Schorl (SIL-0006)

specimen number:
9273211

location:
Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico

description:

Very fine example for this Mexican locality, an attractive grouping of lustrous black prismatic schorl crystals. In great condition all around.

The Guadalupana mine, located at Cerro de Chavito within the Santa Cruz Municipality of Sonora, Mexico, is a distinct mineral locality notable for producing aesthetic specimens of schorl tourmaline. Geologically, the deposit features hydrothermal vein systems and contact metamorphic zones where boron-rich fluids interacted with local host rocks to precipitate deep black schorl, which is frequently characterized by intricate, velvety acicular sprays and radiating crystal groups on a quartz or albite matrix. Mining and quarrying operations at the site have historically focused on localized exploration and specimen recovery rather than large-scale industrial metal production. Active pocket extraction and commercial specimen harvesting peaked intermittently during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, providing high-quality black tourmaline clusters to the international mineral market through seasonal operations.

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