DV10 Tourmaline var. Elbaite

Malkhan pegmatite field, Krasnyi Chikoy, Chitinskaya Oblast', Transbaikalia, Eastern-Siberian Region, Russia

3.2x 1.2x 1.0 cm

$250

A brownish red, terminated tourmaline from the Malchan pegmatite field in Eastern Siberia. There is no damage; all the edges are sharp and the faces intact.

The Malchan deposit is actually a fairly recent discovery, having been discovered southeast of Lake Baikal (near the Mongolian border) in 1980.  The locality has been producing in small amounts since, though on a scale far smaller than either the Brazilian or Afghan tourmaline deposits.  I will also add that the "warmer" colored tourmalines (reds, yellows, oranges) are known from fewer deposits than the greens and blues (which account for the bulk of the Afghan/Brazilian production.) To my knowledge the main producers of these colors are currently Malchan (where this one is from), and the various pegmatites in Madagascar and Nigeria.  The famous Jonas Mine in Brazil has alos produced similar colors.