Schorl

Schorl from Mica Creek, Mount Isa District, Queensland, Australia, measuring 104 × 38 × 33 mm and weighing 245 grams. The elongated proportions give the specimen a strong visual direction. Its proportions give it a substantial presence for a Tourmaline locality specimen, with a clear emphasis on its longest dimension.

Schorl is an iron-rich member of the Tourmaline group, a family of complex boron-bearing silicates. The species name is more informative than a general Tourmaline label because it identifies the compositional member represented in the collection. It also creates useful comparisons with magnesium-rich Dravite and other Tourmalines whose chemical differences are not always obvious from an overall view.

A long, dark body is marked by strong parallel lines running along its length. The light catches those lines unevenly, bringing out a finely ribbed surface that reinforces the specimen's elongated form. At a little over ten centimetres long, it has enough scale for those features to be appreciated in a cabinet as well as under close examination. This example comes from the David Vince Collection. Its collecting appeal combines size, a defined Australian occurrence and a species that opens the door to wider Tourmaline mineralogy. A specimen like this can act as a substantial locality piece while still encouraging the closer, systematic comparisons that make a mineral family collection so rewarding.