Category
page 1Tourmalines

elbaite
Elbaite, a sodium, lithium, aluminium boro-silicate, with the chemical composition Na(Li1.5Al1.5)Al6Si6O18(BO3)3(OH)4, is a mineral species belonging to the six-member ring cyclosilicate tourmaline group.
fluor-buergerite
Fluor-buergerite, originally named buergerite, is a mineral species belonging to the tourmaline group. It was first described for an occurrence in rhyolitic cavities near Mexquitic, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. It was approved as a mineral in 1966 by the IMA and named in honor of Martin J. Buerger (1903–1986), professor of mineralogy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It has also been reported from Minas Gerais, Brazil, and the Central Bohemia Region of the Czech Republic.
fluor-uvite
Fluor-uvite is a tourmaline mineral with the chemical formula CaMg3(Al5Mg)(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3F. It is a rare mineral that is found in calcium rich contact metamorphic rocks with increased amounts of boron. Uvite is trigonal hexagonal, which means that it has three equal length axes at 120 degrees, all perpendicular to its fourth axis which has a different length. Uvite is part of the space group 3m. Uvite's hardness has been measured to be 7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. The color of uvite widely varies, depending on the sample, but is mostly deep green or brown. In regard to uvite's optical p
rubellite
Rubellite is the red or pink variety of tourmaline and is a member of the elbaite. It is also the rarest gem in its family. It is occasionally mistaken for ruby. These gems typically contain inclusions.
povondraite
Povondraite is a rare silicate mineral from the tourmaline group with formula: NaFe3+3(Fe3+4,Mg2)(BO3)3Si6O18(OH)3O. It is a dark brown to black nearly opaque mineral with a resinous to splendent luster. It crystallizes in the trigonal crystal system as equant, distorted prisms with trigonal pyramid terminations.
foitite
Foitite is a mineral in the tourmaline group, it is a vacancy-dominant member of the group. Foitite is in the 'vacancy' group, due to the absence of atoms in the X site.
fluor-liddicoatite
Fluor-liddicoatite is a rare member of the tourmaline group of minerals, elbaite subgroup, and the theoretical calcium endmember of the elbaite-fluor-liddicoatite series; the pure end-member has not yet been found in nature. Fluor-liddicoatite is indistinguishable from elbaite by X-ray diffraction techniques. It forms a series with elbaite and probably also with olenite. Liddiocoatite is currently a non-approved mineral name, but Aurisicchio et al. (1999) and Breaks et al. (2008) found OH-dominant species. Formulae are
Fluor-liddicoatite Ca(Li2Al)Al6(BO3)3Si6O18(OH)3F
Elbaite Na(Al1.5Li1.5)A
lucchesiite
Lucchesiite is a new member of tourmaline-group of minerals. Lucchesiite has the formula CaFe3Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3O. It is the calcium and oxygen-analogue of schorl. It has two co-type localizations, one in Czech Republic and the other in Sri Lanka. As the other members of the tourmaline group, it is trigonal.
tsilaisite
Tsilaisite is a manganese rich variety of elbaite tourmaline. It is also known as Tsilaizite. Tsilaisite is related Fluor-tsilaisite. The gem is named after the location it was first found.