.75" Black Tourmaline (Schorl) Crystal - Leduc Mine, Quebec

Schorl, also known as "black tourmaline" or "black schorl", is a black form of tourmaline that often occurs as lustrous prismatic crystals. The crystals can be stubby or elongated and typically feature striations that run along the length of the crystal. Many schorl crystals have flattened pyramidal terminations. They can also form in radiating, columnar and stalactitic aggregations, as well as small needle-like inclusions within quartz (tourmalinated quartz) and in massive form.

Schorl is a basic sodium iron aluminum boro-silicate and the generic chemical formula is NaFe2 + 3Al6(BO3)3Si6O18(OH)4 . It has been used for everything from jewelry to piezoelectric guitar pickups.