Dravite

Dravite from Yinnietharra Dravite Mine, Yinnietharra, Western Australia, Australia, measuring 50 × 47 × 46 mm and weighing 138 grams. The nearly equal dimensions describe a compact, three-dimensional specimen. Its locality is closely tied to the Dravite identity, making this an engaging Australian representative of the Tourmaline family rather than simply a broadly labelled Tourmaline specimen.

Dravite is a magnesium-rich Tourmaline, in contrast with the iron-rich species Schorl. Tourmalines are complex boron-bearing silicates whose changing compositions account for much of the family's variety. Studying named species such as Dravite allows a collector to move beyond colour-based groupings and appreciate the chemical distinctions that sit beneath the familiar Tourmaline name.

Dark brown to nearly black crystals gather into a compact, chunky group, with broad faces producing strong reflections. The nearly equal overall dimensions give it a solid three-dimensional character. It is worth looking around the piece as well as at its main face, following how the individual crystal forms meet and change the outline. This specimen comes from the David Vince Collection. The appeal is in the combination of a defined Australian occurrence and a mineral identity that broadens a Tourmaline collection beyond Schorl. Its collection history completes that account, giving the next owner a useful record to retain while exploring one of the mineral world's most chemically varied families.