pegmatite province of Minas Gerais, Brazil, is a prolific mineral locality famous for producing world-class tourmaline, lepidolite, and spodumene specimens. Geologically, the deposit is a highly zoned granitic pegmatite body that intrudes into the Neoproterozoic schistose country rocks of the Rio Doce Group. Extreme magmatic differentiation and volatile enrichment led to the formation of extensive pocket zones filled with exceptional elbaite tourmaline crystals, often displaying dramatic red, pink, and green color zoning, alongside purple lepidolite books and quartz. Discovered in 1915, the mine has been operated continuously by the Neves family since the 1940s, transitioning from early hand-tool exploration to a highly organized underground operation with multiple kilometers of tunnels, remaining one of the world's leading commercial sources for both high-grade gemstone rough and museum-quality mineral specimens through the 2020s.

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