Elbaite

specimen number:
2242095

location:
Tourmaline Queen Mine, San Diego Co., California, USA

description:
A thick translucent lustrous terminated crystal of elbaite without matrix. This is in good condition. The color zoning is evident as seen. An attractive and very nice crystal for this important California locality. Attractive when backlit as seen in the picture and at the end of the video. This weighs 87.93 g.

The Tourmaline King Mine, located on the northern slope of Queen Mountain near Pala in San Diego County, California, is a legendary producer of gem-quality lithium minerals. Geologically, the deposit is a classic granitic pegmatite dike of the Peninsular Ranges Batholith, consisting of a complex, zoned structure where hydrothermal pockets allowed for the growth of large crystals. The mine is most famous for its exceptional elbaite tourmaline, particularly the vibrant pink and bi-color varieties that occur in association with lepidolite, cleavelandite, and quartz. Historically, the claim was first located in 1903 by F.B. Loomis and saw its most intense period of mining and quarrying during the early 20th-century California gem boom. Between 1904 and 1909, it was one of the most productive mines in the district, supplying massive quantities of pink tourmaline to the Chinese Imperial Court for use in snuff bottles and jewelry. While commercial production declined sharply after the fall of the Chinese dynasty in 1912, the mine has been worked sporadically by specimen hunters and small-scale operators throughout the mid-to-late 1900s.

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