Elbaite

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Famed for intensely pink gemmy Elbaite crystals, the Stewart Lithia mine at Pala in San Diego County, California was original operated as a lithium mine during the latest years of the 19th century and on into the 20th. In the 1960s it was reopened specifically as a gem mine and it is likely that this crystal was extracted during that phase of working. Fully terminated with a flat pinacoid face this really vibrant pink Elbaite tourmaline crystal might be 'just' thumbnail in size, but very few of the famous pink crystals reach much more than miniature size. Small 'books' of Lepidolite mica are sparsely scattered along the prism sides. A fine smaller Stewart mine Elbaite.