Description
These tourmalines, variety elbaite, are from Stak Nala in the Haramosh Mountains of the Skardu District, Balistan, Pakistan. This locale encompasses a large area that is rich in pegmatites. The local people mine the pegmatites for mineral specimens including tourmaline. Elbaite is in the Tourmaline Group of minerals. It is a silicate and it contains the elements Al, B, H, Li, Na, O and Si. It can be found in a variety of colors which are caused by traces of other elements in the crystal lattice. This specimen consists of a pegmatite matrix of cleavelandite, quartz and mica crystals. This matrix hosts several elbaite tourmaline crystals that display aesthetically from several sides or angles. They are dark green to brown with lighter green terminations. They have striated prism faces and flat terminations. It measures 1 13/8 tall x 1 x 1 1/8 at the base or 32 x 25 x 28 mm.
