Yellow Mn-rich tourmaline from the canary mining area, Zambia
Abstract
The most important source of yellow gem elbaite is the Canary mining area in the Lundazi District of eastern Zambia. The tourmaline has been mined since 1983 from both pegmatite and eluvial/alluvial deposits, in colors typically ranging from yellow-green to yellow to orange and brown; much of the orange-to-brown material is heated to attain a "golden" or "canary" yellow color. The tourmaline is Mn-rich (up to 9.18 wt.% MnO documented in the literature) and contains traces of Ti and little or no Fe. The distinctive composition of this tourmaline is probably the result of the crystallization of abundant schorl from an unusual B-rich, Li-poor pegmatite magma, which depleted Fe while conserving Mn until the late-stage crystallization of gem pockets.
Additional Information
© 2007 Gemological Institute of America. The authors are grateful to Tommy Wu (Shire Trading Ltd., Hong Kong) for providing logistical support in the field and access to the mining property, as well as supplying information and loaning/ donating samples for research. We also thank Rita and Arun Mittal (Southstream Enterprises Ltd., Lusaka, Zambia) for providing information and samples during the authors' visit to Zambia. Useful insights on the geology were provided by mine geologist Naveen Torgalmoth, who tragically died of malaria in 2006. Robert Downs (University of Arizona, Tucson) provided assistance with interpreting the Raman spectrum of Canary tourmaline.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 38162
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20130429-133943951
- Created
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2013-05-06Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-09Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences