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 layered tourmaline crystal matrix with minor mica attached. It hosts crystals that are mostly parallel and vertical with an organ pipe appearance. This piece is a small miniature that measures 1 1/8 x 1 1/16 x 3/4 inches or 29 x 26 x 19 mm.
