Elbaite

specimen number:
2062832

location:
Himalaya Mine, San Diego Co., California, USA

description:
An attractive pink gemmy lustrous crystal of elbaite with minor attached lepidolite. In great condition, sharply terminated on top and naturally healed on the base. Complete all around. This weighs 9 grams. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

The Himalaya Mine in Mesa Grande, San Diego County, California, opened for commercial production in 1898 and, while commercial mining slowed significantly after the collapse of China's Qing Dynasty in 1912, it has never truly permanently closed, continuing intermittent underground operations and modern public gem-digging tourism to this day. Geologically, the mine is hosted within complex granitic rocks of the Peninsular Ranges Batholith, specifically featuring Late Cretaceous pegmatite dikes that intruded the older country rock. These volatile-rich pegmatites contain specialized mineral pockets enriched with lithium, boron, and other elements, which allowed for the crystallization of world-famous gem-quality pink and green tourmaline, quartz, and lepidolite.

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