MSR09 Tourmaline var. Liddicoatite on Smoky Quartz
Sahatany Valley, Sahatany Pegmatite Field, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Prov., Madagascar
A double terminated crystal of liddicoatite tourmaline on a cluster of terminated smoky quartz crystals. The specimen is a floater, freed from a decomposed pegmatite with no clear points of attachment.
Although the tourmaline crystal appears dark, when held to the light it can be seen to be dark greenish-brown.
This pocket was found just before I arrived-- there were several of these floater quartz/ liddicoatite combinations found, and I purchased the best examples-- although the pocket produced fewer that 15 specimens, most were damaged during recovery.